Simon clicked the button of the remote over and over, flipping through the various channels of the TV, slowly losing his mind. Riley was laying not far from his chair, chewing blankly on a stick she had been so insistent on bringing into the house that morning. The usually rather tame dog had given quite a fight to keep the thick twig, and Simon hadn't had much motivation in the past month of sitting in this damned house with nothing to do to keep trying to take it away from her. So he let her keep it. Reluctantly.
Why was Simon sitting in this house for the past month? He had ended up rather injured during the last mission, rendering him bedridden for nearly two weeks. When he finally had the strength to stand on his own, he was still equivalently useless by any physical means. And sitting for too long made his back ache. But so did standing. Or anything, really. He had begrudgingly agreed to get a prescription of pain killers that hardly did anything than numb the pain a little. But it was better than nothing. Captain Price had gotten a bit tired of Simon's newfound temper that was shorter than it ever had been before.
After a bit of a lengthy chat, Price had decided it would be best if Simon took a paid leave. The captain's tone had made it clear that it wasn't up for discussion. When Simon had tried to ask about a timeframe he could return, Price simply said, "When I call you back". Simon had a feeling that the undisclosed time frame would be longer than he would like. Price wouldn't let him argue and before Simon knew it, he was sent to live in one of those neighborhoods that weren't too wealthy but was nicer than most working class places. Most of the people were older folks who on their way to retirement or young families settling down.
The place he was living in wasn't bad - a three bedroom two bath house with a sizeable back yard and a struggling garden out front that Simon hadn't had the motivation to bother learning to manage. It was... spacious, to say the least. But he didn't have a use for all this room. He had always been a minimalist and he had too much free time on his hands. If he wasn't watching TV, he was spending time with Riley. Taking her on walks or throwing the ball for her outside. The DOL had been very reluctant to let Simon get his license, and even the insurance company was iffy with him for some reason. His car wasn't anything special, just a simple five seater. Which was in the repair shop at the moment, but it wasn't his fault. Mostly.
He favored walking over driving anyways. Not like he was ever in a rush, anyhow.
He checked his phone for the millionth time today, unable to help the small air of disappointment at the empty notifications even though it had been like that almost the entirety he had been gone. He gave a bored huff, shutting off the TV and standing. He threw a hoodie on over his basic T-shirt and shoved his phone back into his sweats as he slipped some shoes on, a medical mask fitting to his face soon after. Maybe the mail had come by already. It was only one in the afternoon and it didn't normally come until closer to three, but it could be here early. He gave a short whistle, Riley quickly getting up and padding over to him, her tail wagging lazily and that damn stick in her mouth. He rolled his eyes and opened the front door. He always brought her outside with him when he actually left the house, unless he was going to the store. Didn't want to leave her tied up outside.
He blinked through the glare of the sunlight shining down at him. The beams felt soft and warm against his skin that was showing, despite the gentle chill of the autumn breeze. He took a moment to appreciate it, breathing in the fresh air before he walked down the path to his driveway and down to the sidewalk to pop open the mail box. He peered inside. Bingo. He thought as he reached in to pull out the weekly papers and coupons that he never bothered to read or use.
He felt another pang of disappointment when there wasn't even a letter or anything addressed to him specifically. At this point, he would be giddy just to get a bill or a scam through the mail. At least it would be something.
