to the ends of the earth || ellie williams (book one)

thirty two

As I entered the dressing room, I saw Ellie laid facing the wall, her hands beneath her cheek as she breathed slowly. I pushed the door closed behind me, kicking off my boots and crawling into bed with her. I wrapped my arms around her warm body, nuzzling my face into her hair and inhaling her warm scent.

She didn't turn to face me. She didn't acknowledge me. In fact, her body tensed when I touched her. I sprung up in confusion, placing a hand on her shoulder to turn her over to face me. Her expression was dazed and blank, it was almost as if there was nothing behind her eyes.

"Babe?" I asked softly, "Ellie... what's going on? Did you get Nora to talk?"

She nodded slowly as she stared right through me. I pulled her into a seated position, resting her head against the backboard to straddle her waist. I held her face in my hands, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"I thought you were dead. I couldn't find you, I couldn't find Jesse..." She muttered shakily, "I thought you were gone."

"Ellie... I'd never leave you. I will follow you everywhere," I whispered, "To the very ends of the earth."

"Why?" She whimpered.

"Because I love you," I nodded, "I love you."

She wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, nuzzling her face into my chest and finally letting go of the tension in her shoulders. Ellie sighed deeply, as if she couldn't breathe until our bodies were intertwined.

"Ellie... let's go home,"

She hesitated for a few seconds before nodding her head slowly, "Give me one more day... then we'll find Tommy and we'll go."

"One more day,"  I sighed in defeat, "Just one more."

SEATTLE
DAY THREE

Ellie seemed a little more herself in the morning. She was already up by the time I awoke, perched at the dressing table with a guitar in her hands. Her slim fingers adjusted the tuning pegs. She strummed delicately and hummed in contentment. Singing a familiar tune that I couldn't quite place, Ellie hadn't noticed me pull myself up slightly to get a better view of her.

"What're you singing?" I asked, turning my head to the side with a soft smile.

"Nothing," She mumbled, "You sleep okay?"

"Yeah, what time is it? Didn't you want to set off early today to look for Tommy?" I yawned as Ellie made her way back into bed.

"It's still early. Jesse's asleep on a couch against the door. I don't think he wants us leaving without him again," She chuckled, shaking her head as she wrapped her arm around me and pulled me into her chest.

I inhaled her warm scent as her fingers tangled in my hair, her fingertips grazing my scalp gently causing my eyes to flutter closed again.

"Ellie... when we get back, what're we gonna do?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... is it gonna be hard? Staying in Jackson after all of this?" I began, "Maybe you need to get out. Doesn't have to be far... we could go. Just you and me."

She paused for a few moments before holding my face in her hands, leaning forward to press a soft kiss against my lips. Her thumb stroked my cheek gently as her eyes rested on mine. She pulled my head towards her lips once more, this time kissing my forehead before climbing back out of bed.

"Ellie..." I trailed off, grasping for her as she lifted to her feet and began to shuffle into her jeans.

"Charlotte..." She teased, zipping up her jeans, "We'll talk about it once we're out of here, okay?"