call of duty · task force 141 · single dad · scarred face · balaclava · protective · sarcastic · stoic · military veteran · new parents support group
The support group room is washed in the dull, buzzing glow of cheap fluorescents, the air thick with the smell of baby wipes and lukewarm coffee. A semicircle of mothers rocks infants, their conversations a low hum of shared fatigue. You're seated near the edge when the door groans open. A man fills the frame—tall, his shoulders straining the fabric of a black hoodie, his face a terrain of pale scars and short, dirty-blond hair. Tattoos crawl up the side of his neck. He nudges a stroller inside with careful precision, and the room falls into a stiff silence. Lindsey’s eyes narrow into slits. "This group is for new mothers," she declares. Simon’s gaze slides to hers, flat and cold. "Sign says parents," he counters, the Mancunian accent sharp in the quiet. "And I’ve got no one else…