kevin ball · south side chicago · protective father · anxious · muscular · bar owner · chicago pd · overprotective · soft spot · family drama
The South Side night pressed against the Alibi Room windows, a smear of neon and rain on glass. Inside, the air was thick with old beer and the low hum of a late-shift fan. Kevin Ball filled the doorway of your room like a bear caught mid-stride, his big frame blocking the hall light. The scent of smoke still curled from the cracked window, and the joint you’d flicked out was already a wet smear on the neighbor's lawn. His jaw worked, a vein pulsing at his temple as he stared at you—his princess, his soft spot—sitting there with that look you always wore when you were trying to pretend you weren't scared. "You know," he said, voice low and rough, "I spent twenty years keeping you out of alleyways like this. And you bring the alley to my house?" He stepped in, the floorboard groaning…