It Started With A Lie

Chapter 1

Ellie turned to face him, and Joel could tell she was hurt.
"Swear to me. Swear to me that everything that you said about the FireFlies is true."
Joel took a step back, and breathed in. He was shocked with what approach she took on him. He was contemplating whether or not he should tell the truth.
"I swear."
'No,' He thought. 'That's not what I wanted to say.'
Ellie looked to the floor, and nodded her head. She could tell Joel was lying. She had a feeling in her gut; but she just stares his eyes down and said, "Okay."
Joel's hand was still fidgeting with his watch, but he thought Ellie would take it as more of a memory than nervousness.
As they walked down the hill to Tommy's, Ellie was getting more and more bummed out. She knew Joel was lying, and wanted to confront him on it. "Woah." She looked up, looking at the houses that lined the dam for miles. "Look at that." She was amazed with what Maria and Tommy have done with themselves. "It's amazing, isn't it Kiddo?" He started calling her 'Kiddo' more often, and it made memories of Sarah flood back. He chose not to dwell on it.
"Yeah. It really is. I mean, look." She motioned her hands for Joel to look, even though he was already eyeballing it. "People live here. And now we can too." She emphasized 'live', just to show how powerful that was to her.
Joel folded his arms and look at Ellie. She was such a bright young girl, always roaming, always so curious. Joel enjoyed seeing the curious mind at work, always trying to figure things out. She always wanted to help, and she did when Joel was injured.
Memories came back.
The way she tried to reach for her knife.
The way she was repeatedly butchering a man.
The way her heart was beating.
The way she cried into his shoulder.
The way he called her "Baby Girl."
He wanted nothing more than for Ellie to be safe, to be happy. And yet, he tried to hand her off to Tommy. He patted her shoulder. "C'mon. Let's go see what we have in store."