The Actress and The Artist

Chapter 29: The Only Way Is Up

El had hit rock bottom and the way from there was up. So as soon as she left Billie's house she brought a PlayStation 5 from one of the local console stores as well as a couple games which looked alright. She brought an extra controller for when Max wanted to play and went home, the sun setting.

She sighed as she sat down on the sofa, everything set up. She turned it on and made an account. She should be setting her mind to more productive things, but Billie was right. She'd done all she had to and was also allowed to have fun.

She played about 30 minutes of the game before calling Billie, beginning to get pissed off.

"Bills." She said, putting the phone on her shoulder as she tried shooting the gun. "I'm playing your bullshit game, tell me why the fuck my gun isn't doing shit!"
"Hello to you too." The girl laughed from the other line, "Do you not have ammo?"
"Oh! Right, I knew that. How do I get ammo?" She asked.
"Loot it from the bodies and just around the place there might be some. Make sure your aim is good so you don't waste any."
"It's my first time, cut me some slack." She scoffed, finding some ammo after opening a drawer. "Also, why am I playing as an old ass man, where's the girl?"

"Hey! Don't disrespect Joel like that, you'll play as Ellie later."
"Her name's Ellie? Cool." El smiled, "Anyway, gotta go beat more zombie's asses. I'll talk to you later if I need more help."
"They're not even zombies-!" Was all she managed to say before El hung up.

———

El woke up on the sofa, groaning as she rubbed her eyes. She didn't feel as bad as she did the other days waking up, and she had to admit playing the game yesterday was kinda fun.

She sat up, sighing as she looked around. She had to see Max, it had been too long since she visited her last. Almost 2 weeks had passed and she was missing her like hell, even if it hurt to see her like that.

So she got up and had a nice warm shower, wearing just a hoodie and tracksuits before brushing her teeth and leaving the house, not in the mood for breakfast. She got a taxi to the hospital, biting her nails the whole way.

El was nervous. What if she had woken up and she wasn't there when she did? Her phone had been dead for ages so she would've missed all her calls. She checked her phone which she had charged the night before. No texts or messages from her. A ton from the boys though. She'll check them later.

She spoke to the receptionist before going upstairs to her room, slowly opening it. She was still in a coma, but without her machine now.

"Hey Max, it's El." She said, closing the door behind her, "I'm so sorry I haven't come to see you in a little while, I just... I haven't been in the best place recently and I didn't want you to see me like that. But um, I'm getting better, Billie's booked a therapy session for me so I'm kinda nervous about that. Hopefully it goes okay." She sat down in the chair, "It's almost March now and the weather's getting a bit warmer, finally." She smiled, holding her hand gently in her own.

She talked to her for a bit longer, mostly rambling on about the new games Billie was telling her about. "I mean, it's okay. The ammo thing is bullshit but it adds to the realism I guess. At least my aim in real life is a little better." El giggled, "Oh yeah. Harry or whatever is finally fully in prison. I made sure he gets the maximum sentence and I also put a restraining order against him for you and me so we never have to see his face again. Oh, and turns out Dustin and Suzie are actually still together! Which is crazy considering it's been like 5 years and they lived states apart for like most of it-"

El stopped as she felt Max's hand squeeze hers lightly. She froze, looking down at her hand. "Max was... was that you?" She asked quietly. The room was silent for a few moments until she felt the hand squeeze hers again, this time seeing it happen too. She grinned, "Yeah? You can hear me?" She kissed the back of her hand, not believing she was actually going to leave her. Her fingertips moved ever so slightly and Eleven laughed, not feeling so happy for months now. It was as if all the hope that had left her body had suddenly rushed back in and doubled- no, quadrupled.

Max could hear her, she could move her hands ever so slightly. She was slowly waking up.

"It's okay, don't panic." She said as she noticed Max's heart rate increase on the monitor, "This is so good, you don't know how happy you've made me. You're doing so good. Don't rush yourself to do anything too big too soon, let your mind wake up." She kissed her forehead, "I know you're there, I'll be right here when you wake up."

———

A few hours passed and El yawned, exhausted after this week. She checked the time, 9 pm. It was time to go.

"It's 9, it's time for me to go home." She told the girl, "The whole place is cleaned up and ready for when you come back. I'll see you first thing tomorrow," Jane said, standing up from the chair, "I promise." She came closer to the bed, putting her hand on her waist, leaning closer to her. "Sweet dreams, pretty girl." She smiled, kissing her cheek.

El then stood up straight, running her hand through her hair before leaving the room, a big smile on her face as she walked out the hospital, something that hadn't happened for months.