Wishes (Ellie Williams)

Chapter 11- Forgiveness

They'd been out for a day.

Lily still on her own horse letting Ellie and Joel ride together. She'd shut down again, slightly.

She couldn't look at Joel. She couldn't speak to him. She couldn't be near him. As much as she wanted to he had hurt her. Joel had now know practically everything that happened to Lily throughout her life.

And yet he still chose to look at her and tell her that he wished he had left her by herself, left her to fend, left her to die alone. When he said those words to her, her world started to slowly crumbled around her. She wanted to forgive him. Truly she did because even if she didn't want to she still loved him. But she couldn't bring herself to.

She couldn't bare the thought that these past 5 months with him have all been a lie, but it seemed to be true.

However on the other hand. Joel was doing everything in his power to get her to even look at him let alone talk to him. He felt like the worst person on earth knowing he made her feel unloved and useless. He couldn't take it.

He tried everything, he tried to get Ellie to switch with her, he tried taking her hunting, he tried cracking those stupid puns her and Ellie loved so much, he tried speaking of memories from the last months, he tried recalling times Sage had gotten them to all laugh together, nothing was working.

But again, on the other, other hand. Him and Ellie were doing better then ever. The girl jumped to forgive him for his words the instant he had let her decide who to go with. They laughed together, shared stories and jokes, Joel had begun teaching her to hunt ever so slowly, he was happy that he had at least one of his girls back. But he needed both of them.

Since Lily had began to close herself off once more, she also started shutting Ellie out. Not on purpose, not cause she wanted to, and it's not like she was shutting her out completely. It was just clear that Lily was not okay. Even though it's only been a day since they all set off again, Ellie had felt like it had been ages since the two of them talked, or shared those longing looks. Even though it had in reality only been two hours.

Lily wasn't as up beat. She wasn't as soft as she had grown to be, but she wasn't unkind, to Ellie anyways. Lily didn't even know if she could ever be unkind to Ellie, even if she was in a mood or shutting down, she couldn't bring herself to be mean even in the slightest to the brown haired girl who made her stomach flip.

Currently the three of them stood by a fallen log, Joel had set up a small target that read: asshole, as he began to teach Ellie how to use his shot gun properly.

The two crouched close together, Lily stood off to the side with her arms crossed. Not far, but she wasn't close like she normally would be.

She watched Ellie as she took the gun from Joel, to try and shoot and aim correctly. Lily couldn't help but let a small, small smile fall faintly on her lips as she watched Ellie. She was failing miserably.

Ellie sighed.

"Wide right, you're flinching" Joel snickered at her as she rolled her eyes, "the targets to small" she groaned.

"I made it bigger then I should've. Eject the cartridge" Joel instructed and she did as she was told. "I am not flinching, the rifle just sucks" Ellie protested as she tried again.

"Okay, give it" Joel told her as he took it from her, Ellie now moving to his side to watch, "it doesn't aim right, you'll see" she said to him.

Lily still only watched, wishing she could join but refusing to be next to Joel.

"Deep breath in, slow breath out. Squeeze the trigger like you love it. Gentle, steady. Nice and slow" Joel instructed as he leaned down to aim.

"You gonna shoot this thing or get it pregnant" Ellie chuckled as she looked at him as he rolled his eyes at her and her childish remark.

He didn't respond as he turned back to the gun and aimed it.

"It isn't gonna work it doesn't aim right" Ellie protested but continued to watch through her binoculars.

He shot. And hit the target. Ellie threw her binoculars to her side with a loud groan, "you dick" she exclaimed which only earned her a shrug from Joel.

Lily smiled at the interaction but the second Joel turned to her it faded as she turned back to her horse and mounted it, telling the two it was time to continue without words. And they followed her.

The next few days had stayed the same, Lily refusing to do any sort of bonding with Joel as him and Ellie grew closer. The girl had teased but admired him for being a contractor before the fall at some point. And the man began teaching them, or Ellie since Lily was uninterested, in the game he called football.

They'd made the trip in 5 days. Which pleased them all. They rode on their horses as they entered the home of the big horns. They rode through the college campus, Joel telling them how it use to work in places like this.

Joel spoke of how he wanted to be a singer which Ellie teased him for and told him he had to sing for her since she was gonna save the world. And for the first time Lily laughed and sent a smile his way at the thought of him singing. Or wanting to.

His heart filled as he looked at her. But the moment didn't last long as she turned forwards again as they continued.

Lily and Ellie were in awe as they watched monkeys roam the campus, but they had found what they were looking for, the correct glass building. However, there were no guards, the place was silent.

They all dismounted the horses and pulled their guns out filing into the building, searching around down and upstairs for people, but there were none. Even though there were signs there were, and recently.

They'd found monkeys upstairs, to their dismay, instead of the doctors they'd been hoping for.

They'd found a map, leading to where they were to head next in search, until they saw men outside, but they were no doctors. It all happened to fast.

One moment they were reaching their horses, and the next they were being attacked, Joel strangling one man, and Lily shooting another.

They all stood there panicked, but the girls eyes fell on Joel, their faces paled and their hearts dropped as they looked down to see him impaled with a knife.

"Joel" Lily whispered as she ran up to him.

"No no no! Don't pull it out!" She yelled, but it was to late, Ellie was helping him throw himself onto the horse as Lily got on hers, Ellie turned to shoot at them. But the horses did their jobs, they got them the fuck out of there.

They'd made it a little while until Lily looked back at Ellie's panicked screams to see Joel on the ground passed out.

"Fuck!" She exclaimed quickly jumping from her horse and joining Ellie on the ground shaking him.

Ellie was pleading for him to open his eyes, to get up. She started crying, saying how she couldn't do this without him. And it was true. Neither of them could.

Lily also began crying silently. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her hands shook and gripped his along with Ellie. "I forgive you" she whispered.

A/N
Sorry for the no update yesterday. Forewarning though I may not update for the next 2-4 days cause I'm currently driving across country to my new apartment and have like zero service any of the way. But if I get some at another point I will ❤️🤭🥰🙌

Also sorry for this, it's short and rushed but I'm so delusional right now, I just drove 15 hours today.