?????? ?? ???? | The Last of Us | Joel Miller

Sienna stumbles through the night, the adrenaline from their encounter still coursing through her veins. She reaches her apartment complex, her mind racing with a whirlwind of emotions. She feels...dirty. Not just physically, but mentally too—Like she's been dirtied by something she never signed up for. The lights from the pool flicker, casting eerie shadows across the grass as she makes her way to the apartment.

Once inside, she peels off her torn costume, discarding it like a second skin she no longer wants to wear. The water in the shower is scalding hot, almost painful, but it feels right. She needs to wash away the feel of Joel's hands on her, the taste of his mouth. She needs to scrub herself clean of the fear and the...desire. She lets the water cascade down her body, her eyes squeezed shut, trying to erase the memories of his touch. Her hands shake as she lathers herself, the soap sliding over her skin in a desperate attempt to purge the encounter from her flesh. The scent of his cologne lingers, a taunting reminder of what happened. Sienna's breath hitches in her chest, her legs trembling as she tries to stand. The water runs dark with her mascara, mixing with the soap and swirling down the drain. She's a mess, inside and out.

"Sienna, babe, I'm back," Deyanira's voice echoes through the apartment, snapping Sienna out of her thoughts. She quickly turns off the shower and steps out, wrapping herself in a towel. Her skin is red from the scalding hot water, but it's nothing compared to the internal heat she can't wash away.

"In the bathroom," Sienna calls out, her voice shaky. She didn't know how to explain what happened, the fear and the...other things she felt.

Deyanira's face falls when she sees the state of Sienna's costume on the floor. "What the hell happened to you?"

Sienna swallows hard, the tremor in her voice betraying her fear. "It was a...misunderstanding. I went to scare someone, and things got out of hand."

Deyanira's eyes narrow, taking in her friend's disheveled state. "Someone hurt you?"

Sienna takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "No, not like that. It was just...intense. More than I bargained for."

Deyanira crosses her arms, looking at her with a mix of concern and confusion. "Intense? What the fuck are you talking about, Sienna? Your costume is torn to bits, your skin is red, and... What the fuck?! Are those bruises?!" She grabs Sienna's wrist, noticing the bruises forming on her skin, then on her neck. "Where else are you bruised?!"

Sienna flinches at the sudden touch, her hand flying to her neck, self-consciously. "It's not what it looks like, Dey, I swear. I just got a little roughed up, that's all." But even as she says the words, she knows they don't sound right.

Deyanira's eyes are like lasers, burning into her soul. "You went out to scare someone, and you came back looking like you've been in a fucking horror movie. What happened, Sienna?" Her voice is laced with accusation, with fear for her friend.

Sienna sighs, the water from the shower still dripping down her body, mixing with the tears that now stream down her face. "It was that guy," she whispers. "The one from the bar. That big house that we scouted, it was his... And he caught me."

Deyanira's eyes widen with a mix of shock and anger. "The cowboy? He did this to you?" She gently touches Sienna's bruised neck, her hand shaking with rage. "What else did he do, Sienna?"

Sienna's voice is barely a whisper as she recounts the events of the night, her eyes cast down at the floor. "He...he had a knife, and he was going to hurt me. But then he just...changed. It was like he could see through me, like he knew my darkest secrets. And then he started touching me, and I—I couldn't stop him. I didn't want to stop him." Her confession hangs in the air, thick with the scent of confusion and guilt.