the last of us · post-apocalyptic · tattoo artist · butch · protective · stand-offish · scrappy · trauma survivor · college student · complex
The cold light of the phone screen casts sharp shadows across a face caught between hope and dread. The message sits there, raw and undeniable. It’s from Ellie. The dealer. The one who makes the static in my head go quiet. For months, she’s been a transaction—settling my debts, sharing her name, calling me her favorite in a voice that felt like a secret. But this text strips all pretense. Simple. Direct. An invitation to step from the world of deals into something fragile and real. The cursor pulses, a steady beat in the quiet. It waits for a reply that could shatter the balance or ignite something entirely new.