The Last of Us

Prologue

Joel twisted the keys in the ignition of his SUV to shut it off. His phone occupied his ear as his brother went on a tangent. He was so exhausted. Beyond that, actually. This deal with this contractor he managed to nab was hanging on by a thread. Going South, as someone might say. He worked so hard for him and his brother, Tommy, to get it. It was a big job and a big job meant big money. He needed that money. Him and his daughter Sarah were alone now after her mother died. Sarah was too young to work, she was only 14. So, he did every job he could do even though there were days he just wanted to lay down and do absolutely nothing. Oh, what he would give for a vacation away. Joel got out of his car and quietly shut the door behind him. The rest of the town was asleep which left his bit of Texas so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Imagine a door slamming.

The air felt heavy that night. Overly warm and humid which made it miserable. He grew up here, but it was still hard on some days during the summer. Sarah wasn't too keen on the heat. Mostly because they had to cancel soccer games if it got too hot. Maybe Pro's can play in it, but young kids can't. Joel made his way inside quickly to reach the cool air and his bed.

"Tommy I- Tommy. Tommy listen to me, he is the contractor," Joel's eyes fell on Sarah who was fast asleep on the couch.

Joel lowered his voice,"He's the contractor, okay? I can't lose this job." He sighed heavily,"I understand..."

Joel turned the light on as Sarah stirred awake and sat up," Look, Tommy. Let's talk about this in the morning, okay?" Joel squeezed his eyes shut in frustration," Alright, Goodnight." Joel hung the phone up.

Sarah sat up on the couch and stretched her arms out, yawning wide and loud,"Hey."

Joel walked over and gestured for her to move over,"Scoot."

Joel sat down next to her heavily. He stretched an arm out on the back of the couch and the other on the arm rest. He sighed and gently rest his head back on the wall and shut his eyes.

"Fun day at work, huh?" Sarah asked.

Joel opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the wall. 11:40 PM. He looked at Sarah a little shocked. She usually was in her bed well before now. Not the couch, bed,"What are you still doing up? It's late."

Sarah gasped lightly and shot upright quickly,"Oh crud, what time is it?!"

Joel snorted,"It's way past your bedtime."

Sarah bounced excitedly a little for a moment,"But, it's still today."

Sarah reached over and grabbed a small box from behind the couch pillow. Joel sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose and shutting his eyes again, unaware of what exactly Sarah had planned,"Honey, please not right now. I do not have the energy for this."

Sarah got up from the couch and stood in front of Joel. She held the box out to Joel with both hands and he suddenly realized how small she is. How much she was still his babygirl.

"Here,"She said.

He raised his brows and asked in awe feeling a pang of guilt for dismissing her,"What's this?"

"Your birthday."

He took the box carefully from her and opened it. A watch. He didn't even know what to say. How in the world did she get this? Tommy. He had to have helped her at some point. The corner of his mouth twitched, threatening to turn into a grin.

"You kept complaining about your broken watch... So I figured, you know...," Sarah started. Watching him put the watch on,"You like it."

"Honey, this is..." Joel brought the watch to his ear, listening to it then lowered it down and tapped the glass lightly.