sunshine // joel miller

TEN

Chapter Ten
Kansas City

Fran woke up early the next morning, the sun only just starting to rise in the sky. The sleeping bag next to her was empty, making her sit up as she yawned, still coming back to the land of the conscious.

Joel was stood not too far away, gun in hand, looking out into the expanse of the trees. She mumbled something to herself, before standing up.

"Joel?" She called quietly, still aware of Ellie who was now half in her sleeping back, half on the forest floor, completely sprawled out.

He turned towards her, trying not to stare at the fact her shirt had risen in her sleep showing off her stomach, yet to sort it out.

"Mornin," he mumbled to her as she grabbed her jacket from the floor, throwing it on.

"How long have you been up?" She asks, walking over to where he is and looking out at the expanse of trees.

"Hour or so," he lies.

"Would you like coffee?" She asks then, making him turn to her confused. She just smiles, going over to her bag and grabbing it. She'd stolen the last of it from the kitchen just before they left.

She put it in the kettle, along with some water, and turned on the small stove, getting it all set up in order to boil. Joel watching her the whole time. She picked up the dishes and pot from the night before along with a nearby rag, and walked back over to him.

He expected her to stop, but she didn't, walking past and further away.

"Where are you goin'?" He asked her, her motioning with her head to the small stream. He watched her take a seat by the side of it, legs crossed over. She put the dishes into it carefully, rag lying over her leg, and started to carefully clean them off.

He looked back over at Ellie for a moment, before walking over to Fran after seeing that she'd be fine - people were easier to spot during the day. He perched himself next to her, hearing her hum to herself as she cleaned off the pot in the water.

He took the rag from her leg, her sending him a small smile as she handed him the clean pot, him drying it.

"My first job was a dishwasher," Fran told him as she started to clean the cutlery, "I worked in this small family owned restaurant called del borgo after school."

She passed him the cutlery as he listened, using the pot to store the clean metal.

"I always wanted it all to be perfect," she says with a small smile, "Rosaria, the lady who owned the place, always told me it didn't matter as long as they were clean. Her husband, Stefano always told her to leave me be."

"How long did you work there?" Joel asked quietly watching her clean up Ellie's plate that had practically been licked clean from the night before.

"A year, I was fourteen and it was quick money. Cash in hand," She says, "my sister worked there too, but she got fired because she kept talking back to customers. She tried to argue against it, saying if she did it was because she was 'defending Rosaria's honour'." She chuckled as she said it, a small smile on Joel's face too.

"My brother's the same," Joel said, taking the plate from her, "always doing somethin' to get him in trouble."

"Were you quiet as a kid?" She asked him then, looking up to see they were quite close, legs touching. Joel thought for a moment to himself as he put the plate down.