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ooi. the good impression.
The thought of her still burned in her chest. Even weeks after the event, Brodie was still drowning in her own self-pity. She could barely muster up the courage to leave her small little home — it was too comfortable and the people out there weren't the nicest. She was still extremely new to the tight knit community, so everyone still had their cruel assumptions about her. But could she blame them? The voices in her head spoke louder than the residents of settlement, though. They all couldn't have been as cruel as she imagines them to be.
Ellie certainly wasn't.
Brodie could imagine how hard it was to approach a murderer. She in no way expected visitors. The two strangers gifted her a place to lay her head at night, there was nothing more to ask for. Yet, she did it all on her own. Ellie allowed the girl to settle in and try to get comfortable, but she never left her house until she needed to grab food — which wasn't often. Some nights she'd wander the streets, and she'd hear the faint wails sounding from her cracked windows. Ellie knew what it was like to feel the unimaginable weight of self-condemnation, and she wanted to help ease her out of it. She felt like she was the only person to do it. Ellie began visiting the young woman, trapping herself with the shameful Brodie. They were equally distant from each other, barely opening their mouths, just being in the same space. Initially, Brodie didn't even open the door — so there was improvement.
Despite her own guilty conscience, Brodie had believed she'd made a friend. The only person she could even think about speaking to was Ellie. If she actually left her house, she'd be knocking on her door. But, Ellie believed it was time to take a step forward — it was time for her to finally attend a Jackson party. It was full of booze and loud with music that you'd think would make you go crazy, but really it was quite soothing.
"It's not as cold out there as you think, Dee." Ellie reassured, alluding to the residents of the settlement. Of course, there were those ones and twosies, but the majority were fairly kind people. Maria made sure of it. "Here, it's all about surrounding yourself with the right people. Then, the wrong people won't matter." She spoke, leaning on her dresser at the end of her bed. Brodie was leaned back in her plaid pajamas against her headboard, with her hands over her eyes. "How can you surround yourself with the right people if you stay in your house?"
Brodie shifted, sitting crisscross on bed glaring at the wiry woman leaning on her oak dresser. The dark hooks under her dull eyes spoke a lot for her. She'd never been so worried about her appearance until then. Brodie hadn't had a good nights sleep since she first got there. Every time she closed her eyes she'd see the scene where she'd left her friend. Or if not that, it was her mother coming to her in spirit. Her firm curls were nowhere near tamed. They were frizzy and matted in different places — Brodie was confused on how Ellie could even stand to look in her direction. "I doubt they'd wanna see me anyway... look at me! I'd be one shitty second impression." She bleated, pushing off of her queen-sized bed and onto the cool wooden floor. Ellie groaned aloud, following her swift movements. Her nose scrunched up at the foul aroma coming from the cheerless woman stalking towards her bathroom.
