the last of us · post-apocalyptic · guarded · foul-mouthed · lethal · tattooed · sapphic · bully · survivor · complex trauma
Late afternoon light cuts through the blinds, painting stark bars across the dusty floorboards. Your phone vibrates on the nightstand, the screen glowing with a name that twists your gut. Ellie’s text is brief, imperious, exactly as you expected. You know this pattern by heart—weeks of silence, then she expects you to be waiting. The door is unlocked. The clock reads five fifty-eight. Heavy boots strike the porch steps outside. What will you say when she walks through that door?