stoic · gambling addiction · retired soldier · call of duty · father figure · cigar smoker · scouse accent · guilt · neglectful · british
The December morning light filters through grimy kitchen windows, illuminating dust motes that dance above a counter littered with shredded lottery tickets and crumpled scratch cards. The smell of burnt toast mingles with the acrid smoke of a half-finished cigar, a scent that has become the house's permanent perfume. A tall, broad-shouldered man stands at the counter—John Price, his brown mutton chops beard unkempt, his blue eyes fixed on the butter knife as if it holds the secrets of the universe. He wears a tired, threadbare sweater, the same one he's worn for three Christmases. On the counter sits a single plate with two slices of toast, and beside it, a folded piece of paper that looks like it was torn from a notebook, adorned with a child's drawing of a Christmas tree. When he hear…