save me

HEART'S UP IN MY THROAT

" Joel!" Ellie's panicked voice startled him, causing him to drop his plate. It shattered as it hit the floor, his breakfast going everywhere. "Joel!"

Joel didn't spare his breakfast another glance, rushing upstairs. Something was wrong with his kid. He didn't hesitate to barge through the door. He half expected her to be asleep, having a nightmare. Instead, she was standing near her bed, gripping her comforter. "Ellie? What is it? What's wrong?"

"I'm dying," she told him, looking at him. Panicked eyes met concerned ones.

"Ellie, why do you say that? What happened?" He asked, trying to understand where she was coming from.

"I'm bleeding! I'm fucking dying!" She exclaimed.

Joel's eyebrows scrunched together before it clicked. He had done this with Sarah once, the only time he had to do it before she died, and he thought that Ellie would've known but having a neglectful mother proved otherwise. "Ellie, you're not dying. It's okay."

"Easy for you to say! You didn't wake up in a pool of blood with your stomach on fire!" She shot back. "What's wrong with me? Do we have to go to the hospital?"

Joel shook his head. "No, no need for that. Just...I have to call Maria. She can explain what's happening to you better than I can. Just go take a shower, I'll take care of this."

"Joel," Ellie said. "What is happening?"

"It's called a period and it's normal," Joel said, trying to reassure her.

"A period? Joel, I'm fucking bleeding out, this cannot be normal," she huffed.

He chuckled. "I assure you it is, now go get in the shower."

She stared at him before she threw her hands up in defeat. She went over to her dresser, pulling out clothes before she left to go to the bathroom. Joel moved to strip the bed, grabbing the bundle and taking it to the washer. He threw it in the washer before he started it. Once that was done, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing Maria.

"Joel? What do I do to owe this surprise?" Maria answered.

"Hey, I need a favor," Joel told her. "Could you pick me up some period stuff for Ellie? She didn't even know what it was."

"Yikes," Maria hissed. "Yeah, I'll be over in a bit. And I'll do you another favor and explain everything better to her."

"Thank you, I owe you," Joel said. He hung up the phone before he went to the kitchen, knowing he had to clean up the mess in there too. And remake his breakfast. He grabbed the broom, sweeping the pieces up before he deposited it into the trash. He sighed, not having the energy to remake his breakfast. He opted to make a cup of coffee. As he waited for the coffee to be ready, footsteps pattered on the floor. He looked over, seeing Ellie come in holding her stomach.

"Joel, my stomach hurts," she huffed. "Is that normal?"

"I think so," he said, trying to remember all of the details. He had done so much research when Sarah was alive, keeping almost every kind of period product in the bathroom to make sure she would have what she would need. He ended up giving them away when Sarah passed, never expecting that he would have another kid in his house.

"Great," she groaned. "This fucking sucks."

Joel moved to grab her some pain relievers, unsure of how else to help. "Here, these should help," he said. Ellie took the pills, swallowing them dry, causing Joel to wince at it. "You should've down those with water."

Ellie shrugged, moving to sit in her seat. "Too late now."

Joel sighed, turning to look at his coffee.

"I'm here!" Maria called as she walked into the house and into the kitchen with bags. "Hey Ellie, how are you feeling?"

Ellie glared at the table. "Like I've been fucking stabbed."

"Yikes," Maria said. "Well, I brought some things to help."

Ellie turned her glare onto Joel. "You told her? How is she supposed to help?"

Joel held his hands up in defense. "Hey, if anyone can help, it's Maria because she goes through the same thing."

Ellie huffed but turned to look at Maria. "Alright, let's get this over with."