Broken Without You

Chapter 9

"I would've gave you one." Tommy's voice responded and you turned around in confusion, not realising he was there as well.

"I know." Joel nodded. "Anyway, that was 30 minutes ago, and I guess you deserve a choice. I still think you'd be better off with Tommy-"

"Let's go." Ellie said cutting him off and tossing Joel a bag which he quickly caught.

Your brain was still trying to process what Joel had said earlier about not being able to stop himself from kissing you. You were so focused on that sentence that you nearly missed what these guys were talking about. Nearly.

"Wait, wait, hold on. You were going to make Ellie go the rest of the way with Tommy?" You eventually questioned, your brain struggling to catch up with all this information.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Joel gave you a pointed look, "I was going to last night, but, uh, we were kinda busy..."

You felt yourself start to blush and you looked away. Ellie walked over, throwing her backpack over her shoulder before she paused and stared at you with wide eyes.

"Whoa, what the fuck happened to your face?"

You smiled softly at her use of swear words. She wasn't afraid to swear and although it started out weird hearing a kid speak like that, you had quickly gotten used to it and liked that about her.

"You should have seen the other guy." You replied with a wink causing her eyes to widen even more, a million questions flashing across her face.

You chuckled before grabbing the reins of your horse, Joel doing the same with his and you slowly walked them out the stables, Tommy following along.

"Can I ride with you?" Ellie asked, pointing at your horse and you nodded.

Joel helped Ellie mount the horse before he walked back over to Tommy and spoke with him while you climbed onto the horse, sitting in front of Ellie.

A few minutes later, Joel had Tommy's scoped rifle slung over his shoulder, and you were riding out the front gate of Jackson into the snow-covered fields.

Ellie wrapped her arms around your stomach, resting her cheek on your back as you rode side by side with Joel through the snow. It was strange how comforting it was to be back on the road with him, despite no longer being in the safety of the community behind you.

"How good is that rifle? Do we need to sight it in?" You randomly asked after a few minutes of silence.

Joel glanced over at you with a surprised look on his face, "do you know how to sight in a rifle?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." You answered causing him to raise his eyebrows in clear disbelief. "What? Don't believe me?"

He raised his hands, "I didn't say that."

"Dude, she used to be a fucking soldier. Of course, she knows how to sight in a rifle." Ellie piped up from behind you.

"Alright, when we find some place to do it, she can sight it in then."

You nodded in agreement before Ellie lent forward over your shoulder and whispered, "you do know how to do it, right?"

"I do."

"Awesome."

-

"Wide right." Joel observed, looking through the binoculars.

You pulled the bolt back on the rifle, ejecting the empty casing before adjusting the dial on the scope a couple clicks. You could feel Joel watching you, but you ignored him and actioned the bolt, loading a bullet in the chamber.