Lost Love {TLOU} [Joel X OC]

t h r e e

A week later

Naomi stares at the cracked paint on the wall in front of her. The ticking of the clock pounds in her ears as the rain sadly slides down the window.

"Here."

All sound comes rushing back as Joel hands her a cup and sits on the floor beside her.

Not a word is spoke between them. She lets the cup hang loosely in her hand between her knees as they sit with a gap between them.

Joel takes a sip of his drink and looks at his wife and how her expression was blank, her hair unkept and she hadn't slept for days.

"Tommy says we should be able to -"

"Why don't you talk about her."

Joel's shocked at her sudden comment and he glances at his broken watch. "Baby, it's not that -"

"A week, Joel. A week and you haven't spoken about how our daughter -"

"Ni, don't -"

"- our Sarah -"

"- please, don't do this-"

"- was killed."

Joel rubs his eyes and Naomi's gaze shifts from the wall to him.

"Sarah's dead, Joel."

The sentence hangs in the air like a deadly disease and he grips his cup. "Don't you think I know that."

"Well then talk to me." She places her cup on the floor, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his knees. "Honey, talk to me." She pleads.

Joel refuses to meet her eyes and he shrugs off her touch. "Get some rest. We're leaving in the morning."

He abruptly stands and she slumps back, watching him leave her in the darkness of the room as he slams the bedroom door shut behind him.

—

The sunlight cuts through the gaps of the boards and shines down on Joel's face, making him groan.

Tommy stands in the kitchen, getting ready for the journey ahead as his brother yawns, reaching out across the bed.

The other side was cold and not slept in and he rubs the tired out of his eyes, sitting up to see that she wasn't there.

He frowns, groggily getting out of bed and making his way out of the bedroom. "Tommy, you seen Naomi?"

"She was still sat on the floor when I got back. Told me about your talk and then said her goodnight." He answers.

Joel opens the door to the bathroom, searching the house and returning with a confused look. "Her side of the bed ain't slept it."

Tommy shrugs. "Probably needed some fresh air. We'll give her some time and then we really gotta go."

Joel returns to his bedroom, lying on the bed to await the return of his wife.

He ponders the past week since loosing their child. How he refused to let Naomi in by not telling her how he feels. How he pushed her away until she spent most of her days staring at the wall.

His mind drifts to the day after Sarah's death and when Tommy took them away to this house to gather themselves.

Naomi had poured her heart out to him, crying and mourning the loss of his daughter as he just sat there.

Just sitting there got him through the days.

She tried to talk about what they should do next, what would be the right thing to do now Sarah was gone.

He didn't want to listen.

The day turns into another night and he can hear the creak of the door but he doesn't get his hopes up.

"Joel..." Tommy stands in the doorway.

"I don't think she's coming back, Tommy." Joel states, staring up at the ceiling.

Tommy sighs, heavily. "Maybe we should give her another day or two, Joel, this can't be easy on either -"

His brother shakes his head, his hand trailing across to her side of the bed that was as cold as he had left it.

"She's left me, Tommy." He states.

Joel grips the bedsheets from angry. He had let his grief also destroy his marriage and now, he might as well have lost everything.

"Naomi's gone for good."