Chapter 3

The moment the words left Joel's mouth, he wanted to take them back. What was he thinking, offering to drive around a kid he barely knew? She was going to think he wanted to abduct her.

"Really?" Ellie's wide grin cut off his thoughts. "Cool!" She ran to the passenger door and yanked it open before climbing inside. Joel stared at her silhouette in his truck, momentarily stunned. Ellie leaned over and honked the horn, which made him jump. "C'mon, let's go!"

Joel muttered to himself as he stomped over to the car. "Maybe try a little patience, kid." He admonished as he pulled out of his driveway.

"I haven't eaten in ten hours. This is patience." Ellie retorted. She gazed around the truck. "This thing is so old." She said as she knocked on the glove compartment where the paint was peeling off, "Does it ever break down?"

Joel pointedly ignored her comments, "You shouldn't get in a stranger's car like this. It's dangerous. What if I wanted to kidnap you?"

Ellie's bright green eyes were unimpressed as she glanced at him, "We were just standing in front of your house, and you didn't do crap. You don't look like the type of dude to own a lake house either." She gestured toward his flannel shirt and worn jeans, "So I'm not sure where you'd be taking me."

Joel breathed deeply. Ellie grinned. "Glad I'm right." She leaned forward and grabbed the little cardboard tree dangling from the mirror, "What's that?"

"Air freshener." Joel replied.

"Oh." She leaned forward and sniffed it, "It doesn't smell like anything."

"It's been there for about twenty years, so I reckon it's not doing its job anymore." Joel explained.

"Really?" Ellie frowned, "Why don't you just get a new one?"

"That's enough questions." Joel muttered.

"Geez, ok." Before he could stop her, the girl opened the glove compartment. Her eyes widened, "Whoa, you have a gun?"

Joel leaned over and slammed it shut, "Stop poking around." He snapped, "Doggonit, didn't your parents ever teach you manners?" In response, Ellie flipped him off. Joel gritted his teeth and pressed the gas pedal down further. Why did the only McDonald's have to be a fifteen-minute drive away?

"How old are you, anyways?" Joel asked gruffly.

"Fourteen." Ellie crossed her arms.

"Fourteen?" Joel shook his head, "You act like you're ten."

"Hey, fuck you too." Ellie scowled at him, "How old are you? Cause you act like you're eighty."

"Knock it off." Joel growled. Ellie, hearing the warning in his voice, fell silent. Joel had half a mind to turn around and take this rude child back where he found her, but… she was so small. No fourteen-year-old should be that small. Add that to her dirty clothes and stringy red hair, and Joel didn't have to be a rocket scientist to connect the dots. His heart clenched.

"Whoa, is that a deer?" Ellie's silence lasted all of ten seconds, "Oh. Nope. Just a branch. That's disappointing. I like deer. What's your favorite animal?"

"Um." Joel had to think about it, "I like giraffes."

Ellie blinked thoughtfully, "Huh, I would've pegged you for a bear guy. Cause, you know. You kind of seem like an old bear."

"Thanks." Joel replied flatly.

"No problem." Ellie leaned forward to stare through the windshield, "Ok, that's definitely a squirrel. Wait, don't run in the road!" Ellie gasped as Joel's truck barely missed the small creature, "Man, squirrels are dumb." She kept up the incessant chatter until Joel pulled into the McDonald's drive-thru.

"What do you want?" Joel asked.

Ellie's brow furrowed, "We're not going in?"

Joel raised his eyebrows at her, "Do you want to go in?"

"Well, since you asked." Ellie opened her door in the middle of the drive-thru and sprinted to the entrance.

"Ellie!" Joel yelled after her, then smacked the steering wheel, "Goddammit." He backed out of the drive-thru, parked, and stormed inside.

"You can't run off like that." He snapped.

"Sorry." Ellie, who was crouching to look at the display of Happy Meal toys, barely seemed to hear him, "Hey, so I'm really hungry, but these toys are super cool, so can I get two Happy Meals instead of one normal meal?"

Joel was going to strangle this kid, "Fine." He muttered.

"Yes!" Ellie pumped her fist, then ran to the counter to order. Joel trailed behind her. He got a large Coke for himself and two Happy Meals for her. After ordering, Ellie turned and her eyes widened as she saw the Play Place, "Whoa, they have slides and shit?" She whirled around to face Joel, "Can you wait for the food while I go in there?"

Joel sighed, "Does it matter if I say no?"

"Nope!" Ellie sprinted toward the Play Place without another word.

Joel shook his head. Weirdly enough, he was almost enjoying his time with this kid. He was used to quiet and undisturbed evenings, so in some ways, Ellie's presence was a breath of fresh air. But at the same time, he wasn't. Ellie's mischievousness, her snarky nature, the way she never stopped talking… it reminded him too much of her.

After several minutes of waiting, Joel brought Ellie's food into the Play Place. It was almost eleven at night, so the area was empty except for Ellie, but the noise she made could have convinced Joel that there were ten kids crawling around in the tubes.

"Alright, there's a big fall coming up, get ready for it." Joel couldn't see her, but he could hear heavy 'thunks' as she crawled around in the tube, "Here it comes… AHHHHH! Ok, we all made it? Good. Proceed to mission!"

"Dinner!" Joel called, cutting off her monologue. There was a series of loud thuds and then Ellie was tumbling out of a slide.

"Holy fuck, I'm so hungry." She said in thanks as she threw herself into the small, plastic chair across from Joel and grabbed both Happy Meals.

"Be sure you don't choke." Joel warned as he watched Ellie cram one of her burgers into her mouth. "I don't want to have to explain that to your parents." He suddenly felt nervous, "Your parents know where you are, right?"

"How 'ould they know 'at?" Ellie spoke through a mouthful of food.

"Well, you texted them, right?" Joel pressed.

Ellie shook her head as she swallowed, "No phone." She said, patting empty pockets.

Joel froze, "Your parents have no idea where you are?!" He exploded. "Ellie, that's- I could get charged for kidnapping!"

"Nah." Ellie ate the last of the fries, then pulled her second burger toward her, "They 'obably aren't 'ome yet, but even if they 'ere, they don't care. I've been gone all night before." She finished the burger, then grabbed Joel's Coke and took a long sip before he could stop her. "They've never called the cops." Her eyes widened. "Whoa, that stuff's good."

Joel pulled it back, "It has caffeine. You don't need more energy." Inside, his mind was spinning. She'd been gone all night and the parents hadn't noticed? Where had she gone? Why? Joel tried to push the questions away. Ellie wasn't his kid or his responsibility. He couldn't afford to worry about her.

"Fuck yeah, I got the rocket!" Ellie happily ripped the plastic bag open and pulled out the toy, "I love space. I want to go to the Moon someday." She reached for her other Happy Meal and pulled out the other toy, "Sweet, a planet for my rocket to circle." She stood with her two toys and started to back away, "I'm going back in."

"Ten more minutes!" Joel called after her. Those ten minutes came and went, and then another ten. Joel genuinely wanted the kid to have her fun, but his eyelids were growing heavy.

"Come on, kid, we have to go." He said.

"Just a few more minutes." Ellie's muffled voice came back.

"You've already had more time." Joel checked his watch, "I need to go to bed."

"Right, cause you're old." Ellie snickered.

"No, because I have a job- Sarah!" Joel yelled in frustration. Then his tired brain realized what he said.

Ellie slid out of the slide and jumped to her feet. "Who's Sarah?" She asked. Her bright green eyes seemed to pierce right through Joel.

"Just get to the car." He said gruffly.

The drive back was quieter. After a couple minutes, Joel glanced over and saw that Ellie had passed out against the window. Her mouth was gaping open, and some strands of her dark red hair had slipped free of her ponytail and spread across her face. She looked like a little kid. He'd called her by her name. He hadn't said her name in years.

Joel knew that he needed to stop spending time with this kid. Too long, and she might open some doors that needed to stay closed.

After a few more minutes, Joel pulled into his driveway. He poked Ellie's shoulder, "Hey kid, we're back."

Ellie blinked blearily, "Thanks, old man." She flashed him a grin when he scowled, "You know, I might stop calling you stuff like that if I knew your actual name."

Joel ignored her hint, "I see lights on over there." He nodded toward her house, where the front windows were glowing a soft yellow, "Reckon that's your parents?"

Ellie followed his gaze and her smile faded, replaced by something harder. "Yeah." She pushed the door open, "Thanks for the food and stuff." Joel stepped out and watched her make her way toward her lawn. Her hands were jammed in her pockets, her shoulders were curved inwards, her head was down. The girl who'd made up ridiculous stories at a McDonald's Play Place was gone. Against his will, Joel felt a pang in his heart.

"Hey." He called after her. Ellie paused and turned to face him. "My name is Joel." He told her.

After a moment, she smiled, "Ok, old man." Then she turned and continued toward her house, Joel watching until she disappeared inside.