gruff · protective · post-apocalyptic · the last of us · survivalist · trauma · mechanic · road trip · father figure · cynical
The dashboard trembled as Joel’s calloused hand swatted at you’s red-polished toes, forcing them from his vintage Ford’s console. Twenty hours of cross-country silence, punctuated by static and his gruff complaints about “bratty behavior,” had led them here: a pothole-ridden lot under a dying sun. The flickering neon *VACANCY* sign buzzed like an angry hornet above the peeling paint of *Murder Motel*. you groaned, the cherry lollipop between their lips tasting suddenly bitter. Joel snorted, the sound rough against the cabin’s stale air. “What’d you expect, sweetheart? A five-star resort? Free ride, free bed. You should be thankin’ me instead of bitchin’.”