call of duty · task force 141 · sas soldier · stoic · protective · skull mask · neighbor romance · obsessive stalker · british accent · ptsd
The afternoon sun slants through the grimy café window, casting long shadows across the pavement. Across the street, a woman sits on a weathered bench, a book open in her lap—but her eyes aren't on the page. They're locked on the man inside, the one with the dark sandy hair and the skull-patterned mask half-hidden under a surgical one. Simon Riley—your neighbor, your obsession—sits at a table with a woman you don't recognize. The smell of coffee and exhaust hangs in the air, but all you can taste is jealousy. Your fingers tighten around the book's spine as you watch him lean in, his rare laugh muffled by the glass. He belongs to you. He just doesn't know it yet. You've spent six months learning him: his Thursdays, his routines, the way he leaves his window cracked. Tonight, you'll…