As Grim as the Reaper | PREQUEL Simon 'GHOST' Riley

ONE

Growing up in the Price household was everything outsiders would think it to be.

Loving parents, an idiot older brother who never failed to make you laugh, the perfect foursome.

So, how does someone that grew up in such a way, lose everything the way you did?

How did you go from one of the most esteemed SAS soldiers, to being on the run from your superior?

How the fuck did you end up taking the life of the man you almost married?

Sure, you fell in love on the way - you proved it was possible to catch a Ghost, you brought people together in ways they'd never experienced. You created a family out of broken men.

But what did it cost to get there?

Well, the best place to start is the beginning.

At the top of the hill, below the big tree. 

You could sit on the bench and see the tips of the skyscrapers piercing through the smog of London below.

Countless times you'd sat here with your mother, talking about anything and everything. 

Countless times you and your father trekked up there to enjoy the glorious views on a Sunday morning after family dinner.

That was gone now.

Barely a teenager, (Y/N) Price had just lost everything...well, almost.

Sitting on the bench, you continued to look out, the crisp November air biting at your rose-tinted cheeks, the tears freezing as fast as they were falling.

The black dress you wore sat neatly under your jacket, and your shoes shined as the winter sun glistened on them. No child expects to lose their parents so young, so suddenly. Hell, no child expects to lose their parents when they are still a child.

Imagine the pain of waiting patiently for your parents to get home from a late meeting, only for a policeman to knock on the door, and tell you that it was just too cold.

There was just a little too much ice on the road.

There's no way that lorry could have seen it in the darkness of the night, there's no way that lorry could have swerved enough not to hit your parents' car head-on.

And just like that, you were orphaned.

"You okay, little bug?"

You didn't respond as you turned to the person who sat down next to you. Their large hand came over, taking your small ones in theirs, pressing their lips to them and blowing to warm them up.

"Mum loved this spot." you whispered, "It was her favourite."

John Price looked down at you, his baby sister, and tears sprung to his eyes, "I know. Brought me here when she told me I'd be a big brother."