Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.
A/N: Hi again, I hope all you are okay and in good health. I want to thanks all the people that continue reading this story and make comment on it. We already pass half of it, so I hope you enjoy it so far. Sorry for any grammar mistake on the writhing as all you know by now English is no my langue and I not so good at writing. Anyway thank you again and let continue with the story.
Chapter 14: A Christmas gift
( A week later )
Marlene and Joel were now sitting inside a coffee shop that is in the center of the town.
"What exactly are we here?" say Joel while looking at the woman's face. "If you need something for me you could just call me or go to my house." Said Joel with a curious tone.
"Sorry, but I could not tell you this on the phone. I want to be sure that Ellie didn't hear this conversation. So I want to come here and talk to you in person before going to work," Marlene turns her head and looks outside through the glass window.
"So, what is it that you don't want Ellie to know about?" asked Joel more curiously now.
Marlene looks back at Joel and starts. "I have a very important appointment on Friday, so I have to go out of town for a few days."
Joel leaned forward and put his hand together. "Okay… it is something that does with your work? Because you could tell me that by phone."
Marlene lowers her head and looks at the table. "No, it is not about work… is about my condition. I have to go to Chicago to see a new doctor. They said that there is a new doctor that works with people with cancer, so they want me to go there and take some tests to see how they can help me."
"Oh, I see… well, that is good news. I hope all goes right, but I still think that you should tell Ellie about your condition. It is going to be harder for her when she finds out later."
Marlene looked up at him. "As I said before. I don't want Ellie to worry about that… at least not yet. She was little when her mother died, and I do not want her to suffer the same way with me. Not when she is starting to get better… from, you know."
"Okay… So you want me to watch Ellie while you're out of town?" He leaned back on the chair and look outside.
Marlene put her hand together and looked at him carefully. "Not exactly. I want you to take Ellie on a weekend trip to the mountain up north."
Joel looks clueless. "Okay, I think I lost you," said Joel, putting his hand together and put his arm on the table.
Marlene turns to the side and opens her purse. She looks there for a moment then takes out an envelope and puts it on the table. "My boss gives this as a Christmas gift for me and Ellie. Is a reservation for two in a resort in the mountains north of here." She grabs the envelope and opens it. " The place it is called 'Giants Ridge Recreation Area' I was going to use it as a Christmas gift for the weekend, but since I can't go with her now, I want you to take my place."
Joel opens his eyes wider. "Wait… you want me to take Ellie to this place and be with her alone in a room?" What happens with 'I do not like Ellie to stay with a man alone?' Joel mimicked her words from a week ago.
"I know… that I say that." she pauses for a moment. "And I still believe in that. It is not good for Ellie to spend a night with a man alone. But as I can't go, I change the reservation.
"Jeez, thanks for the vote of confidence. I promise you that I am not going to do anything with Ellie, so stop worrying about," said Joel, leaning back in his chair.
"Look, this is hard for me too, I am responsible for Ellie, and even though I want her to be happy, you are still older than her. I took a good risk on this too, since Ellie is a minor. You know what is going to happen to us if someone finds out about what we're doing here."
"Do you think that I don't know that? I want her to be happy too. I want to do the best for her, but sometimes things get a little complicated."
Marlene looks at him and sees the conflict in his eyes. She now that they love each other, even if in the eyes of the world they are wrong. "Look, I still want Ellie to go there and have a good time. I hope it was with me but..." Marlene put the papers back in the envelope and passed it to him.
Joel takes the envelope and looks at it. "I think it is good that you are trying to reconnect with Ellie again. So why don't you change the reservation and go with her another day?" say Joel looking at her now.
Marlene rolled her eyes. "Believe me I try, but they don't have any space available for later. Well not before the winter is over or that is what they said. So I wanted you to use it. Don't worry about the room. I already called them and asked to change the big room I have for two smaller ones. So that way, you two can sleep in different rooms when you go there."
"I see… So the reservation is for this weekend?"
"Yes. I have to fly to Chicago on Thursday afternoon, but you can come to the house the next day and pick up Ellie in the morning. I will talk to her tomorrow and let her know about the trip and that I will be out of town for the weekend. I know she will love to go with you more than with me, so I don't see any problem with her about that."
"Okay, and I hope everything goes well with you. I know that we're doing this just for Ellie, but I want you to know that if you need anything from me, just ask okay? I came back here for Ellie, but that does not mean that I don't wish you well."
Marlene looks at him and thinks. Maybe she was wrong about this man, he really cares a lot about Ellie and even though he is too old for her he will take good care of her when she is gone. That is why she wants all this to work out. "Thanks, I really appreciate your concern about me."
"Sure… you are still Ellie's only family and I know that Ellie is going to be really upset when… you are gone," Joel put the envelope in the pocket of his jacket. Anyway, I have a few things to do, so if this was all." Joel was about to get up when Marlene stopped him.
"One more thing. I really try hard to trust you with all this and I want to leave Ellie at your care. So please don't disappoint me in that decision. I really want this to work out, but I need your word that nothing is going to happen between Ellie and you."
Joel looks at her, knowing what she meant about that. "I already give you my word, that I am not going to do anything with Ellie. But, you know that Ellie already asks me questions about what we're? I talked to her and she told me that she will wait until she is 18, but she is a teenager and you know how difficult it is to control herself."
"Yeah I know, that's why I trust you to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. You're the adult one, so you know how to control the situation." Marlene goes up and gets out of the table. "Oh, I almost forget. You will introduce yourself to her uncle when you arrive there."
Joel looks at her with a surprised expression. "Her uncle? Don't you think that that will be a little suspicious?"
"Not as much as you showed up with her there and said that you two are just friends… not you think?" he said in a sarcastic way.
"I guess not… anyway, good luck with your appointment." Joel extends his hand toward her.
Marline took it. "Thank you… and make sure that Ellie has a good time… in the best innocent way, you know what I mean."
"I will… don't worry she will be in good hands." After that, both of them go out for dinner.
( Later that night )
Ellie was in her room and it was almost midnight. She was laying in her bed talking with Joel on the phone. They were trying to use the chat video but the signal was bad. "Can you see me now?" asked Ellie, trying to move the phone to another position.
"Not much… The signal just comes and goes. Why just not talk on the phone, like regular people. Besides, this video thing is not good for me. Now, is it late so you aren't able to sleep already?"
Ellie rolled her eyes. "I can't sleep, that is why we're on the phone right now remember? Besides I have to wait until my aunt goes to sleep to do this."
"Why? She knows that we talk on the phone a lot."
"Yeah… but she doesn't know about... you know… the kisses," she whispers the last part.
"And... you want to talk about that now?" the image of the phone gets cut again. But the audio is still on. "Shit, this thing is not working… Anyway, I thought that we already talked about that… and it is not good to mention that in your house with your aunt there… shit, not this again.."
Ellie laughed as she heard Joel cursing the phone again. "Is okay Joel I still hear you. Yeah, I know that we are not supposed to do that either… but I wanted to thank you for showing me how much you care for me."
"I am always going to care for you, no matter what. But you better get back to sleep now Ellie, is really late for this." Joel talks to her by phone before, but never this late. He was in bed too and he doesn't want this conversation to go south.
"I… know I should be sleeping, but I can't stop thinking of you. I know that I said that I will wait, but sometimes it is so hard… I want to be your girlfriend and be with you all the time. I don't even care if everybody knows it or doesn't like it."
Joel doesn't say anything for a few moments. "I know this is hard for you… but you know we can't do anything about it." Joel needs to make Ellie think of something else because this was affecting him too. "How things go with your aunt?" he tries to change the subject.
Ellie rolled her eyes knowing what he was trying to do. "I don't want to talk about that now… I just feel… remember that night we spend in the old cabin? When it was raining?"
"Ellie!"
"Just hear me out okay?" when Joel didn't answer back she continued. "Remember when you ask me why I get close to you during that night?" Ellie closed her eyes and started thinking on that night.
"I don't think this is the best time to talk about that… maybe is good if-"
She starts talking with a lower tone. "I lie… I told you that you were trembling from the cold and I want to warn you. But the thing was that I wanted to be close to you… feel your warm body… and-"
"Sorry I need to go… I have some work to do tomorrow and it is really late. Have a good night Ellie," he just hung on the phone and let Ellie speechless. The last thing he needs right now is to have that kind of conversation with her on the phone and on their bed.
"Joel!... Joel!" She looked at the phone and saw that the call was terminated. "Shit!" she lay back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. Her heart was beating faster now and her body felt hot too. "Fuck... now, how am I going to fall asleep?"
Joel, on the other hand, has to go to the bathroom and take care of business. He knows that talking with Ellie while being in bed was a bad idea, especially if you're not with a woman in a long time.
( Next day )
Ellie was on the kitchen table eating her breakfast. She was thinking about the night before and the conversation she was having with Joel. She feels embarrassed as she remembers what she was trying to do. She saw that in some of the movies she watched, but never thought of doing that herself. She never has a boyfriend before or anyone to love her, so all this was new for her.
Sometimes she has some dream about Joel touching her or they having sex. But she doesn't know why she wants to touch herself while talking to Joel by phone. She knows that hormones are strong on girls her age, but she needs to control herself if this thing with Joel is going to work out for them.
"Ellie! Are you listening to me?" asked Marlene for the third time.
Ellie snaps out of her thoughts and looks at her aunt. "Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night and… sorry, you're saying?"
Marline looks at her trying to see what can be wrong with her. "Is everything alright? Did you take your pills?"
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Yes… I did and yes, I'm fine, just a little tired."
"Okay… but if you need something or need to talk about anything, just let me know okay?"
Ellie looks at her not knowing if this was a good time for this but she needs to know how she feels about the thing between Joel and her. "Well, I have a question that I wanted to ask you since Joel came back."
"Oh…" Marlene grabs her cup of coffee and takes a sip. "What do you want to know about that?"
"I want to know your opinion about Joel and me being together? And not just as a friend."
Marlene took another sip of her coffee before answering that. "Well, we already talked about this before. But if you want my honest opinion, I can try to give you one. Joel is way older than you and is wrong for an old man to fall for girls your age. But I can see that he cares about you a lot. But, besides that, you're still a minor so you can't be together like… you know together, together. I will be okay if you two are friends until you turn 18 after that is going to be legal for you two be like…" she doesn't even want to think about that. Yeah, Joel makes her happy, but imaging Joel with her nice… is another thing. "You get the picture… right?"
"So… you're okay with us… be you know…"
"I talk to Joel and he promises me to wait until you're 18. If you promise the same… So I think it is after you if you like to stay with him like that. But I'm going to tell you that it is going to be hard for both of you, especially to Joel. People don't like old men being with girls so young, and even if it's going to be legal… people are going to judge you both for that."
"I don't care about what people said… I love Joel and he loves me and that is not body business," said Ellie crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"You may say that now, but when you go to college and people start to ask you about your life. What are you going to say to them? That is why I want you two to think about this before you decide anything."
"Wait... College? You want me to go to college?"
"Yes… you're going to college young lady. I already talked to Joel about that too."
"Oh… cool, now you two are planning my life together? You don't think that I have something to say about that too?" Ellie looked to the side with a mad face.
"Look, you need a good education Ellie, and that is not negotiable, but we can talk about later okay." Marlene stands up and walks to the sink and puts the cup there. "I need to go to work, but before that, I have a gift for you," she said, trying to calm things up.
Ellie looked at her with curious eyes now. "A gift… but Christmas is in two weeks?"
"Yeah I know but this one, it needs to be used this weekend. So it is better to give it to you now," Marlene grabs her purse and takes out the flayer with the information about the resort.
"This weekend?" said Ellie while standing up and walking to the sink and put her plate inside.
"Yeah, this weekend… Marlene walks close to her and passes her the flayer. It is a weekend stay in a resort called 'Giants Ridge Recreation Area' you can ski there and do other things, I think it is going to be fun."
Ellie looks at the flayer. "Wow… this looks nice… thanks," she said, a little disappointed. It is not that she won't like the gift, but she was hoping to spend the weekend with Joel.
"You don't like it?" Marlene asked as soon she saw the expression on Ellie's face while she examined the paper.
Ellie looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah… I do. It sounds like fun… thank you."
"Yeah, but you sound like you don't want to go?"
Ellie looks at her and gets sorry for being like that with her aunt. She knows that she is trying her best to connect with her again and she likes that. "Sorry about that. And of course, I want to go. I know it is going to be fun, besides I have never skied before so it is going to be great."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that, because Joel will be disappointed if you did not want to go." it was a little sad to see her face as she thought that it was a trip for the two of them. But it was good to see her face now with a new expression.
"Joel?" She put on a happy face. "You mean that I am going to this place with Joel for the weekend?"
"Yeah, that is the plan. I have to go out of town for the weekend, so I can't go with you. So I talk to Joel and ask him if he can take you instead of me."
"Really!"
"Yeah, really. I have some conditions of course, but we can talk about all that tonight."
"Ahhh… thank you." Ellie moves at her and hugs her. "Thank you so much… I will do whatever you want… thank you… thank you."
"I was hoping to go with you… but I think that you will like better going with Joel."
Ellie moves away from the hug feeling bad about it. "Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I don't want to go with you."
"Is okay Ellie, I just want you to be happy and if being with him makes you happy I'm good with that."
"Thanks…" Ellie moves forward and hugs her again. "Maybe we can go at another time… just the two of us and have some fun too."
"I will love that… very much," said Marlene hugging her back.
( Later that day )
Joel was in his shed cutting some wood plank for a job he needs to finish before the weekend comes. He finished cutting the part he was working on when he saw someone standing at the entrance of the shed.
"Hey… what are you doing here?" asked Joel as soon Ellie started walking inside.
"What! I can't come to see my... boyfriend?" She made some gestures with her hand in the boyfriend's words.
Joel takes off his working glasses and puts them on the table. "Did your aunt bring you? Because it is passing noon and she is supposed to be working by now."
"No, I walked here," she answers him while getting close to him.
Joel rolled his eyes. "Shit… Ellie, I told you to call me every time you wanted to come here. I don't like you walking here through the forest in this weather. Well, I didn't like it before either, but-" he stops when Ellie put her finger in his lips to silence him.
Then she moves up a little and gives him a small kiss on the lips. "Is okay… no need to worry about it. Besides, I need the walk." she looks at his expression. "What? You didn't like the kiss?"
Joel smiled at that. "No, is not that… is just that... it feels so strange."
"What... the kiss?"
Joel moves his hand and starts passing them on Ellie's arms. "No… well, yeah… but is no only that, is all this; me you, this whole together thing… it feels… I don't know, unreal."
Ellie's expression becomes worse now. "Please don't tell me that you're having a change of thought about all this?"
Joel looked at her eyes and saw a few tears coming out. "No, of course not." he grabs her arms and pulls her closer. "I love you and nothing is going to change that." he hugs her.
Ellie hugs him back. "Shit Joel, don't scare me like that."
"Sorry, I don't mean to scare you… it is that sometimes it scares me to lose you if something happens." he lowers his head and kisses her on the top of her head.
Ellie closes her eyes and enjoys his closeness. She can feel his warm body, even with all the clothes they both have on them and it makes her feel good. She starts to remember their time on the lake and the conversation the other night and starts to feel strange on the inside. They stay like that for a few minutes before they move apart.
"So what are you working on today?" she asked, trying to take her mind out of those thoughts.
"I need to finish two doors for a client before the weekend comes," he says, moving close to the table.
Ellie smiles at that and moves closer to him. "So you know?" she said very excitedly, then remembered that her aunt told her that she already talked to him. "Oh.. right. My aunt told me that she spoke with you first about the trip."
Joel turned his head and looked at her. "You're talking about the resort?" Joel grabs his work glasses and puts them on and resumes his work.
"Yeah… is not that cool?" Ellie starts moving around the room, with a smile on her face. "That is so great, my aunt gave it to me as a Christmas gift. Wow… I was expecting something else, but this is much better."
Joel stops cutting and looks at her again. She was still jumping around like a small child. "You know that I'm supposed to be your uncle up there… right?"
Ellie stops and looks at him. "Yeah, my aunt told me. But I don't even care. We're going to spend the weekend in a hotel… alone. Is not that fantastic?"
"Yeah, I think it is cool, but you know that we can't… do anything there, right?"
"If you talking about sex, don't worry I not going to try to rape you or anything, so you can feel safe with me."
Joel rolled his eyes. "Yeah… that will be nice. We only go there to have a little fun and enjoy the place. So, not touching, no kissing-"
"What? Ahhh… c'mon you're taking all the fun part out," she said while moving her arm up and moving around.
"I mean it… Ellie. The last thing we need is someone to see us doing something and call the cops."
Ellie moves close to him and hugs him from behind. "Don't worry Joel, I will be good, I promise."
"Okay… now do you want to help me?"
Ellie moves away and smiles. "Sure what you want me to do?"