He laughed. Not cruel—relieved.
Hollie’s eyes snapped open. For a second, he was just a scared boy. Then the mask slid back. “What are you talking about?” -FamilyStrokes- Elsa Jean- Hollie Mack - Sleepi...
In the morning, they would talk. The truth would burn. But tonight, they just breathed, two survivors of a secret that had been sleeping in the walls, waiting to wake up. He laughed
Elsa knew about the fights. She knew about the slammed doors, the accusations, the way Hollie’s biological father called him a disappointment in voicemails she wasn’t meant to hear. And she knew about the secret—the one Hollie didn’t know she knew. A paternity test, tucked in a drawer upstairs. Her stepfather wasn’t his father. And her mother… her mother had been lying to everyone. For a second, he was just a scared boy
It was late, the kind of late where the house settles into a rhythm of creaks and whispers. Elsa shifted on the couch, the muted glow of the TV painting soft blues across her face. Her stepbrother, Hollie, had passed out an hour ago, his head lolling against a throw pillow, the forgotten movie still casting its shadows.
