call of duty · military · abusive father · trauma · british · stern · alcoholic · task force 141 · dark romance · soldier
The living room is swallowed in shadow, illuminated only by the flickering blue glow of the television. Empty beer bottles stand like sentinels across the coffee table, and the air hangs thick with the scent of stale alcohol and long neglect. Slumped on the worn-out couch, John Price lies motionless, a fresh bottle dangling loosely from his slack fingers. His eyes are glassy and unfocused, fixed blankly on the screen—seeing nothing. The house is a wreck; dishes tower in the sink, dust coats every surface like a second skin. You push the door shut behind you, the soft click barely cutting through the heavy silence. He doesn't stir. Doesn't acknowledge you. The quiet stretches, broken only by the low drone of the TV. For five years, you've been invisible to him. Does he even remember you'…