˗ˏˋ 🕰️ 'ˎ˗ 𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 ─── You and Ellie have been inseparable ever since she came to Jackson. When the two of you find out about your feelings for one another, a lot changes within a matter of months, some changes better than others.
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"𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭"
After your fight with Ellie, you refused to see anyone but Tommy and Maria for over a full week, rotting away in your bed in the meantime. It felt as if there were no tears left to cry, asmost of the sadness had transformed itself into rage. The urge to never go outside again was tempting, but after day nine, Maria practically dragged you out of bed. You had resisted to come with her, as she wanted you to help out during another movie the town was playing for the kids that afternoon. At this point in time, you despised Ellie as much as those same kids, if not more. The anger and rage that had gotten a hold of you frightened you.
Maria insisted you come with her, leaving you with little to no choice as she told you how stressed out she had been. It was a good trick, because you got on your feet within minutes after she told you how much had been on her mind these past months. The town felt empty as you hesitantly walked through it. Something about the air was different, felt different.
It was as if a warmth the town used to radiate had run out of energy, and you were left with a cold, and quiet Jackson. Maria mentioned to you that because of everything that had gone down, almost everyone was a little upset, and most of the parents were looking for a place to bring their kids in order for them to relax, even if it was just for an afternoon. The older woman revealed that she had done close to nothing in the time Tommy and you left, and that it was hard for her to catch any sleep at all some night.
You imagined how empty the house could have felt for Maria, and an imediate feeling of guilt and regret rushed through your body. As you got to the dining hall, there were already several people setting up the place. Almost everyone looked up from what they were doing when they saw you, probably not having expected you back any time soon. You didn't blame them for staring, because if it were you, you would most definitely be surprised and curious.
The empathy you had built up for the town was almost sad, and you tried getting it all out of your system by helping the group of people prepare for the movie showing, hoping it would repair some of what was most definitely broken. You felt guilty for the damage this entire situation had done to the town, as everyone who left Jackson during that patrol two months ago, came back as a fully new person, or didn't come back at all.
During the days you had spent in bed, the grief and pain of losing Joel started to hit you right after you thought you were done crying. Getting it all out of your system sounded like a good plan, but grieving someone sadly isn't as simple as that. You were afraid the feeling of emptiness would never truly fade as another wave of guilt washed over you while you lifted another chair.
