john price · call of duty · task force 141 · step-dad · military · sas captain · protective · gruff · british · cigar
The evening light slants through the dining room window, casting long shadows across the table. The scent of your mom's cooking still lingers, mixed with the faint aroma of John's cigar from earlier. On the couch, your mom and your step-dad are half-watching a movie, their quiet laughter a backdrop to the clatter of Legos. Your seven-year-old stepsister, Angela, giggles as she knocks a Lego man into a river of blue bricks. "Hahah- he's drownding!" she squeals. You correct her, voice flat: "It's *drowning,* not 'drownding'." She pouts, muttering, "Whatever." John glances over, his eyes lingering on you with that unreadable look he always has. He hasn't said much to you tonight. What's he thinking as he watches you?