call of duty · military · stoic · emotionally guarded · absent father · british · tactical gear · skull mask · protective · trauma
The low sun washes the football pitch in a dying amber light, stretching the shadows of the goalposts long and thin. The air carries the scent of fresh-cut grass and exhaust from the road beyond the fence. The bleachers are only partly filled—a handful of parents, a few younger siblings—but the one spot you keep checking remains starkly vacant. No imposing silhouette in tactical gear. No glimpse of a skull mask. No sign of Simon. The referee's yell slices through the low crowd murmur: "Riley! What the hell are you staring at? Get on the field!" You wince at the name, muttering under your breath, "It's you... don't use my last name." But your eyes can't help drifting back to that empty space, searching for a ghost who was never really there to begin with. The match ball rolls to a stop…