‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted .

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“ 𝑎nd we're no̶t out o𝓯 the tunnel ——— 𝒾 be͟t you 𝑡hough there's an e͟nd. “⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

𝓳ust because YOU are sꪮft doesn't m͟e͟an you are N̶O̶T̶ a 𝓯o͟r͟c͟e͟. honey AND 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥fire are bꪮth the color 𝓰old.

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@miismilitary smirking at her over the rim of
her book, gently patting her
daughter's legs.

“ comfy? “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer + would be happy to deliver your
medication again, if that helps? “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

she'll be right there ——
just have a seat, @oldtiiimer!

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer + gave a small nod.
“ i bet ... after they killed jerry
at the hospital, i didn't think i
could go on. but i had to. “
𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧.

“ ... i'm sorry, i'm afraid we got
a little distracted there! was there
anything else you needed? i'm
sure frankie +

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer + like ...

unlike all the others she was
forced to leave behind.

still, she loved the girl like her own
and there was nothing she wouldn't
do for her.

“ and now she's turning eighteen ...
strange, how time flies.
how old is your ellie again?
and little thomas? “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer fingers slightly toyed with the
pen in her hand as she listened
to him. that's right —— they had
a daughter, too, just about frankie's
age! awh! though, that name rang
a bell ... 𝘩𝘮, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦.

“ she was just a kid when i took
her in. “ 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 her, more +

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer + this?

“ —— mr. miller, are you okay?
you're looking a little ... pale? “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer after a moment, she gently
pulled back and walked
around the desk once more
to take a seat, flashing him
a soft smile.

“ oh no, it's okay! it's not a
secret or anything, “
she explained, completely
misinterpreting his apology,
of course. he seemed ...
a little upset about +

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer + ago, “ she mumbled, all too
focused on the task at hand.
𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 ...

a small pause.

“ i don't know about her biological
parents, though. my guess is that
they didn't make it either. “

little did she know ...

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer she ... didn't have to ask.
she'd seen this before.
this and worse.

wandering over, she could see
how tense he was, causing
her to be extra careful as a
hand found his shoulder,
the other brushing a few
greying curls back to get
a better look.

“ no, he ... died a few years +

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer + at your ear again? just to be safe. “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer wow, he seemed really chatty
today! guess he was finally
opening up a little, how nice. ☺️!

in reaction to his compliment,
she gave a soft chuckle, head
shaking slightly as she got up.

“ well ... thank you. “
gotta try harder than that, joel.

“ mind if i take a look +

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer + flick of her wrist, another note.

“ right. how's your head?
a little better with the glasses? “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer had to know what ... ?

finally moving over, she flashed
him a smile before sitting down
to take a few notes.

“ oh, it's my daughter's birthday on
friday, “ she told him proudly,
“ frankie —— you must've seen
her around. sometimes she
delivers medication for me. “

another +

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@oldtiiimer a minute later, she returns
with a warm smile on her
face, quickly washing her
hands.

“ so sorry about that, i'm
here for you now! we've
got an important birthday
coming up, so a friend came
to drop something off.

how are you today, mr. miller? “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@miismilitary a soft chuckle slipped from her
brims as she gave her daughter's
arm a gentle squeeze, taking
another sip of her wine.

“ shh, i need you to act 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 ——
this is supposed to be a surprise ... “

a brief pause.
“ ... what if he says no?
what if he's not ready ... ? “

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@miismilitary trying to hide a nervous
smile behind her glass.

“ we've planned a date night
for tomorrow ... and i decided
that's when i'm going to ask him. “

𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦.

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@miismilitary taking a sip of her own.

there might be ...
one tiny thing.

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝓰old - he𝑎rted . @wlftorn]

@miismilitary that's true ...

so —— what's new? 😌