Messy - Abby Anderson x Fem Reader

Chapter 2 - Save her, yeah?

My cheekbone throbs with pain as I try to squeeze my eyes shut. Stop thinking about Abby. Stop thinking about Abby. Stop thinking about Abby.

I sit up angrily, rubbing my hand over my face roughly to snap me out of this. Why am I thinking so much about her? She's... changed. So much. Do I miss her?

...

With a deep sigh, I stand from my makeshift bed. It's too dark to see anything clearly so I hesitantly reach my foot out for clear areas on the carpet to walk on.

I make my way down the stairs and carefully open a door to see if that's where Jesse is sleeping. There's a manly figure sleeping on the couch in the corner. Bingo.

"Jesse?" I whisper, stepping into the room and gently shutting the door behind me. His body stirs and a small incoherent murmur comes from him. I walk further into the room and stop beside him, kneeling down next to the couch as I look at him. "I can't sleep."

"Why?" He mumbles drowsily, his eyes slowly fluttering open as he tries to sit up without moving his leg too much. "What's wrong? Is Ellie back yet?"

I didn't even realise Ellie left. Jeez, how long did I lay in that room for?

He sits up completely and moves aside, giving me some room to join him on the couch so I do. I plant myself into the cushion and sigh. "Where did Ellie go?" I ask, not wanting to talk about Abby. If she's a WLF soldier, then I don't want Jesse finding out.

"Some hospital. She's hunting some woman down. I assume you know about Joel?" His voice is raspy as he looks towards me, also pulling some of the blanket onto my lap. The name rings a bell though. Joel... Wonder where I heard that from before.

I shrug as a response, wanting him to explain, and my hands begin to play with the edge of the woven blanket.

"Long story short, Joel's dead and Ellie's seeking revenge. And my friend's problems are my problems. Joel was... He was like Ellie's dad in a way," he explains and I nod along, understanding the grief that Ellie must be feeling.

"I know a friend," I say hesitantly, my mind rushing back to Abby. Could I even call her a friend anymore? "She lost her dad too. Great guy too, he was a doctor. Planned to save the world and all."

"Sorry," he murmurs. His gaze drifts back to his leg and I notice.

"Does it hurt?" I ask and sit up a little straighter, the thought of sleep completely evading my mind.

He shrugs, straightening his leg out across the armrest of the couch. "Just a little. Nothing I can't handle." He looks back to me with a small reassuring smile through the dimly lit room.

A rhythmic knock sounds through the theatre and I raise my brow as if to ask if it's Ellie. He nods and tries to get up but I usher him to stay down, tossing the blanket across his chest.

"I'll get it," I reassure him and leave the room.

"It's me," Ellie's wavering voice cracks from the other side of the door and I frown in worry, my eyes locking with Dina's as her hands work on opening the door. I stand behind her and watch as Ellie's frame comes into view.

Dina immediately pulls her into a hug but Ellie's arms don't go around her. She seems like she's in shock. Her eyes are empty and locked onto the floor and there are intense tremors in her hands. Not to mention the blood practically drenching her- My god, what happened to her?

As Dina pulls away awkwardly, she asks, "Are you okay?"

Ellie's eyes remain fixated on nothing in particular as her lips part to answer but nothing comes out. Her head gives a weak nod but I can't tell if that's her shaking or replying.

"Whose blood is that?" I ask quietly, wanting to get the main concern out of the way but she doesn't reply. Bless her, I wonder what exactly happened.

Ellie walks further in as Dina closes the door and she pulls out a map to show Dina. The paper rustles ever so quietly in her unstable grasp, her finger hovering mid air shakily. "She's hiding out in the..." Even her voice wavers with almost each word. I can't help it as my brows furrow further, my lips pressed in concern for this girl I only met yesterday. "...in this aquarium..."

"Okay..." Dina speaks so gently with her, her own eyes alerted with concern. "Come on." Gently taking the map from Ellie, she hands it to me and guides Ellie away into another room to get her cleaned up.

I glance down at the map and my eyes get drawn to a big red circle drawn around an aquarium, and a scribbled name of...

Abby?!

My head snaps up and I open my mouth to call back out to Dina but they're already gone. Anxiously, I look back at the map. This better not be the Abby I know...

Shit. I mean, I hate her but I've seen these girls in action and the thought of them going after her irks me. Just who are these people I've involved myself with?

Fuck, Abby, why the fuck have you had to just- I groan to myself and grip the map tighter. I could leave it here with them, help them get to Abby or I could take it with me and risk having them as enemies.

Okay. Okay. I'll just draw myself a replica and leave the real one with them. So that's what I return to the upstairs office to do.

Within the next few hours, I am back on the road, leaving the theatre behind.

Abby, you better make this worth it.