A Breath of Fresh Air - e.w.

44

Lia felt nothing yet everything as she sat in the empty living room. Addy had finally gone to sleep again so Lia sat by herself. Her hands shook as her breathing felt hollow.

Ellie really fucking left.

The house felt suffocating. Lia was surrounded by Ellie's paintings, Joel's belongings and photos of Leo. There was no comfort in this home as it was just a reminder of loss and abandonment.

Lia couldn't stay in it any longer as she got Addy, bundled her up around Lia's chest, grabbed a gun and left the house with Scout and Star following. The sun was rising along the horizon while Lia walked towards the only place she could think of.

When she spotted Dina and Jesse's farmhouse, Lia trudged her feet over to the front door and knocked. Lia's teeth sunk into her cheek as she looked over at the mountains sadly.

"Lia?" Jesse said tiredly as he opened the door, "What are you-" he stopped when he saw Lia's puffy face and tear-stained cheeks, "come on," Jesse gently guided the girl in who walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Jesse, who's at the door this fucking early-" Dina stopped when she saw Lia, "is everything okay?"

"Ellie left," Lia told the two.

"Left?" Jesse questioned.

Dina passed JJ to Jesse, sitting down on the couch next to Lia and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "What happened?" Dina asked softly as Lia let out a sigh.

"Tommy... fucking Tommy," Lia shook her head, "he was at the house yesterday. He... he told Ellie about a lead on where Abby is. In California. Ellie at first declined but-" Lia held Addy just a bit tighter, "She left in the middle of the night. She was gonna go without even fucking say goodbye."

"Fuck, Ellie," Jesse shook his head in disappointment.

"Can you take care of Addy for a few days? Just until I need to bring her back to Marley.... I need to figure out what the fuck I'm going to do."

"Of course," Dina reassured the girl, "we can take her back to Marley too."

"It's okay," Lia sighed, "I'll take Addy back and then explain everything... I think I'm gonna talk to Maria. I can't look after the house and Addy, so I guess I'll go back to Jackson."

"You can stay here," Dina said, "we can make a bedroom-"

"No, no," Lia shook her head, "I-community would be good. Maybe getting back into a Jackson routine would be good for me. Then I can be close to Marley and Addy and it'll be easier for her. I'll- fuck I'll figure it out."

"Are you sure? It's really no trouble."

"I'm sure," Lia nodded as she looked down at the floor. She felt her hands grip against Addy, only letting go when Dina gently took the baby girl from Lia, "Thank you," Lia whispered, "I really appreciate all this."

"Of course," Jesse nodded as his eyes looked out the window with disappointment.

"I should probably go-"

"Why don't you take a nap here first? Rest up before heading out," Dina suggested when she saw the girls tired face. At first Lia shook her head, but Dina wasn't having any of it as she guided the girl up to her and Jesse's room and set her a spot to sleep.

Lia laid down on the bed. Her body exhausted as the girl couldn't help but close her eyes and pass out.

~~~

When Lia woke up, her heart still felt heavy as she slowly stood up. She walked down the stairs where she spotted Jesse on the floor playing with both Addy and JJ: "Hey, you weren't asleep for long."