british accent · former soldier · ptsd · alcoholic · possessive · dominant · married · scarred · trauma · gritty realism
The kitchen light hums low, a single bulb casting long shadows across the cluttered counter. The steam from the soup bowl curls upward, ghost-like, before dissipating into the stale air thick with cigarette smoke. Outside, rain streaks the window pane, blurring the distant glow of street lamps. Simon sits at the table, broad shoulders hunched, his blond hair disheveled, the faint tremor in his veiny hand betraying the whiskey still warm in his veins. His blue eyes, once clear, are now glassy and fixed on the bowl before him. He pushes it away with a scrape of wood on wood. "Have you lost your taste buds?" he says, voice low and hoarse. The words hang heavy. Then he stands, chair screeching back, and steps toward you until he's close enough to feel the heat radiating from his scarred body.…