Outlasting Karma

Chapter 3

Ellie was walking through the halls of the hotel, following the wet foot prints to see if she could find Jo. As she got further along the hallway she began to recognize the room numbers and she picked up her pace a notch to get to Jo faster. Ellie turned the last corner and immediately saw Jo sitting on the ground with her back to Ellie's door and her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Again Ellie picked up the pace, reaching Jo in a few long strides. When she got to Jo she pulled the younger girl to her feet, opening the hotel door at the same time. She brought Jo into the room, thankful that her roommate for the camp wasn't flying in until much later that night.

Ellie pulled out a pair of sweats which Jo numbly put on as she continued to cry. Once Jo was changed, Ellie quickly changed as well before pulling the younger girl into bed next to her. Ellie wrapped Jo in a tight, comforting hug, rubbing her hands up and down Jo's back as she did so.

It took a few minutes but Jo eventually calmed down enough to stop crying and breathe normally. Ellie gave Jo another minute or so before pulling back slightly so that she could make eye contact with Jo.

"What's going through your head right now?"

Jo let out a soft sigh as she took a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking.

"I shouldn't have said that stuff to Alex. She's just a little overprotective."

"You probably shouldn't have, but I'm sure Alex understands. She knows you and she knows that you're not trying to hurt her. She pushed you and you pushed back hard, but you need to trust her enough to know that she'll forgive you."

Jo nodded slowly still feeling like she might've damaged her relationship with Alex permanently.

"I didn't think she was going to react that badly to the tattoo."

Ellie nodded in understanding. She hadn't been expecting the argument either.

"I think you just caught her off guard. I'm sure that now that she's had time to calm down she's not that upset about it."

Ellie waited for Jo to speak again, and when she doesn't respond Ellie lets out a soft sigh before speaking again.

"You know she wasn't going to hit you right? She was going to hug you."

Jo nearly started crying again when she thought about the look on Alex's face when Jo flinched away from her.

"I know. I wasn't thinking."

"That's ok. Just remember that she would never hit you. She's not like that"

Jo nodded slowly, taking in Ellie's words and acknowledging the truth behind them. Ellie, sensing the topic was closed, began to speak again.

"Why don't we watch a movie and maybe take a nap and then once you're feeling better you can go talk to Alex."

"Can we watch Harry Potter?"

Ellie laughed at Jo's childlike excitement.

"Of course, I don't bother bringing any other movies anymore."

Jo gave Ellie a wide smile as she got comfortable under the covers while Ellie put the movie on. Ellie jumped into bed next to Jo as the movie started, sending a quick text to Alex to let her know Jo was ok.

At the same time, Kelley had just managed to get Alex calmed down. Alex wanted to immediately go find Jo and make things right, but Ellie's text convinced her to hold off until Jo was ready. Instead she settled for sending Jo a quick text.

Alex Morgan: I hope you're doing ok. Let me know when you're ready to talk. And remember, I promised to always be there for you, and nothing's changed.