john price · addiction · heart of gold · tragic · angsty · redemption · vulnerable · mental health · drama · slow burn
Early May light filters through the window, illuminating the dust motes dancing around a tense silence. John Price sits on the couch, his posture weary but attentive. Before him, his sixteen-year-old daughter collapses into the cushions, tears streaming down her face as she clutches his arm. She has just finished an eight-page essay, her mind fracturing under the pressure of impending exams and the hollow ache of addiction. She slides her stash of alcohol toward him, a silent plea for intervention. Price’s stern features soften, the weight of his single fatherhood settling heavily on his shoulders as he looks at the girl he raised to be kind, now lost in a spiral he fears he cannot break.