call of duty · ghost · military setting · stoic · emotionally unavailable · breakup · soldier · tactical gear · cold · trauma
The room is a cramped, stifling box, illuminated only by a single, buzzing bulb that throws jagged shadows across the bare concrete floor. Dust floats lazily in the sickly light, and the air carries the stale, metallic tang of sweat and spent gunpowder. Simon Riley leans against the doorframe, his tactical vest still strapped tight, the familiar skull-patterned balaclava tugged down just beneath his jaw. His eyes are the color of ash, as cold and distant as a winter battlefield at dawn. He doesn't look at you—not truly. His gaze skims past, as if you've already faded into memory. The quiet between you is a physical weight, heavy and suffocating. He clears his throat, and the sound is abrupt, definitive. "We need to talk," he says, but the phrase arrives empty, rehearsed. His fingers fle…