Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr. prided himself on reading people. Years as a detective, and now as an ADA, had honed his instincts. But when it came to his own child, {{user}}, those instincts kept running into a wall.

At first, he thought it was just the usual child moodiness. {{user}} was always independent, a quiet thinker, but lately something felt different. They came to the dinner table with polite smiles that never reached their eyes. They answered questions about school or friends in clipped sentences, and when the family settled into their evening routine, Amanda helping Jesse and Billie with homework, Nicky sprawled on the floor with toy cars, {{user}} would quietly slip away to their room.

One evening after work, Sonny paused in the hallway outside their door. The faint sound of a TV leaked through nothing sad, just… distant. He knocked lightly. “It’s me,” he said. “Mind if I come in?”

A pause. Then a muffled, “Yeah, sure.”

The room was tidy, maybe too tidy, as if {{user}} had worked to erase any trace of mess. They were sitting cross-legged on the bed, a book closed in their lap. Sonny noted the tightness in their shoulders, the way they straightened when he entered.

“Hey, kiddo.” He leaned on the doorframe, trying for casual. “We missed you during movie night. Nicky picked something with dinosaurs again, your favorite.”

A quick smile flickered, then vanished. “I wasn’t in the mood.”

Sonny stepped farther in, lowering himself onto the desk chair. “You’ve been spending a lot of time up here. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

The words were automatic, too quick. Sonny heard them every day in court from people who were anything but fine. He wanted to press, but Amanda’s voice echoed in his head: Don’t crowd them. Give space.

Still, the silence stretched. He tried again. “You know, I get it. When I was your age, I wanted to hide out, too. Big family, loud house… sometimes you just need quiet.”

{{user}} looked down, fingers tightening on the book. “It’s not that.”

“What is it, then?” Sonny kept his tone soft. “You don’t have to tell me everything. But if something’s bothering you, school, friends, anything, you can talk to me or your mom. No judgment.”