to the ends of the earth || ellie williams (book one)

eleven

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Dina sighed once I'd finished explaining the past two years of my life.

She nursed her tea, gently sipping before placing it on my bedside table. I missed this. Sitting in bed with her, the blanket up to our chins as we'd giggle and gossip. I took advantage of how simple it was back then.

"Enough from me, how've you been? How's Jesse?" I asked.

Her expression melted into a soft smile as she hid her face under the blankets and giggled. I took that as a positive sign.

"Everything's really good. Been together for what? Two years now? He's... so amazing, Chazzie. He's really helped me since you've been gone," She explained as she desperately tried to contain her happiness.

"And... how's Ellie?" I asked hesitantly.

"She's good, I think. She comes and goes. We got really close over the past couple years."

"Did she ever talk about me?"

"She did for a while. She was angry when you left... but I think she was hurt more than anything that you didn't tell her," She explained in a way that was almost apologetic, as if she didn't want to tell me because she didn't want me to feel guilty.

"I've thought about you guys every day. Every single day," I smiled softly.

"You're never leaving again, Chaz. You just can't," She said sternly, "I haven't known what to do with myself whilst you've been gone."

"I'm not going anywhere."

We fell asleep soon after that.

When I awoke in the morning, Dina wasn't next to me anymore. I pulled myself up to a seated position, a note on my bedside table caught my attention. I plucked it from my bedside table to read it.

To my nearest and dearest,
Sorry I had to bail early. Duty calls;)
Stop by later and we'll hang!
Dina

I chuckled as I placed the note back down and dragged myself out of bed. It was later than I thought, turns out I really needed the sleep. I quickly got dressed before leaving the house, rubbing my hands together at the chill that hit me once I was outside.

The walk to my childhood home wasn't far. I arrived outside within ten minutes, looking up at the house that I once called a home. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I walked up the steps to the porch, flicking my eyes to the porch swing for a brief second before entering the house.

Everything was how we'd left it. An old pair of my muddy shoes were kicked off by the umbrella stand. Dishes collected on the draining board, my fathers old coffee stained mug was amongst them. Walking up the stairs, I lightly traced the banister with my finger tips until I reached the landing.

I headed for my room, pushing open the door with a soft smile. I sat on my bed, laying back to stare at the ceiling for a few seconds. I closed my eyes and took a breath. Had you asked me a few months ago, I never would've dreamed of being back.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a gentle knocking at the door. I quickly sat up and composed myself, watching as Jesse pushed the door open and leaned against the frame.

His hair was longer than I remembered. He was much taller, his face slimmer and his features generally more defined. I barely recognised him.

"Thought I could find you here," He smiled warmly as he walked over to sit beside me - his voice was much deeper too.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a quick hug. I inhaled his familiar scent, sighing before pulling away from him with a chuckle.

"You don't know how happy I am to see you," I grinned.

"No, I think I do. You almost strangled me," He jested in response causing me to smack his arm.

"How did you know I was back?" I asked.

"Dina told me. I know you didn't want people finding out just yet but... she figured you'd be okay with me knowing,"

"Of course, I was going to have to stop burying my head in the sand at some point."

"Then, boy, do I have the thing for you," he smirked, pulling a flyer out from his back pocket and handing it to me.

"What's this?" I asked, unfolding the piece of paper and laughing once I'd read it, "The winter dance."

"The winter dance, baby! You've got to come. It's been so long," He pleaded, "Just think about it, okay?"

I nodded my head as he grabbed me and cheered before standing up and clasping his hands together.

"I better be off. Don't think about it too long, it starts in a couple hours." He chuckled with a wink before leaving my room.

I sighed and shook my head. I knew I wanted to see Ellie, I just didn't know how she was going to react to me being back. I mean, Dina said she was mad at me when she found out I left. What if she still hadn't forgiven me? What if she wanted nothing to do with me anymore?

I yanked myself out of bed and jogged downstairs, desperately trying to distract myself the only way I knew how. I headed out of the house, grabbing my bike from its familiar spot around the side of the house and wheeling it out to the street.

I jumped on and began to cycle, standing on the pedals as I sped through the dark streets. I grinned est to ear, taking a deep breath before suddenly hitting a rock in the road. I flew over the handle bars and skidded across the ice, coughing as I felt the air leave my body.

"Fuck, are you okay?!"

I batted my eyes open to see a familiar face. Everything came flooding back. If I couldn't breathe before, I really couldn't breathe now. She took a few steps back when she realised who I was, her eyes widened with shock before her features hardened again. She held out her hand and pulled me up, carrying me until we reached her place.

Ellie laid me down on the couch before pacing over to her drawer to grab a few medical supplies. She then sat beside me on the couch, placing my head on her lap so that she could assess my wound. She remained silent as she poured alcohol onto a cotton pad. I seethed through gritted teeth as she began to wipe the blood from my forehead.

"Shh," she soothed, placing a hand on my shoulder to stop me from moving, "The more still you are, the quicker I can get this over with."

Once it was cleaned, Ellie placed thin strip bandages over it to keep it contained. She stood up, laying my head back down on the pillow to begin putting things away. I didn't know how to act in the moment. I didn't know what to say. All I knew was that there was a fucking elephant in the room and at one point or another, we were going to have to talk.