"Baby girl, you're gonna need to let me look at the damage." He tried to keep his voice as gentle as possible. The broken girl before him shook her head violently, causing her head to spin.

"I know how hard this must be for you.." He started, a single hand hesitantly reaching out to grasp her shoulder gently. She flinched, causing his heart to drop to the pit of his stomach.

His mind flashed back to when he had found her covered in David's blood. Her clothes were tattered, her eyes wide with fear as she sobbed into her knees. She looked so helpless, so scared. He had never felt such hatred until he realized what the sick bastard had put Ellie through. It was clear what he had done. Beaten her, tortured her and.. He couldn't even think about it.

Shaking his head, he tried to clear away the thoughts as he placed her battered face in his rough palms. "You trust me, right?" His eyes were filled with hope, almost afraid of her answer.

"Yes." She whispered in return, green eyes filled with un-shed tears. "Then let me help you." And with that, she nodded.

He hated this. He hated putting her through this. Gripping the hem of her shirt, he gently pulled it over her head.

Her white, pale skin was covered with red gashes, purple bruises and burns. He felt his stomach turn at the sight before him. Letting out a deep breath through his nostrils, he watched as she closed her eyes shut. Oh, this hurt him more than she knew. Some bruises looked like fingerprints, and this boiled Joel's blood. He knew this wasn't the end to her injuries. And just thinking of all she went through made him feel as if he might be sick to his stomach.

"Okay, I'm gonna need to pull your jeans down, alright?" He gulped, watching her auburn hair bounce as she nodded in understanding. Hesitantly, he un buttoned her jeans and slowly pulled them down to her ankles. Her bottom half was no different from the top. She had been tortured over and over. Her wounds proved this.

"Oh, baby girl.." He tried to be strong for her.

And so, he got to work. He disinfected and applied cream to as many wounds as he could. It took him about two hours to nurse every single place, but he soon found his hard work had payed off.

Ellie had kept her eyes shut the entire time, only muttering a curse word here and there when something stung; or he wrapped the gauze too tight.

"We need to let the cuts breathe a bit." He said, moving over to grab one of his big shirts. "Wear this for tonight; it won't be as tight and hopefully, it won't irritate them further."

"What about my jeans?" She mumbled, a single hand reaching out to grab his shirt.

"You can wear some of my boxers, alright?" He gave her an encouraging nod before handing them over as well.

Out of respect for Ellie, he turned his back as she changed. Even though he had just seen her half naked, he felt like it was the right thing to do.

"Okay." She muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

He watched with sad eyes as she made her way over to the rotten mattress.

Lowering herself down onto it, she pulled her knees to her chest and shivered.

Sighing, he moved over to grab a blanket he had found earlier in the day. Moving over towards the girl, he gently placed it on top of her before climbing onto the bed with her.

He couldn't help but think that if he had showed up sooner, she wouldn't have had to go through as much pain. Sighing, his right hand raised to rub his throbbing forehead.

As if Ellie could read his mind, she spoke up. "You couldn't have done anything." Her voice was low. It lacked feeling. It was as if she was dead; numb.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head, wishing he could steal away her pain and harbor it for himself.

"I know."

"Can I..?" He didn't have a chance to finish, Ellie knew what he was going to propose. "Yes." Was all she said before scooting over closer to him and laying her head on his chest. He was so warm.

Sighing, she let herself melt into his comforting embrace. Her tiny fingers began to play with the fabric of his shirt, pulling and twisting it. Her mind was beginning to wander, and Joel noticed this.

"I was thinking we could just rest tomorrow." He broke her thoughts, and Ellie was thankful for this.

"I'm fine to keep going."

"No you're not." His voice was stern, yet gentle.

Letting out a huff of air, Ellie found it impossible to hold back the tears any longer. Letting out a loud sob, she clutched onto Joel tighter.

"Shhh..." He soothed, one hand wrapping around her waist, and the other stroking her auburn hair. "I'm here.. You're safe now. It's all going to be okay."

Her tears soaked his shirt, and he didn't seem to mind. His hand moved in small circles on her back,.

"I hate him! I hate him!" She screamed into Joel's chest, her fingers turning white from her tight grip on the cloth of Joel's shirt.

"I do too.." He admitted through clenched teeth. If David hadn't already been dead when he arrived, he would have bashed his head in.

"You're gonna be alright. I promise." That was a promise Joel wasn't sure he could keep.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed this! There will be more chapters! Stay tuned!