Once again for like the tenth time, thank you for all the support and love :)
Now here's the next drabble :)
I own nothing.
She was tired of him telling her later. Later, later, later. He was never going to say it outright. He was always going to avoid the subjects. She knew that they were fighting about her. She knew that Joel was going to get rid of her. It was understandable; why would he want to keep the person who became a burden on him? Why would keep the one person who ended up killing probably the only woman he's ever loved since his wife? Why would he keep someone that was only going to remind him or his daughter? Ellie paced around as she kicked the same rock over and over again; trying to find something else to think about other than the way Joel had looked at her before she walked off. He looked upset, but there was something in his eyes that made her think otherwise. She kicked the rock hard as it rolled away into a bush. Why was this making her so mad?
"Fuck!" she shouted to the air as she kicked another rock.
He was going to leave her. He was going to abandon her just like everyone else. She could feel hot tears rolling down her cheeks but she wiped them away roughly. Fine, if he wanted to get rid of her so badly, she'll just do it for him. She walked over to where Tommy's people were keeping the horses. No one was around as she looked over one of the horses. She pets its long face and moved her hand along its side as she walked next to the saddle. As she pulled herself up on the horse, she pulled on the reigns and trotted out of dam site. But someone had seen her and pointed at her.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Ellie looked back and kicked the side of the horse, making it run faster out of the area. She could hear them yelling but they soon faded into the blowing wind that was going past her ears. She wanted to be away from there. She could feel tears coming down again, but she wiped them away.
"Don't start crying Ellie. Don't you start crying…" she told herself as she galloped further into the forest.
She didn't know where she was going or where she was going to end up. The horse kept running in whatever direction it pleased, going through smaller paths and gliding across small ponds. When she passed through what looked like various tree houses, she saw heads poke out from the corners and the glint of silver from guns bounce off the from the sunlight. She urged to go faster as they began taking shots at her. The horse started sprinting from the sound of the shots, making the small girl hold on tighter to the reigns. They managed to get out of there without a scratch or bullet wound. The horse kept running until Ellie saw a ranch house from the corner of her eye. She slowed the horse down gently as it slowly trotted over to the house. It was still in good shape, with the foundation still sturdy and a whole roof over it.
Ellie tied up the horse and walked inside. She was quiet at first, making sure that no one was hiding in there. But there were no creaking wood planks or the feeling of another person in the house. Just wind blowing through the empty halls. Ellie walked around the first floor absently. Once she knew she was safe, her mind wandered back to the one person who has been with her for the past few months. What did she do wrong? She did everything he said and never argued… that much. But shouldn't be a reason to just drop her like a rock right? Was everything that happened between them all in her mind? Was he just faking everything?
"But… that doesn't make sense…" she said to herself as she walked up the old staircase.
If he didn't care about her, why did he try and teach her how to swim? Or how to shoot the rifle right? Or when he risked his life to find her things for a newly discovered lady days? What if it was all just because he had to and not because he wanted to? But then… what about the night they danced to that song on the jukebox? And when he let her try smore's for the first time? That all couldn't have been just because he had to. He had to have cared about her at least a little bit right? As she got to the top step, she started wandering through the many different rooms that house had. They looked intact, just messy and covered in a layer of dust. It looked as if the family just got up and left without a word to anyone.
"You can't just abandon me like that Joel…" she sighed as she closed one of the doors.
It wasn't the fact that he wanted to get rid of her that was the problem. She got it; she messed up his life even more by just strolling in and killing his friend. But if he was going to just give her off to someone else, then he shouldn't have let her get close to him. He should've kept his distance from her. Then she remembered what Maria was telling her about Joel's daughter, Sarah. She had sort of known who she was, but she didn't know that she had died at her age. But at least she died human… yet that thought didn't comfort her like it did for everyone else she lost, even if she didn't know Sarah directly. He must've seen Sarah in Ellie. But Ellie wasn't Sarah; she was able to take care of herself. She knew how to handle a gun and since she couldn't get infected, it was like a bonus. So if he was worried about her safety and thought that giving her to someone would guarantee that safety, then he couldn't be any more wrong. She wanted to stay with him. She was used to him, and could honestly admit to herself, she had grown attached to him.
When she opened the room at the end of the hall, it was a girl's room. It glowed golden pink from the setting sun. Clothes and the usual debris covered the floor. Old posters of movies and teen singers were peeling off the walls, while stuffed animals on the made bed and sitting space next to the window. Ellie rolled her eyes as she looked around. It was strange to think that this was what girl's spent their time thinking about. She saw a book on the nightstand next to the bed and picked it up. But she didn't want to read it yet. Her mind was still too clouded from everything. Joel wanted her gone. But she wanted to stay. She felt safe with him. She felt fearless with him around. Maybe she it was better to read this girl's diary; clear her mind for a little bit. As she read through the pages, she made a look of confusion. Again, was this really all girl's worried about back then?
"Ellie?" she heard someone call her from downstairs.
She had grinned to herself. It was only a matter of time before Joel would come chasing after her. Those men from back at Tommy's must've said something. She didn't say anything at first. When she heard him call her name again, she responded and waited for him to come up the stairs.
"Time to face the music…" she said quietly as she heard the door slowly open.
He had told her that they were going to go separate ways. Joel didn't want to, but he knew that she was going to be better off with Tommy. He knew everything better and would probably get her there faster. Yet as they cleared the way from the men that followed them from before, and were getting back on the horses, watch her walk away from him without a second glance, made his heart sink. She looked down the entire time they were riding back to Tommy's. As he followed behind, he realized something that he knew that his brother would never understand. No matter how he looked at it, he had taken responsibility for her. He had found something new to fight for; and he wasn't going to let that go.
As they both rode away from Tommy's after Joel told him what he needed to do, it was quiet before Ellie spoke.
"Hey Joel? Sorry for running off."
"That's ok Ellie." He responded as he felt her hand grip the back of his shirt.
They weren't going to go separate ways; and both of them were completely content about that.
