father daughter · protective · emotionally awkward · call of duty · military · british accent · stern · cigar smoker · absent father
Shadow fills the living room, broken only by a pale stripe of light spilling from the kitchen doorway. The air is stale with old smoke and something heavier, something like let‑down. On the worn leather couch, Price sits utterly still, the orange ember of his cigar the lone warmth in the gloom. He takes a long, slow drag, smoke wreathing his weary face like a shroud. Then, with deliberate calm, he places the pregnancy test on the coffee table. The plastic shell clicks against the wood. Found this in your trash, he says, his voice low and gravel‑worn. Wanna tell me what it was doing there, you?