AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, I want to thank all of you for reading this story. I've been working my butt off writing it and it makes me happy knowing there are actually people enjoying it.
Secondly, I wanted to warn you that this is the chapter introducing Esther - Joel's love interest. I based her off of someone I know in my own personal life. I hope she becomes a character you can admire or at the very least, come to terms with.
And as always, any critique is greatly appreciated! Thank you and enjoy!
Chapter 4.
Ellie turned the page.
She sat cross legged on her bed, silently rereading one of her comic books in her lap. It was starting to show the wear and tear on each page from the overuse; the Savage Starlight title looking far more faded, wrinkle lines crisscrossing the cover.
Her cheek rested against her knuckles, her lungs taking in a deep breath. Glancing over at the clock on her nightstand, she sighed, pushing her lips together and making them vibrate as she exhaled. She hated how slow the time was passing. They had only been home barely an hour – just long enough to eat and shower – but it to her it might as well have been six.
And she was getting increasingly bored.
"Well how do I look?" A sudden, raspy voice came from the doorway.
She looked up to see Joel wearing a freshly cleaned pair of jeans and a golden-colored, button-down shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows and the top button undone. His beard and hair were both noticeably trimmed back, making him look cleaner than she had ever remembered seeing him. He was actually kind of handsome.
"Damn…you clean up nice," Ellie grinned, her eyes lighting up at the sight.
He smiled.
"Yeah, not bad for an old timer, huh?"
Ellie shook her head.
"Not at all. I think gold's definitely your color."
"Well, let's hope Esther thinks so," he laughed nervously.
Ellie blinked – her smile and the light from her eyes both instantly fading at the mention of the unknown woman's name.
"What time are you seeing her, again?" She quickly blurted out.
"Eh, prolly not for a while yet. I jus' wanted to be sure I looked presentable."
Her freckled face scrunched in confusion.
"Why the hell does that matter?"
Joel raised a brow, wondering why she would ask such a question. To him, it had always been just a part of life; an expected behavior. There seemed to be an obvious answer, but he couldn't quite explain it. He gave her a candid answer, as if to avoid that question.
"You'll understand someday."
Ellie rolled her eyes at that vague response.
"What-ever."
A brief silence came between them. Joel fumbled through his thoughts to bring up another topic of conversation.
"So…didja figure out what y'er doin' tonight?"
Ellie smirked, leaning back and propping herself up by her arms.
"Oh yeah, I was thinking about havin' a house party. You know – boys, alcohol, spin the bottle..."
Joel scoffed.
"No drugs?"
"Oh fuck yeah! Hard-core drugs."
They both laughed. There, again, was that sense of humor they both shared – their sarcasm – in tune with one another.
She shrugged; their laughter fading.
"Nah, I dunno what the fuck I'm gonna do. I guess I'll figure something out."
"Well a'right," he nodded.
"But listen," he began, walking towards her bedside. His voice was noticeably more serious.
"I'd really appreciate it if you'd meet Esther…when she gets here."
Ellie's brow scrunched.
"She's coming here?" she asked, a tone of resentment coming through.
"Yeah," he confessed.
"What…why?" She squinted up at him.
She seemed more confused than angry, which was, at least partly relieving to him.
"Well," he sighed, sitting at the end of her bed.
"She lives over by the town hall. And we were plannin' on headin' to one a' the gardens ta pick some food 'n then head down to that pond near the edge a' town."
"Like a picnic?" Ellie suddenly chirped up, looking at him with an inquisitive stare.
It brought a hefty smirk to Joel's lips.
"Yeah. Like a picnic."
A somber glaze fell over Ellie's face as she looked down at the creased lines of her comic book pages. That idea of a picnic by the lake sounded somewhat cliché, but she knew that a small part of her yearned for that kind of experience. It was something she wished she could have done in her life.
Something she wished she could have done with Riley.
"Well, when she comes by I'll meet her," Ellie said, quickly repressing the thought.
Joel nodded, understanding.
"Jus' try ta be polite. For me." He spoke softly, as if his words playfully begged at her conscience.
"No promises," she said at last, smirking.
He laughed, leaning over and pulling her into a hug.
"That's all I can ask."
She hugged him back, nuzzling her face into his chest when a strange scent of spices hit her nostrils.
Taking in a deep sniff of this new aroma, she smiled.
"Oooh, you smell good."
She sniffed again.
"What is that," she demanded, pressing her nose harder into his shirt.
Joel snorted.
"It's uh, a cologne I borrowed from Tommy. Figured I'd try it out tonight. Ya like it?"
She nodded, pulling back to look up at him, eyes beaming.
"I love it."
"Well good. Maybe I won't smell like an old man for once," he smirked.
"Oh, you're still an old man," she scoffed.
"But you're my old man."
Those words brought him a smile. He knew he was getting later in years, but it was times like this that kept him feeling young. She might not have been his daughter by blood, but even he knew that family could go far beyond that. This fiery, red-haired girl was just as much of a daughter to him as Sarah had been. And whenever she said stuff like that that suggested she accepted him back as a father, he couldn't help but feel at least a touch of happiness.
"Damn right," he murmured, hugging her tight.
Nestling her face back into the fabric of his shirt, Ellie hugged him back, relishing his paternal embrace before he eventually pulled away.
"Well, I'm 'unna go finish washin' the dishes," he said, standing up.
"I'll holler when Esther gits here."
"Mmkay," Ellie nodded.
Joel made his way to her doorway before Ellie's voice stopped him again.
"Joel?"
"Hm?" he paused, turning back over his shoulder.
She hesitated for a moment, eyes searching the floor for the right words. Looking back up at him with an earnest gaze, she smiled.
"Don't be out too late."
Joel smiled faintly, looking at her with knowing eyes.
"I won't."
The two exchanged one last smile before he turned and left, leaving her with those reassuring words echoing in her head.
He knew she didn't like to be left alone.
Knock-knock-knock.
"Ell-lay?" Joel hollered.
"Yeah?" she called back from her bedroom.
"That's Esther. C'mon down now," he said, making his way towards the front door.
"'Kay – be right there!"
Ellie stood facing her mirror. She stared at her own reflection as she reached up to her pony tail. Pulling on the little, elastic band, it slid down until it popped free, releasing her auburn locks. As her hair fell down, it brushed against the back of her neck, laying in such a way that gave her an almost entirely new face. She tilted her head to one side, studying the look as if pondering leaving it like this.
Maybe she could do without the ponytail for once.
"Ell-lay!" Joel hollered again.
She quickly snapped back to reality, pulling her hair taught again and hurriedly putting it back into the familiar ponytail.
"Coming!" she yelled back.
"Alright. Here we go," she whispered to herself.
"Endure and Survive."
Ellie hurried down the steps, hearing Joel's laughter echoing from the living room. Then, hearing the faint sound of a woman's voice alongside his, she began to hesitate, slowing down as she reached the last few steps.
"Ah, there she is," Joel said as she hopped off the last step.
"Here I am," she replied, shrugging.
Stepping back, Joel gestured towards the woman standing near the door.
"Ellie – this is Esther."
Looking up, Ellie paused momentarily, almost taken aback by the slender figure.
After everything she had imagined – or even feared – about this woman, the reality was astonishingly plain:
A flowery, off-white dress, shoulder-length, chocolate-brown hair and light, sun-kissed skin that showed the faintest signs of aging.
"Hi," the woman greeted, giving a faint wave of her palm.
Her voice was reminiscent of Tess, but with a distinctly more delicate nature. Her rounded face beamed a grin through a pair of small, perky lips – drawing out a pair of dimples from either side of her mouth. Rounded, mossy-green eyes were lit up, holding a genuine enthusiasm that caught Ellie just slightly off-guard.
"Uh, hey," Ellie responded with her best attempt at a polite smile.
"So you're the one Joel talks about all the time," Esther smirked.
"Uh, I guess?" Ellie shrugged, not entirely sure about what that meant, but the statement triggered her intuition.
She immediately began scanning Esther's expression, searching for something; anything that would suggest falseness or hidden intentions.
She needed a reason to not trust her.
"Well he told me you like jokes," she said, her smile giving way to a more playful frame.
Ellie nodded, keeping a politely platonic expression.
"Yeah, I do. Joel told me the one about eating clocks already, though."
"Of course he did," she said, shooting him a playful squint.
"Well, then tell me if you've heard this one," she said, clearing her throat.
"Why do trees look suspicious on sunny days?"
Ellie squinted through a smile, momentarily waiting for the punchline.
"Why?"
"Because they're shady!" Esther squeaked, giving an overzealous grin.
Ellie snorted. She couldn't help but find the humor in the silliness of that pun. Even Joel gave way to a laugh, leaving Esther looking rather pleased with herself.
Ellie felt a strange sense of comfort rise out of her fading laughter, unsure of where it was coming from.
"No, I haven't heard that before," Ellie conceded.
"That's a good one."
"Yeah, I got it from a joke book," Esther said.
Ellie raised a brow, her eyes suddenly glowing with a child-like fervor.
"You have a joke book?"
"Mmhm," Esther nodded.
"It's a pretty good one, too. It's got all kinds of puns, riddles, knock-knock jokes…You can borrow it sometime if you'd like."
"Yeah! That'd be great!" Ellie blurted out, immediately biting her lip. Hearing her own words, she quickly realized how overly enthusiastic they probably sounded.
She quickly softened her tone.
"Mine's getting kinda old," she admitted.
"Well I'll bring mine next time for you then," Esther said, a confident warmth in her tone.
Ellie looked up at her with a faint look of wonder. She kept waiting for there to be something strange about her – some tell-tale sign of deception that Ellie could pick up on.
But there was nothing.
She seemed to be just how Joel had described her: witty, pretty, and kind.
Almost like a mother.
Ellie nodded, unaware of how wide her smile had become.
"Okay."
Esther smiled back, her face just barely flushing a shade of pink that hinted at a shyness underneath. Ellie watched the purity of that gesture unfold before Joel interjected himself into the conversation.
"Well, uh…we best git goin'," he said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah – you're probly right," Esther nodded.
"But it was nice meeting you, Ellie," she said, extending a hand out to her.
"Yeah. You too," Ellie said, still staring up at her with a child-like curiosity.
As Ellie took her hand, she was silently taken aback. Her fingers slid around Ellie's palm, almost in a supportive manner, surprising her with a tender warmth she hadn't known in years. Ellie's hand effortlessly melted into her touch as she guided their hands up and down. It was almost like she was used to interacting with kids.
It was almost like she was a mother.
Ellie reluctantly let her hand go, as if wanting to make the contact last just a second longer.
Opening the door, Joel held it open as he turned to Ellie.
"Now don't burn the house down, a'right?" he said through a sarcastic smirk.
Ellie scoffed at his words.
"No promises."
Esther suppressed a giggle at the two of them.
"Bye Ellie," she waved.
"Bye." Ellie replied, lifting her hand for a lazy wave back.
Joel held the door open for Esther as she walked out before reaching over to Ellie for a side-hug.
"Bye baby-girl," he murmured, leaning down to give her hair a quick kiss. The feeling of his prickly whiskers tickled her forehead, forcing another grin onto her lips.
"Bye Joel," she whispered back, giving his waist a squeeze.
And with that, he left, closing the door with a click of the knob.
And there Ellie was – home alone. Again.
She sighed, leaning a shoulder against the banister of the stairwell. She silently stared at the floor as the memory of the last few minutes circled through her mind.
Esther wasn't at all what she was expecting – but that, she quickly realized, was a good thing. After everything she had been through in life, she had come to expect the worst from people. From Boston through Salt Lake City, hunters, cannibals and infected seemed to be the only things left in a world devoid of hope, with almost nothing behind that was worth saving. And even when she did find someone, they always wound up dying or leaving her. Joel remained the one person that didn't – and she held onto that thought.
He, quite literally, was the one person who had stayed by her; the one person who made her feel like she wasn't entirely alone. He might have been just some random stranger at first – another ordinary person among countless others she had run into in life. But even then, she knew he was different. And over the course of their time together, she figured out why:
She knew she could trust him.
And if he could trust Esther, then maybe - at some point - Ellie could trust her too.
Maybe there was still some good left in the world.