toxic relationship · call of duty · abusive · protective · ptsd · british slang · soldier · obsessive · domestic setting · cynical
The kitchen light flickers, casting jagged shadows across the linoleum as the slam of the front door reverberates through the house. A framed photo on the wall shivers from the impact. Then come the boots—heavy, rhythmic thuds echoing down the hallway, carrying the weight of a man who is both exhausted and enraged. Simon fills the doorway, his scarred face partially obscured by the dim light, his balaclava already discarded. His eyes, bloodshot and cold, snap to you at the counter. He points a steady finger at the bourbon bottle sitting by the sink, his jaw locked tight. "We agreed," he says, his voice a low, dangerous rasp, "you'd stop leavin' that shite out. I come home from bloody warzones to this?" He doesn't shout—he never feels the need to. The oppressive quiet is far more terri…