𝐏𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘𝐀. tlou (discounted)

𝐈𝐈𝐈.

━━━━𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆.

  𝐀 𝐘𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 glow cascaded through the curtains, beams of light flooding across Mason's features. The little girl rubbed at her eyelids, moving to sit on her knees while studying the room. Her gaze soon drifts to the snoring from beside her, she giggles. Joel lyes next to her, still dressed in yesterday's clothing, his mouth agape. His short salt and pepper hair was messy, sticking up in odd places. He hadn't gone to the couch after all.

The little one in his bed slid down the mattress, feet padding through the door as she began her journey downstairs. Her little feet hurried to the kitchen, staring at the room in wonder, making her way to the fridge. Mason's hands tugged open the door, blue eyes widening at the assortment of food. The truth was that it was hardly anything, but after living off canned peaches and beans, this was complete and utter heaven for the little girl.

With careful hands, the young brunette removed a carton of blackberries from its place on the glass shelf, closing the fridge with her hip. The gleaming sun shined down on her as she dumped the berries onto two napkins, walking on cautious feet as to not drop the fruit. Mason slid one of the two piles of fruit in front of the chair ahead of her, taking a seat on the one across from it. She munched happily on the bittersweet food, legs kicking under the table.

Upstairs, Joel rubbed the sleep from his eyes, glancing at the empty spot beside him. Nerves bubble in his chest, hurrying up from the bed. His anxiousness soon dispersed as he caught sight of the girl stuffing her face with the remainder of berries on her makeshift plate. The little girl's head bobs along to seemingly nothing, legs kicking back and forth beneath the table, remains of blackberry smeared over her hands and face. Mason looked like your typical six-year-old, no care to the world as she enjoyed herself.

"What are you doin'?" He leans against the wall; arms crossed as he softly smiles at her antics. She gives him a toothy grin, baby teeth and all, pointing to the second pile of berries. Joel pulls out the chair, sitting down in front of the heaping serving. The two eat in comfortable silence, Mason picking at the edge of her napkin.

"Sleep well?" She nods her head, glancing at him. Joel rolls up the remaining of his helping of fruit, standing. He beckons the little girl to follow him, trudging to the kitchen. The man flips on the faucet, lying the bunch of berries on the counter.

"Wash your hands." Mason looks up at him expectingly, her nose just reaching the counter. He huffs, taking the girl by her tiny waist, holding her close to the running water. She scrubs her hands, the purple juice rinsing down the drain. The man pulls her back, arm on her stomach, securing her against his chest as he turns off the water, placing her on the counter. Joel takes a paper towel, scrubbing Mason's face clean of any berry on her cheeks. She hops down from the height, feet padding on the tile as the girl makes her way to the stairs.

"Goin' somewhere?" The man follows on her tail, letting her lead him to his room. She dumps the two bags of clothing from the night before on his mattress, looking through the pile. Joel follows suit, picking up a pair of leggings and a light gray shirt, only for Mason to pull the leggings from his grip, replacing it with blue denim overalls. The man rolls his brown eyes, aiding the girl taking off her nightshirt, slipping the long sleeve shirt over her head. Soon, she's dressed and combing her bedhead, legs crossed on his bed. The shower runs, Joel having gotten in a few moments ago. Mason sets the comb on his nightstand, the wave in her dark brown hair subtle after the brushing.

The little one makes her way downstairs, white socks slipping on the hardwood flooring, coloring book tucked beneath her arm. She plops herself on the couch, a box of crayons lying beside her as she fills in the colorless drawings. Soon Mason's art session is interrupted by a heavy knock on the front door. She slides from the couch, seeing an all too familiar silhouette on the porch. The girl hurriedly unlocks the door, prying it open with an ear to ear grin.

"Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes, kiddo!" Tommy greets as the young girl waves to him. She teeters back off towards the couch, returning to the unfinished coloring page. The man placed another bag on the coffee table, calling the girl to sit on his brother's couch.

"Figured if yer gonna stay with us, you should have a couple of things." He pushed the bag of gifts closer, sending Mason a reassuring smile as she hesitated. "Go ahead." Blue eyes peered into the plastic bag, bright smile overtaking her cheeks as the little one tugged something out. The stuffed dog was brown and white, a circular brown spot over its right eye. Small hands clutched her new friend to her chest, face buried in its soft fur as her nose rubbed against it. Little feet fled from the sofa, arms thrown around Tommy's legs as one fist held the plushy.

"You're welcome, Kiddo."

━━━━━━━━━━

The first sound that reached Joel's ears as he opened the washroom door was Mason's giggling, the smile he wore was small, but it was there. Yet it was quickly gone as he draped himself in his tough exterior. With pounding footsteps, he makes walks down the stairs, Mason's bright blue eyes meeting his brown ones. She lifts her hand over the couch, bringing the stuffed toy to his view, the most brilliant of toothy grins on her face. Joel glances at his younger brother, who shrugs his shoulders as the little girl continues to show off her new toy.

"If she's gonna stay with you, I figured she could use some distraction. You ain't the most entertaining person out there."

"She's staying with me?" At that moment, his southern drawl was thick with panic. Tommy looks at the man with annoyance, hadn't they had this conversation the night prior?

"Joel, I know. You hate having to look out for anyone other than yourself after..." His sentence trails, but he shakes his head, continuing. "But you have to think about Mason."

Joel glances at the girl, finding her rummaging through the remainder of the items in the bag. Her cheeks were hollow, overalls hanging from her beaten and malnourished body while the long sleeves of her shirt hung over her hands. His hard gaze softened, looking on in sympathy.

"Fine." With that, he walks away.