Half Return - TLOU

9. Friend.

After a lot of hushed arguing and bickering, Gracie had managed to convince Manny to sneak her out too. Had she guilt tripped him into it? Maybe.

"You do realize that Issac is gonna interrogate us all again after you do this?" Manny asked. He was already leading Gracie to the apartment complex that he snuck Abby out of.

Gracie tilted her head. "Yeah, well, maybe if someone told me Abby was gonna lose her fucking mind, I could've stopped her, or gone with her at least," she huffed.

Manny started to lead Gracie up some stairs, scoffing slightly. The stairs were made out of stone, they were all jarred and each step was a different height from the one that came before it. The moss that encased over them added a new level of difficulty for walking on them. "Abby specifically told me not to tell you. She knew you'd follow her."

Gracie rolled her eyes. Abby did have a good point, if Gracie would've found out, there was no way she was going alone.

It just made her worry. Gracie hated going on assignments that included fights, and that was when she was with a squad, but now Abby was all alone and the chances of her winning against hundreds of scars were extremely low. Yes, she could handle herself, but she wasn't a superhero.

"She cares about Owen. A little too much. You and I know that," Manny stated.

Gracie furrowed her eyebrows. "He killed one of our people for one of our enemies."

Manny tilted his head. "We don't know the circumstances. Little surprised to hear that from you, Gracie. Defending Danny."

"I'm not defending that asshole, I'm just saying-"

Manny reached the top of the stairs and turned around to watch Gracie as she clambered the last few. "Saying that you don't like Abby's feelings for Owen."

Gracie scoffed and stomped her foot down on the last step a little more harshly than the rest. It was at least midday by now, by the time Gracie reached Abby, it could be nightfall. Gracie hated the thought of wondering out there alone in the night, she hated the thought of Abby alone even more.

"I'm not saying that," she scoffed.

Manny audibly laughed, leading her around a corner and through a slim doorway, which they both had to squeeze through. "That's exactly what you're saying."

Gracie furrowed her eyebrows, following him into the oddly filled room. This place was supposed to be abandoned.

"So what if I am? Owen and Abby happened, they didn't work. They broke each other's hearts a billion times. It's not a bad thing that she cares about him. We all care about him. Abby isn't gonna be able to stop Owen from doing whatever he wants to do. If Owen wants to be found, he'll be at the aquarium, we all know that-"

"Did you tell Issac that?" Manny interrupted.

Gracie furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. "No, I'm not dumb. Anyway, if Owen doesn't want to be found, Abby won't find him. It's that simple...and! She left without telling me."

Manny chuckled slightly and shook his head. "Damn, you're being mean today, Gracie. Besides, Abby didn't tell anyone else."

But she didn't tell me.

"I know," Gracie whined like a child who wasn't getting their own way. "Oh," she hummed, leaning down to the floor and picking up a letter that she presumed had just been discarded there. Maybe it explained why the place was still full of furniture.

It sure did.

"Oh!" Gracie laughed. "Holy shit!" She batted her eyelashes sarcastically, putting on a higher pitch voice. "When I'm with you...the world slips away, I- hey! I was reading that!"