Broken Without You

Chapter 8

Joel was nowhere to be seen in the street as you excited the bar, so you began wandering around the community trying to find the house that Maria had allocated for you guys.

It wasn't hard to find though, because as you were walking past a large two-story building, Ellie suddenly walked out the front door sporting fresh clothes and a striped pink and white hoodie.

"Oh, hey!" Ellie shouted, jogging over to you with a bright smile. "You should see the inside of the house, it is enormous! And the hot shower, man, you're gonna love it!"

You smiled at how enthusiastic and happy she seemed to be. At least someone was having a good time in this community because Joel sure as shit wasn't.

"I can't wait!" You responded, matching her enthusiasm causing her to smile brighter. "Is, uh, Joel inside?"

She shook her head, "haven't seen him. I'm heading to Maria's. She said something about a movie night or... I don't really know."

"Go have fun. I'll see you later."

Ellie waved goodbye and walked across the street to the house that you assumed belonged to Maria and Tommy. You watched her go and tried to ignore the pang of sadness aching in your chest. Henry and Sam would have loved this place.

Little Sam would've loved patting Shimmer with Ellie earlier, he would love exploring this community with her and meeting other kids his age. Henry would have been thrilled to sit at the bar of the Tipsy Bison knocking back a glass of whiskey. They both would have loved this place.

Shaking your head at your thoughts, you walked through the front door of the other house.

There were three bedrooms, one downstairs with fresh men's clothes on the end of a bed, so you figured that was Joels room. Upstairs there was a room decorated with typical teenage girl stuff, and another room that seemed fairly normal and like Joels, had a small pile of fresh clothes and supplies on the end of the bed.

Maria matched your clothing size perfectly, the jeans, shirt and flannel jacket lined with soft wool all looked freshly cleaned and practically brand new. There was a towel, shampoo and a bar of soap also there, so you grabbed those supplies and walked out the bedroom and down the hallway into the main bathroom.

It was crazy having lights indoors that actually worked. The QZ had electricity and running water, but it had been a long time since then.

The hot water felt like absolute heaven on your skin.

You stood under the spray of the warm water for a few minutes cleaning your body and washing your hair with shampoo that smelt like coconuts. It was nice. It was too nice.

Henry and Sam should be here. They should be the ones eating homecooked meals in the cafeteria. They should be the ones getting clean clothes and having warm showers, not you. Why were you still here and they weren't? If anyone deserved to survive, it was them, not you.

Closing your eyes, you leant your back against the wall and slowly slid down until you were sitting on the tiled floor of the shower, letting the water wash over you. Tears burned in your eyes as you thought back to that morning in the motel room.

It wasn't fair. Why did they have to die? Why them?

You covered your mouth with your hands, muffling your cries in case Ellie returned to the house. You didn't want her to worry about you, but right now, alone with your thoughts, you couldn't stop the emotion that had been building up for all those months to come spilling out.

You cried, your tears mixing in with the shower water as they poured down your face. Henry's broken voice echoing through your mind on repeat, 'what did I do?' before he squeezed the trigger.