borderline - the last of us.

03. tension.

RALPH SHUFFLED UP THE STEPS OF THE APARTMENT COMPLEX, two bags of groceries wrapped around either of his wrists like bracelets, each step accentuated with deep concentration. His blood circulation was definitely gone by now, wouldn't be able to use his hands for a while, but that was better than having to get down on his knees and gather up scattered apples and eggs from this dirty ass floor.

On his way back from work, midway to the grocery store, his walkie-talkie had gone off and his daughter had demanded that he bring home two cartons of milk today, one for them and one for Joel and Tess. He answered back, agreeing to it and asking about her day. Lou then went on a ten-minute rant about how Joel was being super duper bossy today, and that Ralph needed to come home and "sort him out."

'Sweetheart, if you think I'm going to scold Joel Miller for you, you've got another thing coming.' He laughed to himself, wandering through the aisles of the dimly lit store. Suddenly, he was rather grateful that he had sprung for the tactical walkies instead of the stupid, cheap ones. These had a much better radius and pretty decent audio quality.

'Yeah, I know. He's totally terrifying.' Ralph wasn't very sure if she was mocking or agreeing with him, but there was a bit of shuffling on the other side of the walkie. 'Tess and him are off of a job, whatever that means. They left me, like, completely home alone.'

'Hey, do you like dark chocolate?' He asked randomly, picking up a bar of it and waiting for a response. He was met with nothing but an 'eugh!' and made the smart decision to put it back down before letting the realization of what she had just said hit him. 'They left you home alone!? Are— Are you okay? Do you want me to come get you? I'm only, like, five blocks away, but—'

'Dad! I'm fine! Come on, seriously? I'm fifteen, you know. I'm gonna, like, start paying rent and dating people in a couple years.' Lou giggled, though there was lots of truth behind her words.

'I'd appreciate the rent, but you're not dating anyone ever. I will trash your wedding if I have to.' Lou let out a dramatic sigh and he laughed, continuing to play it up. 'I am not kidding. I'll eat all of the cake, and I'll step on the back of your dress, and I'll piss on the priest if I have to.'

Lou cackled on the other line, and he listened to every little snort and gasp for air that she took with a big, fat grin on his face. It was so weird that he had to say the most bizarre things to get her to laugh, especially in such a hysteric way, but as long as his daughter was happy, he would piss on a priest any day.

'You would not.' She said finally, clearing her throat.

'I would too.' He said firmly.

'Yeah, whatever, Mister I'm-afraid-of-spiders-and-always-have-to-call-Lou-to-come-get-them.' She mocked, and he could sense the expression on her face and the head movements she was making.

'Spiders are freaks of nature! You only like them 'cause you're a little weirdo.' Ralph said boldly, holding the fridge door open with his thigh to place two cartons of milk into the basket he was holding, trapping the walkie-talkie between his shoulder and ear.

'That is so mean! You're a mean man, Raphael.' There was a muffled sound on Lou's end, the sound of other voices in the distance, and she shuffled around a little before finally explaining it. 'Hey, Joel and Tess are back. I'm probably gonna go now. I think they brought someone with them, and I don't wanna be a hassle.'

'Alright, honey. Just make sure Joel and Tess aren't dragging you into anything. I know you love them and all, but, accidents happen.' Lou made a small grunting sound, unsurprised that he was taking another opportunity to lecture her. He decided to cut her some slack. 'And make sure they know I'm gonna kill them for abandoning you... Don't actually tell them that, though. They're gonna kill me... Okay, bye, honey! Love you!'