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Chapter 4:

"Hey baby girl". Joel announced quietly as he entered Ellie's bedroom and sat down in the nearby desk chair.

Ellie sniffed and sat up from where she had previously been curled up in the bed she shared with Cedar. "I was an asshole to Cedar, you don't have to tell me".

"Wanna tell me what happened?". Joel offered gently as he got up from the desk chair and sat on the bed.

"Didn't Cedar already rat me out?". Ellie mumbled as she looked down and played with her hands.

Joel smirked and huffed an amused laugh. "Can you at least try to tell me what happened?".

Ellie groaned in slight annoyance but nodded at her father's request. "The only reason we snuck out was because I wanted to help Cedar be more comfortable with who he is now".

Joel nodded in understanding as Ellie continued. "After we left one of the shops we found an old weed stash in the basement of this restaurant, we smoked for a while and I brought up how Dina and I did the same thing a few years ago".

Joel raised a brow at the mention of the weed stash but stayed silent as Ellie went on. "As soon as I brought up Dina, Cedar got really weird and told me that he's not like her. I got pissed off at him and here we are".

Joel released a sigh and ran a hand over his face before looking at his daughter. "He's got a point you know, he's not Dina and he never will be".

"I'm well aware of that". Ellie replied grumpily. "I think Cedar has a crush on me or something".

"I think he does too". Joel confirmed. "What do you think about that?".

"Dina's the love of my life and she always will be, even if I'll never see her again". Ellie stated. "I'm not interested in guys like that whatsoever".

"Then you need to tell Cedar that up front instead of getting mad at him and taking off". Joel replied firmly.

"Why the hell would he think I like him though? It's not like I've ever flirted with him or anything". Ellie questioned.

"Look baby girl, Cedar's never had experience with a relationship like you have". Joel explained. "And I think he's kinda interpreting you doing nice stuff for him as flirting".

"Are you saying I get around a lot or something?". Ellie asked with a roll of her eyes.

"No, All I'm saying is that you've had three different relationships already, First it was Riley, then it was Cat, and then Dina". Joel elaborated.

"Riley doesn't really count, all we did was kiss once". Ellie pointed out, frowning at the mention of her deceased best friend.

"But she was your first crush and first kiss". Joel pointed out. "That counts as something".

"Yeah, I guess". Ellie sighed, perking up as the bedroom door opened to reveal a nervous looking Cedar.

"Hey". Cedar announced quietly as he nervously played with his hands.

"Hi". Ellie replied as she gestured for Cedar to sit on her right side.

"Want me to leave?". Joel offered, sensing the tension between the two young adults.

"No!". Cedar almost yelled before quieting down a bit as he looked at Joel almost pleadingly. "Can you stay? Please?".

Joel looked concerned by Cedar's outburst but nodded as he settled back down on the bed. "Alright bear, I'll stay".

Cedar nodded and looked over at Ellie. "Listen, I'm really sorry about -".

"Don't worry about it, I shouldn't have freaked out like that". Ellie interrupted calmly.

"Yeah, but -". Cedar tried to continue with a confused expression.

"Ced, seriously, we're good". Ellie interjected firmly.

Cedar nodded sheepishly and coughed awkwardly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Right, well, okay then".

Ellie smiled and reached for her backpack, taking out the bag she'd stuffed inside it earlier that morning and handed it over to Cedar. "I almost forgot about this stuff".

Cedar dug through the bag and took out what looked like a fossil tooth necklace. "Is this what I think it is?".

"It's a Mosasaurus tooth necklace". Ellie explained, smiling at Cedar's excitement. "Your dad told me how much you love dinosaurs".

"A T - Rex tooth would have been cooler, but this'll do". Cedar joked as he put the necklace on before taking the other gift out of the bag. "What is this?". He asked, holding up what looked like an oddly shaped bra.

"That would be a chest binder". Joel explained. "It's what trans guys like yourself wear to flatten your chest area out".

"Huh, cool!". Cedar exclaimed as Ellie helped him with putting it on.

"Now you gotta be careful with that alright?, only wear it for eight hours everyday and never wear it at night, you hear me?". Joel instructed.

Cedar nodded as he inspected himself in the mirror on the back of the bedroom door, the binder was a bit uncomfortable but he certainly liked how his breasts weren't as visible anymore.

Joel smiled at Cedar's obvious delight and stood up from the bed. "Right, you two feel like going on a supply run?".

"Are sure you want me to go?". Cedar asked nervously, sensing that he was starting to take up too much of Joel's time with Ellie.

"Yes, I am". Joel replied firmly. "Movin' around will help you get the feel of your binder better anyways".

Cedar was still a bit uncertain but ultimately ended up nodding as got up from the bed and retrieved his backpack to follow Joel and Ellie back downstairs.

"We'll be back in a bit". Joel announced as he retrieved his pistol and holstered it at his hip.

"Just don't come back here glowing green or some shit, alright?". Benji said with a laugh as he watched the trio walk outside.

Once they were outside, Joel, Ellie and Cedar walked for a while until Ellie noticed a trail of blood that led straight up the road for a bit before veering off towards an old barn.

The trio walked up the old gravel driveway and carefully pressed themselves against each side of the barn door as Joel cocked his pistol and aimed it at the lock before removing it and tossing it aside.

Once the double sliding doors were opened, Joel stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted a man with long, straggled hair and numerous ugly looking wounds along his body handcuffed to one of the support beams. "Tommy?!".