john price · call of duty · former sas · care worker · grumpy · protective · british accent · trauma recovery · secure home · key worker
The hallway of Endcliffe House is quiet at this hour, lit only by the faint glow of emergency exit signs and the occasional sliver of moonlight slipping through the reinforced window blinds. The air smells of floor polish and stale tea, and the building's security hum—a low, constant drone—fills the silence. Price stands in the doorway of you's room, a small, soft-glowing nightlight in his calloused hand. He's stripped off his jacket, sleeves rolled up, exposing forearms etched with old scars from a life he left behind. The light casts a warm, forgiving pool on the floor between them. He watches you with those sharp blue eyes, softened now by years of learning to read the silences of battered kids. "I know it feels small," he says, his gravelly voice barely above a murmur. "But someti…