save me

MY BLOOD IS ALL I SEE AS YOU STEAL MY SOUL FROM ME

The first thing Ellie thinks when she mets her new guardian is "what a fucking creep". He watches her as she and Marlene walk through the door. The house smells awful, like a mix of beer and bleach. Which doesn't seem like a good mix. She glared at the man who only smiled at her.

"Well, this is Ellie," Marlene said, gesturing to Ellie. "Ellie, this is David, your new guardian."

"Hello Ellie," David said, his smile growing. "We're going to have a lot of fun."

Ellie raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Ellie, be nice," Marlene hissed.

"Fuck off," she snapped, glaring at Marlene. She didn't give a damn about this asshole or about Marlene. She missed Joel. She'd rather be with Joel then with David.

"Aw, that's alright Marlene, she's still adjusting. It's bound to happen with a kid like her," David commented, never losing his smile.

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean?" Ellie asked, feeling her mood sour.

"It just means that you grew up in an awful place so you're bound to be hostile towards others," He explained. "Nothing bad."

"Whatever, asshat," Ellie scoffed. "Can I see my room or not?"

David nodded. "Of course, follow me."

She rolled her eyes but followed him through the living room and down a dark-lit hallway to the very end of it. There was a door on the left. "This is your room," David said, opening the door.

Ellie walked inside, glancing around. There was a bed in the middle of the room, a desk was pushed against the wall, next to it was a wardrobe. "Thanks, I guess," she said. Sure the room had more things in then her room at Joel's but it wasn't comforting here. It was cold and something felt off.

"Anything for you, doll," David said, sending shivers down Ellie's spine. Something was very off here. She turned around, not wanting her back to be to him. She had to keep an eye on him, she definitely wasn't safe.

Her shoulders slumped at that realization. Joel had promised her that she'd be safe, he guaranteed it yet she watched as Marlene talked to David, confirming everything. How could she be safe if she was in the hands of this guy? She blinked back tears as Marlene said goodbye to the both of them and left.

"Now, how about we talk about some rules?" David said, leaning against the door frame, effectively trapping her in her room. "No staying up past nine, don't dress inappropiately, meaning no tank tops or shorts that don't go to your knees same with skirts and dresses; do your chores which is vaccuming, dishes, sweeping, and laundry; don't talk back, just do as you're told; the door stays open at all times unless you're changing and lastly, stop swearing."

Ellie's eyes widened at the rules. She definitely missed Joel's rules. However, she nodded. "Alright," she said softly, thinking of a way to get out of here. Maybe if she went to Joel, he could- no. She's just overreacting, everything is going to be okay.

"Good, lunch is in an hour, make sure you're out there when it's done or you're not getting any," He said before he walked away. She stared at where he was before she moved out of sight of the door frame, falling to the floor. She hated it here, she missed Joel. And he said that she would be okay. Funny.

———

Her life was fucking miserable. She hated it here with a burning passion, hated David with a burning passion. It had omly been three days since she's been at David's but it's like he's out to get her. She misses Joel and she misses his warmth and comfort. She wants to go home so badly. She sniffled as she listened to David laugh deeply in the living room. She took a deep breath in before she stood up, walking out of her room. She walked down the hallway and through the living room, going into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, scanning the bare contents. No food, again.

"What the fuck are you doing?" David scoffed from the living room, tv paused.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to find something to eat, I'm fucking starving," Ellie responded, shutting the fridge.

"Don't you dare fucking curse at me you little shit," David said, making Ellie want to laugh at irony of that.

"Whatever," She scoffed. "Why don't you have any food?"

"I have plentiful food, you're just being a picky shit," He replied.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd fucking say that," she said, leaving the kitchen.

David stood up, glaring at the girl. "The fuck is that supposed to mean? Remember your place, you should be worshipping me where you fucking stand. I could've let you sleep out on the streets but I was nice enough to open my doors to you."

Ellie glared at him. "Well maybe you should've kept them fucking shut! If you did then I would still be with Joel."

David raised an eyebrow. "Oh so that's how it's going to be? You ungrateful little bitch," he snapped, storming forward.

Ellie tried back up but he reached her before she could, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her forward. She yelped, her hands flying up to grab at his hands. "Fuck off!" She screeched, clawing at his hands.

"You're gonna regret being a bitch," He spat, his hands letting go of her hair so he could backhand her, sending the girl to the side.

Ellie fell sideways into the tv stand, the glass table shattering upon impact and cutting into parts of her face and hands. She groaned as she leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy from the smack. Faintly, she heard footsteps. She let out a yell when David yanked on her ponytail, pulling up. "Get up," he growled, pulling harder.

Ellie weakly pushed herself up, the world spinning. "Let go," she huffed.

"No, you're gonna fucking learn!" he yelled. He used his grip on her to slam her into the wall, causing Ellie to yell, before he let go, pushing Ellie to the floor.

She groaned upon impact, glaring up at David who stood above her, wearing a wide grin. "Let's have some fun," he said, lowering down to straddle her.

Ellie's eyes widen and she started to squirm. "No! No!" She shouted, her left hand fumbling around on the floor, trying to find something to hit david.

One of his hands came up to her mouth to cover it, only for Ellie to bite down on it, causing David to curse and pull away completely. Ellie scrambled back, feeling his blood trickle down her chin, and onto her feet. She glanced at him before she ran to her room, bursting into it. She grabbed her bag before she ran out of the room and down the hall. She yelped when David popped up in the middle of the hall, blocking her in it. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" He scoffed, stepping forward.

"Get back!" Ellie shouted.

"Or what?" He asked, smirking. "What the hell is a twig like you going to do?"

She hesitated, her eyes looking around for a weapon to defend herself.  Her eyes landed on David's pocket knife that was clipped on to his jeans. She took a deep breath in before walking forward. "You wanted to have fun? Fine, let's have fun," she said.

David grinned, stepping closer to her. "That's more like it," he said. "Good girl."

Ellie's eyes teared up as she took another step forward. Almost there. She took one last step forward, glancing up at David before she lunged forward, grabbing ahold of his knife and yanking it off his pants. She flicked it open before she slashed at him, cutting his arm.

David shouted and jumped back, glaring at Ellie. "You little bitch! You're going to fucking pay for it!" He screamed, moving to lunge forward when Ellie slashed at him, causing him to jump back so she hit air.

"Stay back! Or I'll fucking stab you!" She screamed, slashing towards him again, sending him out of the way. She slashed once more for good measure before she took off towards the door. She ripped it open, letting it slam into the wall as she ran out of the house and down the street.

She ran as fast as she could, pushing past her limits. She had managed to memorize the way back to Joel's house, just incase she had needed it, now glad that she did. She ran blocks before she got to his neighborhood, not stopping even as she approached his house. She didn't slow as she burst into his house, the door slamming against the wall. She slowed down once she was inside, her chest heaving. Joel appeared at door frame of the living room, confusion written all over his face.

"Ellie?" He questioned, concerned by her appearance.

Ellie knew she was a sight to see, with chunks of her hair out of her ponytail, blood dripping down her chin and forehead, cuts scattered all over her face and hands. She looked up at Joel, the sight of the man she held so dear made her burst into tears. Joel raced over to Ellie, confused and worried. "Ellie? What happened?"

She collapsed into the older man, sobbing. "Joel!" She cried. "He tried to...he tried to-" She cut off as she struggled to breathe, gasping for air.

Joel pulled Ellie into his embrace, slowly lowering them to the ground. "It's okay, shh, you're okay. Just breathe. You're okay," He murmured, trying to soothe her.

Ellie sobbed, looking up. "He tried to touch me!" she spat out, clutching to Joel.

Joel's eyes darkened at hearing her words, wanting to kill the motherfucker who hurt his daughter. "Oh babygirl," He sighed, rubbing her back. "I won't let him. It's okay."

"Joel," She cried, unable to stop her tears.

"It's okay now," He told her. "I'm here. You're gonna be okay. You're not going back there."

———-

Joel regretted not giving Ellie his number. Sure he had told her that his house was always open for her but what if there was an emergency? Having his number would've helped. After Ellie left, he felt numb. He wasn't sure what to do after she left. He watched tv, drank beer while hardly eating when he wasn't watching tv. He didn't realize how badly Ellie leaving was going to hurt. It felt like he was dying all over again.

He knew he never should've said yes to taking her in, he knew it would end up like this. Marlene had reached out two days after she left, telling him that Ellie was happy to be at David's and that she was thriving. Which is what he wanted, exactly what he wanted, yet he was selfish for wishing she was miserable so she could come back. He missed his kid.

What he wasn't expecting was two days later, while he was prepping dinner, was his front door to be slammed open. He startled so badly that he almost dropped his plate. He frowned, wondering who the hell was bursting his door down. He turned the stove off before he left the kitchen, going into the living room. He was hardly a foot into it when he froze at the sight of Ellie.

Her hair was falling out of her ponytail, she had cuts all over her face and blood dripping from her head and from her chin like she had bit someone. His eyes widened as she heaved for air. "Ellie?" He asked, confused and concerned. He didn't get an answer as she continued to breathe heavily. Did she run here from david's? He lived an hour away. Joel ran over to her side. "Ellie, what happened?"

He grunted softly when she basically collapsed into him, wrapping his arms around her as he slowly lowered them to the floor. "Joel!" She sobbed. "He tried to...he tried to-"

He froze when he heard that. He tried to what? What had David done? "It's okay, shh, you're okay. Just breathe. You're okay," He murmured, trying to soothe her.

Ellie sobbed as she looked up at Joel with teary eyes. He wanted to brush them away but he knew that she needed to cry. "He tried to touch me!" She spat, clutching onto Joel.

Joel's eyes darkened, wanting to kill the motherfucker. But he knew that he had to remain calm, for Ellie's sake. He didn't think she would handle it if he lost his temper while she needed him. "Oh babygirl," He said softly, rubbing her back while surprising himself. He hadn't used that nickname since Sarah. "I won't let him, it's okay."

"Joel," she cried softly, shifting closer.

His heart broke at seeing strong and funny and brillant Ellie so terrified and hurt. "It's okay now," he said. "I'm here. You're gonna be okay, you're not going back there." And Joel was certain, he'd rather die than let his daughter go back to that monster.