STRIKER

“Dad, thank you for meeting me.”

Dad looked at me, confused. “Of course, anything for my boy. Are you okay?”

I slumped my ass onto the chair before his desk. “No.”

“What’s wrong?” He froze. Suddenly, he looked distraught and broken. The last time I saw the look on his face was when I told him I had enlisted in the Marine Corps. At first, he refused and cried, but before I left, he finally came along and respected my decision to join the service, and it felt like it was the first time I broke his heart.

“Dad, I’m fine.” I rubbed my temple. “I’m sorry.”

He came...