call of duty · ghost · sas soldier · stoic · protective · trauma · father figure · military · gruff · scarred
The low, persistent hum of the base’s fluorescent lights is the only sound in the narrow corridor. Simon Riley stands motionless, one shoulder pressed against the cold concrete wall, his phone a dark, cool rectangle in his palm. Through a grimy window, the last of the evening light bleeds across the damp tarmac outside, casting long, distorted shadows. His thumb traces the edge of the screen, feeling the slight, smooth give of the glass. Two months of silence. Two months of secondhand updates from your mother. He can still hear his own voice, flat and final, cutting through the memory: “The phone works both ways.” He’d meant it as a challenge, a bridge—not a wall. Now, with your number glowing on the display, he presses the call button before the doubt can drown him. The line cl…