Between the lines • a between us sequel (Ellie Williams x female oc)

𝟐𝟕 • 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗉𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖺

The shower turns off, to which, I tried to ignore the obvious gaze that was directed my way.

"Hey," She says, grabbing me by the wrist to turn me towards her, "I'm sorry it's so late. I wanted to have more time with you before-"

"Ellie, it's okay. It's not your fault." I laugh it off, but it made me feel worse.
She shouldn't have to worry about shit like this. We're past it- the jealousy and distrust. At least, I thought I was.

"Then what's wrong?"

"What-? Nothin's wrong jus' kinda tired s'all."

Ellie turned the shower back on before addressing me once more, "Wake me up when you get home."

"Ellie, I'm not going to do that. It'll be so late-"

"I don't care. I need to know you're home safe."

I stand on my tippy toes and kiss her, this time purposefully leaving more lip gloss behind than before.

"Okay."

-

Ellie

I slowly blinked away the dream that I was rudely pulled from, the sound of the front door slamming shut and the occasional knock and bang against the walls approached.

The bedroom door opens, and I turn on the light at my bedside, making note that it was almost 3 in the morning.

"Shit. I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Skyler stumbles further into the bedroom, tripping over her own feet as she takes off her heels before crawling onto the bed towards me.

"I missed you." She slurred as she climbed on top, connecting our lips before I could respond.

She reeked of smoke and alcohol, more so than usual.

"Did you drive yourself home?"

She rolls her eyes and huffs as she shoves strands of hair out of her face, "U-B-E-R." She spells it out loud and clear like a passive-aggressive kindergarten teacher would.

I didn't understand her mood. Sure, she was drunk, but there was something more.

"Why didn't you call me? I could've gotten you."
I asked, more sternly than I would've liked, but something tells me it needed to be this way.

The kisses she was placing down my neck came to a halt before she lifted herself back up, and by the looks of it, she made it seem like a very difficult task.

"I'm a big girl, Ellie. I can solve my own problems." Her sentence ended with a hiccup, and she was right back at it with her lips on mine, and her hand groping my chest as the other I assumed to be tugging her underwear down her thigh.

"Sky, wait-"
I pulled away from her kiss, which is not something I'd ever thought I would do, nor wanted to even given the circumstances.

She looked at me, her eyes dull and distant, and her eyeliner smudged.

"You're really drunk, baby. Not tonight."

As much as it physically pained me to deny her, she didn't seem to take it seriously.

She kisses me again, and again, each time feeling more desperate and sloppy.

"D-don't worry. I'll be good. I'll do all the work." Her slurry pattern was almost incoherent, almost like she was on the verge of crying as she started to grind against me.

It was wrong- so, so fucking wrong in so many ways.
Back then, would I even have batted an eye in this scenario?

I found the strength in myself to push her away, and grabbed her by her wrists, holding them to her chest.

As clearly and sternly as I could, but still sensitive enough as to not upset her more than I already knew she would be, I spoke, "I'm not doing this with you when you're this fucked up, Skyler."

She blinked at me a couple of times before seemingly realizing the situation. She looks from my hands around hers, and her underwear that was only wrapped around one of her thighs before returning to me, her eyes beginning to well up.

"I'm sorry." She fell forward with her head on my chest and began to sob, repeating variations of an apology.

"I'm so stupid."

"Hey-" I held her tight, patting her head, "You're not stupid, baby, not even a little bit."

Moments passed by as she cried. She sniffed, and her jagged breaths became more stable as I held her.

"What if he doesn't like me?"

I look down at her, my confusion evident as she meets my face.

"Who?" I asked, and she sat up, wiping her tears away with the base of her palm.

"Your dad. What if he doesn't think I'm good enough?" Almost immediately she started to cry again, and I sat up to hug her, wanting to soothe the storm before it became catastrophic.

"Baby, he will. He'll love you."

She clung to me, resting her forehead on my shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me you were this worried about meeting him?" I asked her quietly, my heart internally shattering at the thought of her being so distraught over something that's supposed to be, I don't know, exciting?

She shrugged, a soft mew spreading through her pressed lips as her tears settled.

"I just don't want to fuck it up."

I lifted my hand, and held her cheek, using a thumb to wipe away the droplets, "There's absolutely nothing you could do to ruin it, Skyler. You're the most beautiful and precious thing to me. He knows that."

She nodded her head, but I don't think she could fully understand it. I know her getting this wasted isn't for nothing. I did this. A chain reaction of events and how I've treated her before- they still linger as a painful reminder that we can't rewrite our wrongs.
My hope is that one day she'll get it, like truly understand how much I love and care about her, that there will never be a doubt in her mind about it.

I lay my hand over hers, patting it, "Cmon, let's get you to bed."

At this point, she was too tired to refuse, and perhaps too drained from all the crying to give me a hard time about it.
She lifted her arms without saying anything as I pulled her shirt over her head before unclasping her bra.
Even in her drunken, dozed off state, she still covered herself to the best of her abilities waiting for me to return with an oversized shirt for her to wear.
Once that was taken care of, I shimmed her out of her skirt and pulled back the covers for her to climb into.

I get in close behind her, wrapping my arm around her waist, "Goodnight, Skyler."

She hummed, and I thought that was the best I was gonna get for the night, but she mustered up enough energy to give me a proper departure.

"Goodnight, Ellie."