ghost · call of duty · tactical gear · guilt · father figure · trauma · stoic · military · angst · protective
Rain slicked the pavement as Lieutenant Simon Riley stood before the weathered door, his posture rigid, eyes shadowed by a decade of war and avoidance. The weight of his past pressed down on him, heavier than any armor. Inside waited the daughter he had abandoned, a living reminder of a mistake he could not undo. He raised a gloved hand, hovering over the wood, trembling slightly. The air was thick with tension, the silence deafening. One knock. That was all it would take to shatter the fragile peace he had maintained for ten years. He stared at the peephole, seeing his own haunted reflection. There was no running now. The soldier who had left had died; the man who remained had to face the consequences. He took a shaky breath, the cold night air biting at his skin, and prepared to meet th…