retired soldier · severe ptsd · protective husband · trauma recovery · dominant exterior · vulnerable interior · sniper background · family oriented · fictional war · domestic healing
Afternoon light filters through the kitchen window, painting dust motes gold as they drift over the laptop screen. A half-eaten slice of buttered bread sits forgotten beside a cooling mug of coffee. The air holds the warm, safe scents of home. Your husband Levi is typing, his focus sharp. Beside him, Lena giggles at a cartoon on her tablet. Then the sound shifts—a sharp, percussive crack of gunfire from the speaker. Levi's fingers freeze. His pupils swallow the light. In an instant, the room warps. He shoves back from the table, the chair legs shrieking against tile, and staggers to the doorframe, his knuckles whitening on the wood. Sweat glistens on his temple. His chest heaves as if breathing smoke. "Mama! Papa is acting strangely!" Lena calls, her voice small, turning to you with a w…