Till The End of The Line

~Four~

Ways down the road, I felt a smack on the driver side of the truck. "Alright, this'll do!" Bill yelled, signaling me to stop the truck. "Stop!"

I rolled my eyes and brought the truck to a halt. Bill hopped out and I turned around to Joel. "Just keep her running." I gave a small nod and looked back at Ellie.

"You're not leaving too are you?" She asked, looking at me with a glimmer of hope. I bit my lip looking between Bill and Joel as they had a somewhat quiet argument.

"Ellie, I'm not too sure." I whispered to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it soothingly.

"Those two almost got us killed back there." Bill said, walking away from the truck. Hurt settled in my chest and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. I learned everything I know from him, that selfish prick.

"You have to admit, they both could've held their own." Joel defended, following behind Bill. Wow, this man I barely even knew defended me more than my own family.

"Joel, I'm not gonna make it if I keep her with me. And without her i'm not sure you're gonna make it."

"No, Bill. I cannot take your niece with me. I can barely handle Ellie. She's your responsibility."

"I can't take care of her and keep my town safe. I'm going back to town alone." Bill walked away and then stopped again. "Here's this." Throwing him a hose.

"What's this?" Joel asked, examining the hose.

"You'd be shocked how many cars in this town have gas." Tears had started to flow down my face, and I tried my hardest to keep my sniffling to a minimum. Ellie rubbed my shoulder, trying to soothe me but also trying to keep a boundary.

"We square?" Bill asked Joel, looking down at his boots.

"We're square." Joel nodded, taking the hose and putting it in his backpack.

"Alright, then get the fuck out of my town." With that, Bill made quick eye contact with me and then walked back to town. Joel turned around and made his way to the driver side. Quickly wiping my eyes, I unbuckled the seat belt and motioned for Ellie to get in the back.

Joel opened the door and just looked at me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I know this isn't ideal for either of us, but I'm not just leaving you in the middle of nowhere." He placed his hand on my knee and squeezed it comfortingly. A lone tear escaped my eye and I quickly wiped it away. With that, Joel took off down the road, heading to our next destination.

As time had passed droplets started to scatter across the windows, my head rested against the cool glass as I watched the world pass by. Thunder began rolling through the clouds, almost in a comforting way.

"Oh man!" Ellie shouted, rustling with something that sounded similar to papers in the backseat. I jumped in my seat, looking back at her as I tried to regulate my heartbeat.

"Hey! What happened to sleeping?" Joel asked, looking into the rear view mirror to see what had Ellie so wound up.

"Okay, I know it doesn't look like it, but this here is not a bad read! Only one problem, right there!" She pointed to the drawn out character on the final page. "To be continued! I hate cliffhangers." Her body slumped back into the seat, letting out a huff.

"Where did you get that?" I chuckled, as Joel let out his usual annoyed sigh. I Had a very good feeling where she found that comic book, but I kept my demeanor straight so I could hold up the serious act.

"Uh, back at Bill's. I mean, all this stuff was laying there!"

Joel shook his head, hiding a smile, "What else did you get?"

"Well here. Does this make you all nostalgic?" She pulled out a cassette tape and I let out a hearty laugh. Joel cut his eyes at me, but the smirk that played on his lips didn't go unnoticed. 

"Ouch, that was actually before my time. That is a winner though." He took the tape and inserted it into the player. A banjo softly strummed through the speakers, a southern voice following behind.

"Better than nothing." I mumbled, leaning my head back on the head rest. More paper rustling in the back seat sounded again, catching my attention, once again.

"I'm sure your uncle will be missing these. Light on the reading, but it's got some...interesting photos. I looked back to be met with Ellie holding up an adult magazine that was full of naked men. MY mouth fell open when she flipped the magazine to the side, causing one of the pages to fall out, elongating the picture.

"Ellie, now that ain't for kids." Joel tried to grab the magazine while also keeping the wheel straight.

"How in the hell would he even walk around with that thing."

"Get rid of it!"

"Now hold your horses, I want to see what all the fuss is about! Why are these pages all stuck together?" Both mine and Joel's eyes widened, trying to think if we should gag or laugh. "I'm just fucking with you guys." She rolled down the back window and tossed the dirty magazine out. "Bye bye, dude!"

We passed a road sign that read Pittsburgh, 243 miles away. "Why don't you two try to get some sleep?" Joel suggested, hoping that would make the ride a bit faster.

"What? I'm not even tired!" Ellie shouted, slouching into her window. Not even 5 minutes later, her soft snores filled the truck. I took a quick glance and chuckled softly to myself.

"For someone who wasn't tired, that was fast." I shifted in my seat, trying to get comfortable. He gave me a soft smile and patted my thigh softly.

"That's usually how it works, kid. Why don't you get some rest too, we've still got some ways to go." He suggest, removing his hand so I could put my legs in a more comfortable position.

"I just wanted to say sorry about my uncle just dropping me off on you. I heard you try to fight back, but I'll get out of your hair as soon as we get to Pittsburgh. I don't want to get in the way of you and Ellie."

"Hey, it's okay. I wasn't gonna leave you out on your ass. It wasn't part of the plan, but things happen. Now the only thing I need from you is to close your eyes and get some rest, darling." My heart leapt into my throat at the new nickname. I could feel my stomach doing flips as I gave him a quiet nod. He put his hand back on my leg to rub it soothingly, trying to give me a sense of comfort. With the warmth of his hand and the sound of the storm, my eyes began to droop and much needed sleep took over my body.