save me

I'M STILL FIGHTING FOR PEACE

"Joel!" Ellie's voice startles him out of slumber as she screamed for him. "Joel, help! Help me!"

He jumps out of bed, pulling his gun out of the bedside table's draw as his heart banged around inside his chest. Something was wrong, had someone broke in? Were they hurting Ellie? He raced out of his room, barging into her room. Ellie laid in the middle of her bed, a layer of sweat covering her. "Joel!" she cried out in her sleep, turning restlessly.

He started to calm down as he realized that she was just having a nightmare. He set his gun on her desk before he went over to her bed. He sat down by her side, gently shaking her. "Ellie, babygirl it's okay, it's just a nightmare. You're okay. You're safe."

Ellie swung up with a gasp, her head bashing into Joel's, causing the two of them to groan at the sudden flare of pain. "Joel?" she asked, her chest heaving. "What are you doing?"

"You scare the shit out of me with those nightmares," he said. "I woke up to you screaming for me."

Ellie paused, glancing at Joel. He could tell that she had been crying in her sleep from the tear tracks that ran down her face. "Oh, sorry," she mumbled.

"It's okay, do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Ellie sniffled before she bursted into fresh tears, letting out a sob. "It was awful," she stated, her voice wavering. "I was back there, with him ."

Joel frowned, unsure if she would want to be touched. So he held his arms out for her incase she did. Within seconds of him doing that, Ellie had slammed herself into him, gripping onto his shirt as she cried. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back. "It's okay, you're here, he can't hurt you."

"I hate him," Ellie spat. "I hate what he did."

"I hate him too," Joel said. "You didn't deserve that and he's gonna pay for what he did, trust me."

"How could I not?" She sniffled, looking up at him. "Thank you for helping me. I didn't think I would ever be happy but you proved me otherwise."

He smiled. "I was the same way. When Sarah died, I thought that I was stuck feeling miserable all the time but you came in and brought happiness into my life that I haven't in a long time."

Ellie looked up at him, sniffling. "We helped each other."

He smiled forlornly. "That we did. And I don't plan on stopping."

"Me either," she said before she shifted nervously. "Joel? Will you stay with me?"

"Of course, kiddo," he said. She pulled out of the hug, shifting to the side so there was room in her bed. He moved to lay next to her, waiting for her to lay down before he laid down as well, wrapping her up in his arms.

"Joel?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Is that a fucking gun on my desk?" she questioned, looking up at him.

"Yes that is," he said, seeing the unasked question in her eyes. "I thought that someone had broken in and was hurting you so I grabbed my gun. Obviously that wasn't what happened but I didn't know it at the time."

"What were you going to do if there was someone? Shoot them?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered honestly. "I promised you that I would keep you safe, I wasn't lying, Ellie."

"Oh," she said. "Well, thanks."

"Anything for you," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Now try to get some sleep."

"Okay, night Joel."

"Night, Ellie."