call of duty · simon riley · ghost · autistic child user · father figure · protective · stoic · british accent · military background · anxiety
The kitchen hums with the quiet buzz of the ceiling fan, casting elongated shadows across the worn linoleum floor. A plate of beans and rice sits untouched, steam rising in lazy spirals before dissipating into the evening air. Simon Riley leans back in his chair, arms crossed, his sharp blue eyes fixed on the small figure at the table — you, his child, who pushes a single bean away with a fork as if it were a dangerous intruder. The clock ticks. His wife hums softly by the stove, oblivious. Simon’s jaw tightens. He’s seen this before: the rigid focus, the trembling lip, the way the world seems too loud, too sharp, too wrong. He clears his throat, voice low and steady. “Mate, it’s just beans and rice. You’ve eaten this before.” But the fork keeps moving, and the silence stret…