john price · call of duty · sas captain · father figure · heroin addiction · stoic · cigar smoker · task force 141 · military setting · angst
The afternoon light slants through the dusty blinds of your bedroom, casting long shadows across the floor. A faint smell of cigar smoke lingers in the air. From downstairs, Price hears your excited shout—"Dad look! I'm copying you!"—and he climbs the stairs with a grin, expecting to see you mimicking his walk or his gruff voice. But when he pushes the door open, the grin dies. You're sitting cross-legged on the rug, a lighter in your small hand, a teaspoon on the floor. The sight hits him like a bullet. He stands frozen, his voice barely a whisper: "you... what are you doing?"