A Breath of Fresh Air - e.w.

42

Lia woke up with a beating heart, gasping for air while her clothes clung to her body. Her hand laid on her chest as she closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing. She saw the empty spot in her bed, letting out a sigh as she got up.

When Lia was passing Addy's room, she frowned at the empty bassinet. The baby girl was back at Marley's place and these days were hard. Whenever this happened, Lia and Ellie either comforted each other as best they could, but Lia found the most comfort watching Addy.

It surprised Lia how much a baby would comfort her. She never felt this way before.

It also surprised her how much Ellie had grown attached to Addy. With no blood relation and not being Lia's herself, Ellie loved Addy. She had plans to teach her to draw, play guitar and has already started a comic book collection for the girl.

When Lia walked downstairs, Lia she saw Ellie in her usual spot when Addy wasn't with them: glass of whiskey in hand as she looked at the old photo of her and Joel. Lia sat down in the spot next to Ellie, looking at the glass of whiskey Ellie handed to her.

"Bad dreams?" Ellie whispered, but she already knew the answer as Lia nodded, "Me too."

"You could of woke me."

"You need sleep."

"So do you," Lia replied gently as she looked at the girls tired face. Lia bit her cheek as she turned her head to the floor and the two sat in complete silence. She felt heavy in her chest as the two sat until the sun rose and they began their day.

The two synchronously going separate ways as Lia makes a small breakfast for the two and Ellie gets ready to go hunting. Ellie grabs Starr to go out hunting with her while Lia makes her a small plate.

"I'm alright," Ellie shakes her head, "I'll eat when I get back. Thanks, though."

Lia puts down the plate and frowns as Ellie walks over to the girl, giving her a quick kiss before throwing the rifle over her shoulder and calling Starr to follow her.

Lia looks down at the plate of food in front of her, letting out a sigh before she let out a whistle and called Scout to follow her outside where she started working on some of the chores around the house.

Because Lia and Ellie lived outside of Jackson, they performed their assignments but not as frequently. Instead of the 5-6 days a week they were working before, they only went in for 3 now. It allowed them to help Maria out and still be able to run their own home.

Once Lia had finished some of the chores around the house and outside, she sat out and looked over at the mountains as the sun rose just above it. She felt crowded by her thoughts that even Scout laying his head on her lap never helped.

All she wanted was her brother.

The comforts in her life only brought her joy close by. But with Ellie out and Addy away, Lia's never felt more alone.

She knew with time it would get better. Lia knew that all wounds would heal itself, but sometimes it was far too difficult to face the pain. But facing it was better than drowning in it.

Leo wouldn't want her to drown. So Lia was fighting to not let water enter her lungs.

"Well, you look like you're thinking hard," Lia turned to see Kate smiling towards her. She sent Kate a grin, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her pants, "hope it's okay we stopped by."

"Of course," Lia smiled at the woman, turning to see Cassie coming from around the corner with wide eyes and a grin.

"Scout!" Cassie got excited as she ran over to the dog and gave Scout a big hug. Lia chuckled at the little girl.