❝alone or not,
you gotta walk forward.❞
━ Cecelia Ahern

SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2013. It was a day that mankind would never be allowed to forget. 26th of September used to be a special day for the Miller family ━ the day to celebrate the birthday of a very special father and husband. The family used to be small, composed of Joel Miller and Tommy Miller. Julia Abel knew the two brothers from their childhood, living across the street from the two. Over the years, the two families had been close. Julia became family to the Miller family, but then came a high school fling for Joel and a daughter named Sarah. It had been no secret that Julia had a budding crush on the older Miller, but she backed off when she realized that Joel was family with his highschool sweetheart. Yet, she remained in their lives.

It was 2001 and teenage pregnancy was almost unheard of in their small religious town, causing most of the townsfolk to alienate the two teens. Despite countless warnings and threats from outsiders, Julia continued to be Joel's friend. When Sarah was born, Julia had instantaneously fallen in love and vowed to always be there for them. Due to their close friendship and Julia's endless support, she had been made the Godmother. But, Julia couldn't stay.

After high school, Julia had to leave. Due to her high marks and excellent leadership in the community, she had been awarded with a full-ride scholarship to pursue her doctorate in nursing. She was gone for almost six years, but she kept in touch with the Miller family throughout the years. Julia kept her promise and had always been there for Joel. She was there when his parents had died. She was there when his high school sweetheart left him behind with a broken heart. She had been there when Sarah had started preschool. She was there when Joel and Tommy opened their own contracting business. She was always there for him ━ the good, the bad, and the ugly.

It was September 26th, 2007 when Julia had decided to move in with Joel and Sarah. Tommy had thrown a surprise party for Joel and of course, Julia had been invited. She expressed her issues with her landlord and right then and there, Joel convinced her to move in. After all, money was tight and the best choice was to split the bills and there was no one else in the world that Joel trusted more than Julia. She became a part of their lives and routine, making it brighter and meaningful. Eventually, Joel fell in love for the woman who always held him in her heart.

In 2010, the two had gotten married and Julia Abel became Julia Miller. They had invited everyone ━ including all eighty-six members of Julia's extended family. Though, Julia only cared for one person. Julia had always been close to her younger sister, Marlene. Despite the six-year difference in their age, the two were more similar than they would like to admit. At first, Marlene had not been accepting of Julia's relationship with Joel ━ reminding the older woman that she had pined after him for years but he had never reciprocated her feelings. But, then she saw how perfect Julia fit in with Sarah and Joel. She didn't have a choice but to give her blessing. Though, Marlene couldn't stick around ━ the nineteen-year-old left for Boston to follow her dreams.

Eventually, 2013 rolled around and life was good for the Miller family. Julia worked as a DNP at the local hospital, becoming one of the leaders that all the nurses looked up to. Joel and Tommy's contracting business was booming with new jobs coming in every other day. And, Sarah was getting good grades in school and played soccer for the school's team. Yet, the good news didn't stop there. On one fateful day in March, Julia found out she was expecting. The Miller family would soon have a new addiction joining them, expanding their already perfect family. But, all good things must come to an end. It was September 26th, 2013 when the world was engulfed in chaos ━ the day Julia Miller would never forget.

━ ━ ━

JULIA MILLER
played by DANAI GURIRA

❝and before you even realize it,
it is all too late now. the moments and
precious smiles are all gone, and there is
nothing you can do to take them back.
fading yesterdays are the only thing
that is left, in the end.❞
━ lukas w.

+

ELENA CASTRO
played by SOFIA CARSON

❝I still believe in magic and
soulmates, and the possibility that this
world is not as cruel as it seems.❞
━ velvetwriting

+

ROSE GRIMALDI
played by ZOË KRAVITZ

❝we were both created in chaos,
we were both born to destroy.
you were like death, and I was
like war. and where we collided,
darling, I loved you.❞
━ k.a.

+

Supporting Cast
Ashley Johnson as Ellie Williams
Troy Baker as Joel Miller
Antony Azor as Adam Miller
+ the rest of TLOU cast as themselves

━ ━ ━

DISCLAIMER.
I do not own TLOU or any of its characters.
They belong to their respective owners. I,
however, do own my own characters, my plot
line, and my writing! Remember, plagiarism
is illegal and can be punishable by law.
Plus, stealing is not cool at all! 😔

WARNINGS.
Strong Language, Violence/Gore,
Sexual Themes, Torture,
Sexism/Racism, Deaths, Triggers
(e.g. Depression, PTSD, Anxiety, etc.)

If any of these trigger you, please
do not read this fic. My inbox is always
open if anyone needs to talk. ❤️

DEDICATION.
I want to dedicate this story to dearpaixao for
listening to me ramble about this book for
months! I am sure I annoyed her so much, but
thank you for listening and reading my stuff!

I, also, want to dedicate this book to smolderholders and starkvader for always being so supportive! I absolutely love these gals with all my heart and I wouldn't be where I am without them! ❤️

NOTE.
I have been hinting at this book for months, but it is finally here! Originally, it was supposed to come out last year and I was supposed to have Act One done before the second part came out but then life got in the way and I wasn't able to! However, I am here now and so excited to share this fic with you all! I have a bunch of stuff already pre-written so it should be easy to post chapters!

I have to admit that this fic will be darker than my usual ones! It won't be sunshine and rainbows, but just blood and gore instead. But, there will be some good moments!

Okay, so this story is a little different than my other stories. I am technically going to be telling four stories in this book, but they're all important to me! Act One will have two stories ━ one in the past that follows Joel, Julia, and Adam and one in the "present" day of the first game which follows Joel, Julia, and Ellie. It will be alternating chapters, so I am super excited for that! Act Two will start off as an AU and go into second game, following Elena and Ellie's story. Act Three will start off as an AU and follow Rose and Abby's story. I am honestly so excited to write everything! I have some bits pre-written, but I have changed up a lot of stuff so I need to rework / rewrite some parts. But, I am so excited and I hope you all are too!

IMPORTANT DATES.
START DATE ━ 06.21.2020
END DATE ━ TO BE ANNOUNCED.