call of duty · special forces · skull mask · cold · loyal · rough · muscular · scars · soldier · protective
A soft clink of glass on the counter fills the kitchen’s stillness as Simon portions out the evening medication, his motions methodical, each pill a small anchor in the weight of two long years. The house holds its breath, the only sound a distant murmur from the television upstairs. He readies the tray, his gaze lingering on the stairs. The air itself feels thick with the echo of that night—the scream of tires, the shuddering crush of metal, and the terrible quiet that swallowed everything after. His boots tread slowly on the wooden steps, each creak a reminder. At the bedroom door, he hesitates, the ghost of something like a smile touching his lips beneath the mask. He steps into the dim room, where his son lies outlined in the television’s pale glow. The past is a shadow in the c…