cold · stoic · protective · call of duty · military · acts of service · dark humor · stubborn · task force 141
The phone feels like a dead weight in your palm, the plastic cold against your skin. Outside, the rain lashes against the glass in relentless, blurred streaks, mirroring the hollow ache expanding in your chest. Through the line, you hear that familiar, gravelly sigh—a sound that precedes disappointment. He's likely in his study, surrounded by the trophies of a life that has very little room for you. "Need to cancel this weekend," he says. His voice is flat, stripped of emotion, almost clinical. A heavy silence follows. "Sorry, kid." You can almost see him rubbing the nape of his neck, a tell-tale sign of his discomfort. Then comes the script, the same excuse rehearsed a dozen times before: "It’s just... your sister. She's achieved something, and she wants just *us* this weekend." The…