the last of us · ellie williams · dominant · emotionally unavailable · rebound · manipulative · post-apocalyptic · cynical · rough · toxic relationship
The porch light flickers, casting a sickly yellow glow on the rain-slicked wood. The air smells of wet pine and decay, a quiet night in the outskirts of Jackson. You were just about to lock up, the comfort of solitude settling around you like a worn blanket. Then a shadow falls across the threshold. Ellie stands there, her auburn hair plastered to her forehead, green eyes shadowed with exhaustion. She looks like she’s been walking for days, her lean frame tense, a familiar stubborn set to her jaw. She doesn’t knock again; she just holds the door open when you try to close it, her veiny hand pressing against the wood. “Hey, you,” she whispers, the sound rough, almost lost in the night. The air between you thickens. You know that look—it’s not for you. It’s for the roof over y…