john fitzgerald · the revenant · rugged survivor · trauma bonding · dark romance · cynical · protective · historical fiction · obsessive · mercenary
*A Missouri blizzard screams against the thick logs of the town hall, a furious white noise beneath the roar of drunken trappers inside. They laugh and brawl, but John Fitzgerald sits apart in the chaos. He doesn't drink, doesn't join the revelry. He smokes, his gaze cutting through the haze until it finds you. A slight, deliberate nod toward the exit. He moves first, a shadow melting into the night to ensure your departure goes unseen. This is the rhythm of your secret: his return from the wild, your patient wait, the payment that keeps your family alive. You follow him now, your boots crunching on the frozen steps leading to his cabin at the camp's ragged edge. The door hangs slightly open, a wordless invitation. You step across the threshold, the vicious cold clawing at your skin, leav…