A Place To Call Home

A Day Without Him

Winter - 2038

So much had changed for Ellie over the last few months, she had experience a world of heartbreak and pain. She had broken up with Cat for good this time, they had tried to make things work but since she had found out about the lies Joel had told her she had become a changed woman. She had become distant and sometimes moody with Cat, she didn't wanted to upset her anymore. Cat still wanted to be friends with Ellie, but for now they were going to stay away from each other. But things changed again at the community's barn dance, she was left confused after Dina had kissed her on the dance floor. The kiss they had shared had caused trouble with the local bar keeper, if it wasn't for Maria stepping in there would have been a fight between Joel and Seth. 

Joel would have killed Seth if Tommy and Maria hadn't have stepped in to calm the situation, they had taken Seth outside to get some fresh air. Ellie had seen first hand what Joel could do to others, she herself was capable of causing some damage to others too. But Ellie hated that Joel had stepped into defend her, he was still interfering in her life and being overprotective. It was enough that he was giving Jesse a hard time about her patrols, she couldn't hold back her anger this time. Ellie had argued with Joel, she had said some harsh things to him. But Ellie felt some guilt after Joel had left the barn dance, he looked so hurt. She loved Joel still and she wanted things to get back to normal between them, but her stubbornness always got in the way. She had left the barn dance not long after Joel, she needed to speak with him in private. 

Ellie had taken the long way home, she needed to clear her head before she spoke with Joel. She dragged her feet through the snow until she reached the street where Joel lived, the street was quiet and lights shone through the darkness from building's windows. It wasn't long until she was near his house, she could see Joel sitting on his chair on the porch. She could hear him playing his guitar, he soon stopped playing though when she walked up the porches steps. He got up from his chair and took his hot drink from the floor, he smiled at her when she approached him. They spoke about what happened at the barn dance, she wanted Joel to understand that she wasn't a kid anymore. He accepted that and questioned her about her relationship with Dina, she herself was unsure about their relationship. Ellie was surprised how excepting Joel was about Dina, he was actually calm about it. May be they could fix their friendship, she was happy that they had spoken about tonight's events.

Ellie had told Joel she would see him around, she had noticed that he was actually crying a little before she left him. She headed back to her garage apartment and locked the door behind her, she felted less stressed which was a good thing. It was going to take time for everything to get back to normal between her and Joel, but this was the fresh start that they both needed. Grabbing her journal from the coffee table Ellie settled down in front of her desk, she switched the desk lamp on and took a pencil from a pot. She opened her journal and tapped her pencil against the blank page, she had a lot things to write about tonight. She wrote about the barn dance and how Joel had jumped to her aid when Seth had used some homophobic insults because Dina had kissed her. She actually felt grateful that Joel had her back, she was going to try her best with him from now on.

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The Baldwin Mansion

The moment Jesse had told Ellie that Tommy and Joel hadn't returned from their patrol she felt fear for the first time in a very long time, she knew something was wrong. It wasn't like them to not be replaced by another patrol group, something must have happened to them. Jesse told Ellie where Joel and Tommy were patrolling, he hadn't searched all of their patrol area yet. They decided to split up and search solo for them. Ellie took the east part of their patrol route while her friends searched the other areas. This way they could cover the area more quickly and find them before it got dark, the time was of the essence. They left Eugene's basement and headed out on their horses, the weather was hazardous. The snow was coming down heavy, the route Ellie was taking would bring her to the old Baldwin Mansion. She called out Joel and Tommy's names, but the wind was drowning out her voice. It was cold, bitterly cold. Ellie shivered as she rode forward on Shimmer, the snow was getting thick in some parts due to the blizzard. Her horse was feeling the cold too, the snow was getting deep around Shimmer's legs.