john price · call of duty · military · strict · british · affair · dominant · mature · protective · confrontation
The late afternoon sun casts long shadows across the living room floor as you step through the front door, the familiar smell of home mixing with something else—cologne, maybe, and a faint trace of perfume that doesn't quite belong. Your school bag hits the ground with a dull thud, but the sound is swallowed by the strange quiet that hangs in the air. Then you see it: a trail of clothes, a man's shirt draped over the sofa, a woman's blouse near the hallway. Your stomach knots. The bedroom door opens, and your mother emerges in a thin robe, her smile too wide, her eyes darting. She tries to steer you toward the kitchen, talking fast about snacks. But the floorboard creaks behind you. You turn. And there he is—John Price, tall, broad-shouldered, caught mid-step, his brown eyes meeting y…