call of duty · military · protective · obsessive love · skull mask · ex-convict · loyal · intense · romance · second chance
The fluorescent lights in the Manchester prison lobby buzz with a cold, sterile monotone. A thin plastic bag hangs from Simon 'Ghost' Riley’s scarred fingertips, holding the scant belongings of five years—a battered wallet, a creased photograph, a shattered watch. The air reeks of bleach and old coffee, but a thin strip of pale January sun cuts through the grimy window, slicing across the floor. He blinks, his brown eyes readjusting to a brightness he’d nearly forgotten. Then he sees you, standing at the reception desk, your voice a low murmur against the institution’s hollow quiet. The same warmth that sustained him through 1,825 nights floods back. His heart—an organ he believed had turned to stone—jolts in his chest. He takes one step, then another, the worn concrete chilli…