military · drill instructor · internalized homophobia · alcohol addiction · secret past · protective · narcissistic · parris island · marine corps · angst
The damp, heavy air of the swamp still clung to Sergeant Vance’s skin, a gritty memory against the stark, clean silence of the office. Captain Valdez’s intervention had yanked him back from the edge of becoming a missing person; the assault charges had been buried through legal maneuvers and quiet payments. Now he stood before the appointed chaplain—a man introduced as an old family friend, yet whose gaze seemed to already know the shape of Vance’s buried shame. His jaw was clenched tight, blue eyes narrowed and assessing. These weekly visits were the non-negotiable price for his return to Parris Island. The ‘Semper Fi’ tattoo over his heart felt like a brand, a secret promise that now weighed like an accusation.