"𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐈'𝐦 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞"
After a long day of traveling once again, Ellie had suggested the three of you spend the night at a theater you spotted. You had just cooled down after finding out your girlfriend was actually immune and could breathe in spores, and were still out of breath from the rush of it all. A part of you had trusted her the entire time, so it didn't come as too big of a surprise to you, as opposed to Dina. She had cried out for Ellie after her mask broke, and it took at least ten minutes of convincing afterwards until she finally believed it for what it was.
The tattooed redhead has split up from the two of you to go and explore the theater a bit, and see what was out there. The dark-haired girl had immediately ushered you over to come sit with her on a couch, and she was once again more than ready to rest. "What's been up with you?" You asked the older girl, wanting to make sure she was okay, even though you were mentally very upset with her. The dark-haired girl didn't seem to take offense in the comment though, because she readjusted herself on the sofa before looking into your eyes. "I think I'm pregnant."
The feeling of guilt came back right then and there, as you started to take in the information. "What do you want me to do? Can I help?" You asked sympathetically, immediately wanting to help Dina out as she was clearly struggling to keep up. She shook her head, not wanting you to worry about her. "I just need to rest for now." The dark-haired girl let out a long sigh before wiping a silent tear from her cheek. "How long have you known?" You tilted your head and remained calm, as you didn't want to upset her any more.
You were having trouble picturing the entire situation, and clearly hadn't even planned on the idea of two of your best friends having sex with each other. It was a disturbing image you quickly brushed off as you layed your hand on Dina's back. "I was late a few weeks ago." She revealed, causing yet another switch to turn on inside you. The hand you had rested on her back dropped, and you felt yourself standing up from the couch, distancing youself from the pregnant girl as your eyebrows began to from a frown.
"A few weeks? We could've... You could've still turned back." Your tone began to grown accusing as you still tried your very hardest to not fully lose it at the dark-haired girl that was sitting in front of you. "I didn't know... I wasn't sure, okay? I didn't want to be a burden-" She shook her head, and clearly started to panic as the tears welled up in her eyes once more. "So you thought that by being here you were doing us both a favour? That by staying with us, you could be of help? You thought the baby would just disappear on you? It's a fucking living being!" You tried to resist the urge to roll your eyes, but did so anyway as you felt yourself stepping back.
Dina looked at you in an almost begging manner, clearly wanting something from you. "Please just- just rest for now, okay?" You tilted your head as a part of you remained empathetic. "Can you uhm- can you keep this between us? For now, at least." The shake in her voice was one you recognised from Ellie, causing it to send a shiver down your spine. You hesitantly nodded at her before leaving the room.
It was already getting late, so you decided you wanted to go find your girlfriend, if you could still call her that. With everything spinning around in your head, you craved peace. The thoughts that lingered through you about whether Tommy was okay, kept you awake at night, and the feeling of losing someone who wasn't even gone, felt indescribably hurtful. Due to your absent-mindedness, you didn't notice that the room you were walking into was already occupied by the auburn-haired girl you were so badly craving.
She was positioned on one of the many chairs, in what you assumed to be a room performances were held in before everything went down. You were careful not to interrupt her, as you heard the soft notes falling from her mouth. She was once again singing.
𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶
𝘐'𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧
The tattooed girl put down the guitar she was holding, her voice having reached that same emotional state it did when she cried to you. Disrupting her thoughts now only seemed less and less appealing to you, as you walked right back out of the theater.
————— ୨୧ —————
You had lost track of time when you woke up that morning, and you weren't at all surprised to find yourself alone in the room both Dina and you slept in the night before. At first, she resisted to take the couch, but you told her to prioritise her body right now, as she was caring a tiny person. It was something you could barely wrap your mind around, the fact that two individual people could create something like that all on their own.
The silence filled the building as you wandered through it, trying to look for signs of life until you landed right in front of the room the two other girls were in. "Goodmorning." Dina smiled at you the second she saw you, probably not even remembering much of the encounter the two of you had just the day before. "Did you sleep any?" You tilted your head at the dark-haired girl, immediatly finding yourself worried for her health. She nodded, but the question was clearly odd to Ellie as a frown grew on her face.
"Anyway, what have you guys been up to?" You sat down in the circle the three of you now formed, fully ignoring your girlfriend's expression. "I fixed the radio." Dina's gaze traveled to the now audible radio, and her face was filled with pride. As if some sort of mythical creature was listening, the device started to make noises.
"Casualties reported in Fourteen. All available units report. Over. This is site Thirteen. Unit Lima nearby How many Scars you got? Over. Negative on Scars. Lone male trespasser. Armed. Over."
A frown also appeared on your face as your eyes began to squint. "A male trespasser?" You asked, clearly confused as to what was going on. "Tommy. Where's Fourteen?" Ellie said, confident in her statement. The conversation continued as you felt yourself drifting further from reality. Tommy. He was alive? There had been a part of you that had given up on hoping, which you resented yourself for right now.
"Let's go, you guys coming?" Ellie asked the both of you as she stood up, making her way towards the door. "I don't feel so good, I'll stick this one out." Dina was almost afraid of what the auburn-haired girl might answer to this, as you shot her an empathetic look. "Alright." Ellie left the room, barely giving you any time to come along with her.
A feeling of newly found relief entered your body as the redhead and you practically jogged out of the much too large building. "Okay, Hillcrest. Is this the right place? Definitely the right place." Ellie thought out loud as your gaze traveled through the neighbourhood. A gunshot caught your attention, making your heartbeat beat so loud, you were certain even Ellie could hear it. "That's gotta be Tommy. Shit." The tattooed girl whispered below her breathe, probably not intended for your ears.
————— ୨୧ —————
You don't remember when, or how it happened, but somehow the two of you were met with the lone trespasser the radio was referring to, and it surely wasn't Tommy. When the two of you first came across the young Asian guy, you were certain the disappointment that filled your body, got to Ellie as well. "What the hell are you doing here?" The auburn-haired girl shook her head as her eyebrows furrowed, she still had a lot to take in. "Think I'd let you do this on your own?" His gaze traveled between Ellie and you as something that looked close to a smile covered his face.
"Jesse." A sigh of delayed relief left your mouth as you hugged the young man in front of you. After the two of you broke apart, his face was filled with worry. "Where's Dina?" The realisation hits you, he was going to be a father. "She's safe. She's just sick. Let's make our way back there." Ellie hurried as she was eager to get back to a safer place.
The worrying feeling came back to you as your mind wandered to places it shouldn't ever go. Where was Tommy? Was he even alive? All the thoughts you had worked so hard on to brush off, all came back with the same strength in which they originally entered.
————— ୨୧ —————
The second Jesse's gaze met Dina's, you swear a tear fell from the dark-haired girl's eyes. Both Ellie and you decided it was best to give the two some space. After a while, the both of you decided it was appropriate to come back, and when you did, something about the atmosphere seemed different. You could tell by the look on Jesse's face that Dina told him he was going to be a father, and it looked as if he was still taking it all in.
The tension had taken a hold of the room as the four of you made small talk, which you deeply despised. At the end of the conversation, Jesse told the rest he needed to catch some sleep if he wanted to join us the next day, so Ellie and you once again left the room to give the two some space. You had assumed Dina and Jesse had made up, or that something inside of Jesse switched when he heard he was going to be a father.
As your girlfriend and you made your way to a different room, you could feel the anger radiating through the hallway. She was walking much faster than you were able to, making it hard for you to keep up as you had grown tired throughout the day. You closed the door behind you as the two of you entered a room, the one with the radio.
"What's going on? Please just tell me." The auburn-haired had crossed her arms over her torso, her face practically begging you to open up to her. Something about that moment was so ironic to you. "There's nothing to tell." You shrugged. Even though Dina and you might not be on the best terms, didn't mean you were just going to out all of her secrets. Secrets she trusted you with.
The tattooed redhead carelessly rolled her eyes as she started pacing through the room. "Do you think I'm stupid? You, Jesse, and Dina clearly know something I don't!" Her tone grew angrier as her eyebrows began to furrow. "It's not my place to tell." You shook your head, the sudden anger barely making an impression on you. These words didn't land right, as Ellie began pulling her hands through her hair, growing almost furious. "Just fucking tell me! I deserve to know." The auburn-haired girl avoided eye contact with you as she continued to pace.
"You haven't called me your girlfriend since we started this entire fucking journey, Ellie. I don't fucking owe you shit!" You broke, clearly taking Ellie by surprise as her eyes grew wider, and her gaze finally met yours. She bit her bottom lip as she thought of what to say to you. The silence that filled the room was awkward, not comfortable like it had been so many times before. "Well sorry that my mind has been absent, but I've got other things on my mind! You're so selfish." Her eyes rolled once again as the anger in her voice only grew.
"Every conversation we have ends up like this. What's the fucking point of communicating when the other doesn't put any fucking energy in? I understand you're grieving, Ellie. Trust me, I know what it's like, but you don't get to make me feel like absolute shit, just because you don't feel like yourself right now. It feels like you've been talking to everyone but me, and I can't fucking take it anymore. I want to hug you, hold you close. I want an opportunity to be there for you, but you never even give me the chance to reach out. I'm here for you, Ellie. Always fucking have been! Don't you think, I, of all people, would understand how you feel? What you're going through? You've got to learn to let me in." Instead of waiting for an answer, you walked straight out of the room to get some much needed space. You felt like your lungs were closing in on you, and it was difficult to catch your breath.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Words: 2310
Please vote and/or comment, it really helps me out and motivates me while writing!<3
A/N: This story hit 500 just four days ago, and now we're already at 800+? I'm so grateful for all the comments that are coming in now aswell, you support means the world:)
I'm sick:( Let's hope this means I have more time to write and finish this story;)
Reminders; surgical abortion is NOT a thing in the The Last Of Us universe, and so it didn't even cross the readers mind.