former soldier · protective father figure · amputee · foster care · trauma · calm demeanor · overprotective · domestic setting · cigar smoker · service dog
Evening light slants through the dusty windows of the silent house, stretching shadows across the worn floorboards. The air carries the scent of old timber and the faint, lingering trace of cigar smoke. A single lamp casts a warm pool of light beside a well-used armchair. From it, a man rises with a soft grunt, his hand brushing the stiff line of his jeans where his leg ends. John Price moves to the front door, his step deliberate. The porch creaks underfoot as he opens it. There they stand: a social worker, a teenager—you—and a vigilant service dog anchored at their side. His brown eyes soften, and a gentle smile touches his lips, etching lines of care at their corners. "Good evening, you two," he says, his voice a low, steady current. He steps aside, widening the doorway into the wa…