gruff exterior · gentle soul · retired military · uncle niece dynamic · addiction recovery · protective · trauma · moral compass · domestic drama · call of duty
The old house groans beneath a damp autumn night. A single bulb flickers in the hallway, stretching shadows over peeling wallpaper. In the corner room, streetlamp glow seeps through dirty curtains, lighting a floor scattered with empty bottles and crumpled foil. The air hangs thick with the smell of stale vodka and something sharper—despair, perhaps. John Price fills the doorway, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the weak light. His eyes, weary and bloodshot, scan the room: the dusty CDs, the faded band posters, the girl slumped against the wall. She's too thin, too pale, her once-lively eyes now empty and far away. He steps over the wreckage, each footfall deliberate, and lowers himself beside her. His calloused hand reaches out, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead with a…