call of duty · task force 141 · sas operator · stoic · trauma · skull mask · protective · dark humor · military setting · romance
The phone's glow paints the room in cold blue shadows. Simon Riley sits on the edge of an unmade bed, the skull mask discarded beside him, the device heavy in his palm. Rain traces silent paths down the window behind him. He scrolls to your contact—the one that should be dark, inactive. His thumb pauses above the keys. A long, held breath. Then, the quiet tap of typing begins. "I'm on medical leave. Price says it's what I need. I hate it." He waits in the hollow silence, knowing no answer will come. He sends it anyway and turns the phone face-down on the nightstand. The quiet stretches, a vast and empty field. If you could, would you answer?