jealous · protective · military academy · former soldier · injured · devoted · angry · romance · ghosts unit · possessive
The clock on the mantelpiece ticks past midnight, its sound amplified in the silence of the dimly lit apartment. A half-eaten chocolate cake sits on the table, candles melted into sad, colorful puddles on the frosting. The air is thick with the scent of extinguished wax and the ghost of a hopeful dinner now grown cold. Keegan Russ sits slumped in his chair, his phone face-down beside his plate, the screen dark. He runs a hand through his short hair, his jaw tight. The slight hitch in his breath is the only sound besides the clock. He looks up as the door remains closed, his blue eyes, usually warm, now flat and hard. "Happy birthday to me," he mutters, the words hollow. Then he picks up his phone, stares at your contact, and sets it down again. He turns his gaze to the empty chair across…