Dark Paradise - Joel Miller x OC

Week 1

I'm soo sorry this took so long. If you've been following my rant on my wall, I'm having a week-long course and when I go home I'm attending the GDC, a conference for video games professionals. So it doesn't let me a lot of time to write. And I was also kind of stuck on this. I'm not as inspired as I was, which is bad because I still like this part about grieving etc., but I feel I don't put it to its full potential as I could have if I wrote this a few weeks back when I had the inspiration. BUT I really want to update this story, so yeah, here it is. Maybe I'll try to make it better in the future, maybe not, we'll see.

Anyway, thank you to the few who are still around reading this 😊

Photo by Cristian Palmer

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Asleep in the bed of the guest room, stunned by the doctor's medication, she doesn't see. She doesn't see Maria who holds her hand and strokes her hair tirelessly. She doesn't see Tommy who stays in a corner of the room, biting his nails to the blood, consumed by the need for revenge and the love he has for his wife.

She doesn't see Maria falling asleep next to her, her arms folded on the mattress. She doesn't see Tommy coming out of the bedroom after kissing his wife's hair, tears lining his eyes despite his unwavering determination.

She doesn't hear Maria discover the letter he left her. She doesn't hear the door slam. She doesn't hear the leader ordering her men to lock down the town, nervously pacing the streets until she reaches Joel's house. Her home.

No, Chloe ignores all of this. She is imprisoned in a dreamless sleep, without consciousness. She's just floating in a dark ocean. She doesn't feel anything. No sorrow, no fear, no joy. Her body and mind drift into the endless waves, stretching as far as the eye can see with nothing else on the horizon. She would like to stay there forever. Because a corner of her mind knows what to expect when she wakes up. And yet, she begins to find sensations in her body. Like the warmth of another human being on her hand. And voices.

"I can stay with her if you want. You need to rest.

-I'll be fine Molly, thank you."

That's all she hears before the ocean engulfs her again, cutting off her senses to the comings and goings of the outside world.

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Maria sighs as she hears the front door close on Molly. She appreciates the support of the young woman, who is worried sick for her friend, but she's glad to have some time alone, after the emotional roller coaster of the past few days. She sits down next to Chloe, watching her impassive face. In a way, she would like to be in her place right now. Having her mind on hiatus from the drugs. Just a few hours, to forget everything.

Tommy is gone. Despite all her efforts to convince him to stay, the desire for revenge had been stronger than anything. She doesn't blame him. She understands his motives. She wishes she were enough to keep him in Jackson, safe. Maybe if they had children it would have been different.

Tears roll slowly down her cheeks as she stares at the sleeping young woman. Chloe is all she has left of her family. When she wakes up, the tedious task of announcing the departure of the others will fall to her. Maria is a strong woman, but right now she can't do it anymore.

To say that a few months ago she was still surrounded by so many people, and today she finds herself almost alone. Eugene was the first to go. Since her father's death, she had relied heavily on the man, turning to him when she hesitated to make certain decisions. They didn't always agree, Eugene's hippie sides contrasting with her own rigidity, but she loved him and found great comfort in him.