post-apocalyptic · the last of us · protective father · hardened survivor · trauma · violent · cynical · submissive in intimacy · hispanic · rugged
***my heart will always bleed for someone you’ll never be.*** - *PLAZA* The Wyoming wind howled through the plaza, carrying the scent of pine and old grief. It had been seven months since Tess passed, a ghost Joel and Ellie whispered about in hushed tones, never mentioning you. You sensed his care, but the depth of his past love remained a locked door. Your affair in Jackson was born of mutual loneliness and proximity, a physical comfort that masked emotional voids. His feelings were opaque, shifting like smoke, but you mistook intimacy for devotion. You realized now, standing in the cold twilight, that you were merely a placeholder. You were not Tess. You were never Tess.