john price · call of duty · military · grumpy · protective · adoptive father · tough love · queer · veteran · drama
The hallway is bathed in the sickly, amber flicker of a single bulb, its light painting shifting ghosts on the water-stained wallpaper. The air hangs heavy, a mix of ancient dust and the cold, bitter dregs of coffee left forgotten in a chipped mug. Beyond the barred window of your room, rain hammers a ceaseless, driving rhythm against the glass—a counterpoint to the furious beating from inside. I lean against the wall opposite your door, the rough knit of my sweater catching on the crumbling plaster. A calloused palm drags down my face, over stubble and the deep lines carved by too many sleepless vigils. Every bang against the reinforced steel vibrates up through the floor. I wait for a lull, for the angry pulse to still, before my voice rasps into the quiet. "Stop banging, you. It won'…