The Ghost Town

Chapter Eleven

TW: Mentions of blood, mentions of fighting, potentially upsetting content
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"Hey, Joe. Is everything okay? We heard shouting and then a door slam." Lozza muttered, slowly moving down the steps, Ellie following close behind. Joe was surprised, Ellie had finally come out of her room. She had been resting all that time and yet she somehow still looked so tired.

Joe wasn't sure what to say. He knew that he should tell the truth but the truth hurt. He didn't want Lozza and Ellie to get upset. But someone was going to get upset in this situation. It was a horrible situation for everybody involved. Yes, that did include Pip.

Ellie tilted her head at Joe's silence. She had never seen Joe be silent. Joe being speechless was unheard of. But she supposed it at least made a bit of sense. This situation would leave even Lozza speechless. It wasn't that hard to see why, though. It was simply horrible.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. Things are okay. They couldn't get any worse, right?" Joe tried to laugh but it was just dead air. His face dropped immediately, realizing that now may not have been the best time to make jokes. He frowned when seeing Ellie's worried face. Ellie spoke up next.

"Why did the door slam, then?" Ellie muttered. Her voice was quiet. She seemed so much more shy. She was no longer the outgoing and somewhat scary person she was when she was Dirty Diamond. She just seemed more shy and vulnerable. Like she would shatter at the slightest acknowledgement.

"Oh. That. Erm... Well, I'll cut to the chase. Pip left. She's probably with Ginny, but I don't think she'll be coming back here. At least not for tonight." Joe explained. Ellie looked shocked, but Lawrence just chuckled. Ellie and Joe turned to Lawrence with expressions that held an air of confusion.

"Ha! Good riddance! She can stay there as far as I'm concerned." Lozza chuckled. It wasn't Lozza, it was Lawrence. Ellie could tell because Lozza would never say something like that. But Lawrence would absolutely say something like that. They would always say exactly what they were thinking.

Ellie was frozen. She agreed with Lozza, that much was obvious, but she couldn't believe that they would say that. Not in front of Joe, at least. Joe and Pip were good friends, even if they had just had a fight. Friends fight some times. It's just how life works.

"Loz, you can't say that!" Ellie reprimanded. Lozza chuckled. Ellie always had good manners. She was very nice and never was one to curse or be mean. Lozza liked that about Ellie. But they also didn't understand how she did it sometimes. It was difficult to understand a lot of the time.

"You're way too forgiving, Ellie Bellie. Did you already forget what she told me and Tayce and what she did?" Lozza cocked a brow at the younger girl. Ellie frowned. She hadn't forgot, but Pip was still their friend. At least, she hoped Pip was still their friend.

"N-No, I haven't forgotten, but-"

"That's all I needed to hear." Lozza didn't let Ellie finish. Ellie was shocked, but she felt that she shouldn't be. She knew that Lozza had a habit of interrupting people. Ellie felt that habit wasn't going to be shook off any time soon.

"Loz. You interrupted Ellie. I've told you a million times that you need to stop that! Ellie, what were you gonna say?" Joe reprimanded Lozza before turning to Ellie. The youngest one's face turned red. Joe was standing up for her. She wasn't sure why. But Joe was a nice person.

"I just think it's rude to say that in front of Pip's closest friend, aside from Ginny. What if someone said that about you in front of me? That'd be rude, right?" The question was directed at Lozza. Joe nodded his head. It would be quite rude to do that.

"You're right, I guess. But I frankly couldn't care less. Pip hurt Tayce's and my feelings and physically injured Tia, and now you're defending her?" Lozza wasn't going to back down. Ellie was normally too prideful to back down as well, but today, she was just so fucking tired.