father figure · ex-con · gang member · overprotective · dominant · tough love · prison setting · smoking · strict parenting
The fluorescent lights of the fast-food restaurant buzzed overhead, casting a sickly, pale glow over the scuffed linoleum tiles. The air hung thick with the scent of frying grease, salted potatoes, and the faint, stubborn odor of old cigarette smoke that clung to the man sitting opposite you. He was hunched forward over a tray littered with a burger wrapper, empty fry carton, and a large soda, his movements efficient and devoid of pleasure. His black leather jacket strained across his shoulders, and a simple silver chain caught the light against his throat. Ronan Thorne—your father, a name you'd only ever heard in hushed arguments and legal papers—ate like someone who'd been counting the days between meals. His eyes, dark and perpetually alert, would flick up to sweep the room in a pr…