Joel Miller x Reader

Fourteen

"Fucking hell...", you mumbled and kicked a door open. "I did not sign up for this. Who am I? The fucking welfare?"

With a growl stuck in your throat, you pushed a door open, not even paying attention if somebody was lurking on the other side.

The door swung open with force, taking with it a chair that someone had long ago placed behind it for safety, and ramming everything in its path to the side.

Empty cans fell to the floor, gals broke. A deafening noise filled the silence.

Through clenched teeth, you cursed.

"Shit!", someone hissed.

The sound of a gun being pulled rang out, then the click of a fuse coming loose.

Cautiously you threw a glance inside the room. Somehow this voice sounded familiar. But maybe your memory was just playing tricks on you.

Slowly you put your foot into the room, your head pulled in. Your fingers tightened around the revolver.

Suddenly something moved in the shadows.

Alarmed, you jerked your head around, raised your arm.
But you were not fast enough.

With surprising force, someone grabbed you, lifted you into the air and threw you against the wall.

Pain coursed through your back. It felt as if your spine would break.

An arm pushed itself under your chin and pressed on your neck, so harsh and suddenly that you swallowed in surprise. Eyes wide open, you grabbed the arm and buried your fingernails in the denim of the jacket.

You resisted, but as the feeling of a knife pressed lightly against your lower torso, you froze. Under tension you tried to breathe in, but it hurt like fire in your lungs from the pressure on your larynx.

With veiled vision, you turned your gaze. Surprised, you gasped.

"Tommy...", his name scratched in your throat.

His face was distorted with rage. A thin thread of blood dripped from his forehead, someone must have hit him on the head. His eyes roamed over your face. It took a moment before he recognized you.

"You.", surprised, he leaned back and let go of you.

Coughing heavily, you sighed and let yourself sink to the floor with your back against the wall.

"You are surprisingly fast.", you said and swallowed. "Almost crushed my neck."

Checking, you felt with your fingers over the place where his arm had been. It already felt a little swollen, and from the way pain stung your ears as you swallowed, you knew he had almost strangled you.

His eyes looked at you uncertainly. With one hand Tommy rubbed the back of his neck, while in the other he let the knife dance nervously between his fingers.

"You're...", he seemed to be searching for your name.

Defensively, you raised your hand.

"My name doesn't matter.", you cleared your throat. "I've helped you before, that's important."

He nodded.

"But you're hardly here to save me."

You shook your head.

"Of course not. Joel and I have an agreement. They are waiting for you."

His mouth formed into an understanding loud.

"I'll take your word for it, as an apology for almost killing you. Where are they?"

Annoyed, you groaned and made it back to your feet.

"Why are you all so difficult? Is it so hard to believe that I have no interest in you?"

He shrugged.

"It's unusual to meet someone who doesn't want to kill you."

"I know. But believe me, if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing here."

Again Tommy shrugged.

The look on his face made it obvious that he wasn't so confident about that fact. This time he put the knife away, apparently you were more believable than he had wanted to admit.

"So?", he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Where are they?"

Swallowing hard, you rubbed your neck. The pain quickly improved, which meant that nothing was seriously hurt. Maybe a few bruises would remain, but no permanent damage.

"At the main entrance.", you looked around. "Ellie said you know where that is."

At the mention of her name, his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"He found Ellie?", Tommy asked, audibly relieved.

A mild smile appeared on his lips. Immediately his face looked less grim and more friendly.

You nodded.

"You'd better hurry. They want to get out of here as fast as possible. And make sure you don't run into anyone."

Hastily he turned to the door, had already taken the first steps, when Tommy suddenly stopped and half turned to you.

"And you?", he asked.

There was a curious shimmer in his eye.

"Not your business.", you hissed. "Just hurry up. And don't get in my way. Joel gave me a promise."

Shrugging, Tommy made his way to the door.

"Best of luck.", he said and vanished.

Amused, you snorted. A bitter taste spread on your tongue as you turned away and walked into the opposite direction.

"I don't need luck...", you mumbled. "I just need to be faster than her..."

You listened for a while, how his steps moved further away, quick and full of excitement.

By the way he walked it was easy to tell that his mind did not pay attention to his surroundings. He was just excited to be reunited with his family again.

This excitement made him careless, but that was not your problem.

Shaking your head, you walked into another room, threw a quick glance into the cabinets and shoved the few useful things that you found into your pockets.

The steps were still echoing inside your ears.

But all of a sudden, everything went silent.

Surprised, you froze, still a can of ravioli in your hand. You held your breath and listened. The beating of your own heart filled your ears.

Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four...

A shot rang out. Just one, not a second.

One single shot.

Then, steps sounded again. But they were not Tommy's steps. They were multiple ones. A group, heavily armed men and women.

Breathing out, you placed the ravioli on a table. Your grip tightened, the metal bend and crunched.

For a long, very long moment, you hesitated.

This was ridiculous. He was a stranger, nothing more. But still, something inside of you refused to turn your back on him. Or his brother. Hells, even Ellie seemed like a person that was worth the trouble.

"Shit...", you cursed. "What am I doing? Fuck it... one good deed."