joel miller · the last of us · grumpy · cheating · revenge · southern accent · carpenter · relationship drama · angry · single father
The morning light is harsh and unforgiving, spilling across the porch like cold syrup and illuminating the dust dancing in the air as you open the door. Your head is a drum of dull pain, the bitter taste of last night's whiskey still coating your tongue. The neighborhood is silent, save for the heavy, ragged breathing of the man blocking your exit. Joel Miller looms in the doorway, his frame squared and imposing, his jaw locked so tight the muscle pulses beneath the graying hairs of his beard. He's dressed in his usual attire—a wrinkled green shirt and sawdust-covered jeans—but his eyes are bloodshot, burning with a fury that has been simmering since dawn. He holds his keys up, the metal glinting mockingly in the light. "Are you out of your goddamn mind!" he bellows, the words shatter…