justgo | IC CONTACT.

I'll be waiting.

[Ellie shows up soon enough, drenched from the rain and looking like a drowned rat.]

Sorry.

[She sort of... bailed.]

[She knows, she heard the door slam. Tess is seated at the counter, shakes her head for the apology. Expression level, she moves to stand, pulling aside the towel she had nearby.]

It's fine, just c'mere. [Might be trying to dry her off a little when she's close enough.] He say anything else to you?

[Ellie steps towards Tess and doesn't fuss at any toweling. She just stands there, slack-armed.]

No. Did you get in contact with him?

[Tess makes sure she's not dripping wet (that much) at least as she goes, getting her hair and face before she answers.]

Not one peep out of him. Tried to catch up but I couldn't even find him.

Fuck.

He might've gone to the Outlands or something. I was talking to Stephanie, and her girlfriend randomly left, too. Said she was acting weird. Just like Joel.

[She lowers her eyes to the floor. Weird was one word for it.]

Probably not the last of this, if that's the case. [A frown as she finishes drying off Ellie, motions to the couch before passing the towel in case she still needs it. ] How're you feeling?

Fine. [Though clearly not fine, with all the ice shoved into that one word. Fine is easier than trying to convey how she feels. She's empty, at a loss, scared, hurt, angry--

She takes the towel, but she'd rather pace back and forth.]

He just better be okay, I swear to god.

He's gonna be fine, he knows better. [Arms crossing against her frown, Tess shakes her head looks the other way.] If it's just Joel being Joel, he'll come back by tomorrow.

If not, we'll go lookin' for him. It's worth a shot.

He didn't even take his goddamn pack. [She sharply points at the weathered gear, a few feet away from where he originally left it by the door. She had given it a few angry kicks before heading over to Steph's.

Speaking of which... she stomps over to the backpack and starts opening latches and zippers.]

Not even he can be that much of a dick.

- He's not that reckless, either.

[Following the motions, Tess gives a sigh, lifts a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. Crossing over, she pulls a face.] Ellie, just what're you doing?

[It's ironic, thinking back to that farmhouse. Him yelling at her for being stupid and reckless. Real funny, now.]

Looking for a clue. Maybe he left something or took something with him.

I can't just fucking sit around and hope he comes back.

If this is all planned, you might not have much a choice. [Regardless, there's short breath as she gets down beside her, motions to the bag.] Check the straps, there's little pockets there too.

[Just taking the moment to scrub at her face with both hands.]

[She doesn't want to insult Tess by saying that she knows, so she just checks them anyway. Ellie's lost count of all the times she's gotten her sticky fingers into Joel's pack, looking for comics he'd picked up for her and had forgotten to fork over.]

[There's a little thought in her that mentions just that but she doesn't say anything, just waits for Ellie to go through the whole thing. She can't deal with the silence, the anxious waiting, so she moves. Looking around, Tess heads to the bedroom, leaving the door open so they can still talk.

Looking around, she can't help her disappointment when nothing turns up.] Any luck?

Nothing.

[That's accompanied by Ellie shoving the pack further away from the door, to the corner. She didn't want to look at the fucking thing anymore. She straightens up, to pace along the small room, momentarily pressing her hands against the cold kitchen counter when she reaches it.]

Ugh. I think I'm gonna puke.

[Pulling away from the cabinet, Tess crosses back over into the next room, stops when she sees Ellie. Head shaking, she moves over, gets a hand on her shoulder, the touch tentative.]

No, you're not. Come on, turn around.

[She seriously thinks she is. There's bile burning the back of her throat, and she feels lightheaded. It's too much. She turns at Tess' touch, but looks over towards the bedroom.]

Maybe I'll just blow chunks on his fucking pillow--

Ellie. [There's a stern tone with the words before she's getting a hand round her, tugging the younger girl in for a quick hug. Tess is rubbing circles at her back, trying to ease the nausea before she leans back, gets a good look at her.] Drink some water.

You're gonna worry yourself sick.

[So many hugs, lately. Hugs from Tess are different from hugs from Steph. Steph's a friend, she supposes, but still so shiny and new to her. She lives with Tess. Tess knows her habits by now, knows her well. It's harder to keep it together with that familiarity. She heaves a big, unsteady breath against Tess' shoulder, then starts to pull away to go to the sink, away so that she doesn't have to look at her.]

I told him not to fall on a metal pole. What the fuck is wrong with me?

[The breath is enough to keep Tess steady, hold her together for Ellie's sake because now's not the time to fall apart. So she'll keep composure, let out a slow breath as Ellie moves away. Waiting nearby, she leans against the counter then crosses arms back against her midsection.]

You got mad. People tend to say shit when they get upset, no matter how bad. [The way she talks about it says she's told him worse (and none of it's really appropriate).] You can talk about it when he's back.

[Not if. When.]

[Ellie braces herself over the sink. She doesn't touch the tap, not yet.]

You mean if he comes back.

I don't take kind to that sort of talk.

You mean what, the truth? It's a possibility. We don't know what the hell is going on.

And it ain't set in stone either, so we've got that. If someone's takin' people, there's gotta be a reason, and it'll show itself soon enough.

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