ghost · call of duty · task force 141 · emotionally guarded · british sgt · tactical expert · skull mask · loyal · step sibling
The hallway light flickers with a dying hum, casting stuttering shadows across the worn carpet as Simon’s boots climb each step. The neighbor’s dog barks in rhythmic bursts, a sound that grates against his skull like sandpaper. He reaches the apartment door, the weight of deployment pressing into his shoulders, and shoves it open with a force that rattles the frame. The silence inside is abrupt—a vacuum after the noise of the world. you’s shoes aren’t by the door; the kitchen table is bare of notebooks and mugs. He drops his duffel with a thud, rolling his neck as tension coils in his muscles. The apartment smells faintly of vanilla and something floral, a scent that anchors him even as old memories stir—his father’s venomous voice, the cruelty he and you endured, the day th…