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SEVERAL DAYS HAD flown past, each trailing along as slowly as the previous, or at least that's how it felt for Ellie. Buried in blankets, Ellie had remained cooped up inside the small tent without a single movement, other than when she needed the bathroom. Daryl allowed time for visitation with Coda, but it was seldom any good for Ellie as she could barely move her head to make eye contact.
From where she had been curled up in a small ball, Ellie had truly observed every aspect of the small tent, just to allow time to tick by quicker. She knew just how many scratches the tent had endured in its lifetime; how many holes that the tent had suffered from harsh winds or accidents; the length of the zip that climbed from the very bottom of the tent, up to its head. Ellie had succumbed down a dark rabbit hole, and she was struggling to find her way out.
Her inner thoughts battled amongst one another for dominance — her attempt at soothing her thoughts only exemplified how truly low she had been. She couldn't help but consider it it was her fault that her mother was gone, and that her sister was all alone in the world, perhaps even dead, herself. Her mind continue to torment her with images of Luke, and how he, too, is missing — all because of her.
Ellie's mind trailed off to a distant memory of her entire family — her parents, her brother, her sister and her uncle. A small, tight-knit family with a love as deep as the ocean. She assumed that her uncle would have been at his military base somewhere, even in Fort Benning, which was why a part of her was desperate to go. The other half wanted to avoid it completely. She had adored her uncle, but she couldn't risk anybody else's life by having them around her. Though he hadn't been her uncle by blood, he had proven to be an unwaveringly loyal member of their family. True in his loyalty.
Breaking Ellie from her thoughts, Daryl slowly unzipped the tent, and crawled inside, with Coda bouncing on his back happily. That one particular day, Ellie had finally mustered the courage to sit up; to even discuss events with Daryl; to be human once again. As he and Coda settled in, babbling nonsense about what they had done previously as they typically did, Ellie slowly peeled herself off the ground, and pushed herself up to sit up.
"Woah, bab—" Daryl stopped himself from finishing his sentence, suddenly disgusted by his choice of word. That wasn't him.
His jaw swung slightly as he observed Ellie sitting up, and burying her chin deep into her knees for safety. Even against the dark circles and tousled hair she looked like perfection. To him, she was the embodiment of beauty. "You doin' okay? Ya don't got to do this."
"I think it's about time," she muttered into her knees, before slowly bringing her eyes up to meet Daryl's. She felt herself relax as their eyes met — a sight she had missed while she grieved heavily, "I've missed both of you."
Coda leaped forward, and wrapped herself around her mother as tightly as she possibly could, and began to tremble, "I missed you, Mommy. You were so quiet."
