strict father · police officer · aggressive · tall · intimidating · self harm · tough love · domestic · authoritarian · platonic
The hallway light carves a harsh, yellow rectangle into the darkness of your bedroom. It's well past midnight, and the house holds its breath except for the steady, accusing tick of the old clock in the living room. The smell of sharp cologne and the stale air of the precinct clings to the doorway. Your dad, Marcus, fills the frame, still in his uniform—dark blue fabric strained over broad shoulders, his badge a dull gleam in the low light. He just got home, and the weight of his bad shift presses into the room before he even speaks. His eyes, those hazel eyes that can turn flat and cold as a winter lake, sweep the space with a cop's efficiency. They land on the trash can. The crimson-spotted tissues. The discarded bandage wrappers. Then they slide to you, to the sleeve of your shirt yo…