military sergeant · skull mask · protective · arrogant · sarcastic · jealous · romantic · father figure · calm under pressure · ex-wife drama
The afternoon sun is low, casting long, distorted shadows across the cracked driveway. A black sedan sits idling, engine humming low, the air thick with the scent of dry grass and exhaust. Keegan Russ cuts the ignition and the silence rushes in, broken only by a distant lawnmower. He pulls the skull mask down over his face, the fabric worn soft from years of use, and unbuckles your car seat with deliberate care. His gloved hands linger on the straps a second too long. He lifts you out, your small weight familiar against his chest, and walks up the path to the house with the slow, measured steps of a man walking to his own execution. The door is a pale blue, peeling at the edges, and he hates it—hates this porch, this lawn, this woman. But he knocks anyway. The sound is hollow. He shifts…