Ellie x Abby: Obsession
Chapter one: No one had ever known she was there.
wc: 1.8k
**Events may not match the original game storyline and some personalities may be tweaked**
M&MDNI 18+
Ellie had watched Joel die through the battered window.
She had never found the strength to step inside the ski lodge. Every muscle in her body had locked beneath the weight of terror. Her fingers had refused the trigger. Her legs had refused the floor beneath them. Fear had stolen even the smallest command from her body until she had wet herself where she crouched outside, hidden beneath the frost, watching every blow land.
No one had ever known she was there.
No one had glanced toward the window. No one had searched the tree line. They had moved through the room believing they were alone while she watched every second unfold, unable to tear her eyes away, unable to force herself through the door.
Afterward, Dina and Jesse had found her curled in the snow, trembling so violently her teeth had chattered against each other. The cold had soaked through her clothes, and the sharp scent of urine had clung to them beneath the smell of pine and blood. They had lifted Tommy from the floor, carried Joel's body back to Jackson, and left the lodge behind.
The guilt had never left with them.
It had settled inside Ellie instead.
She had been guilty because she froze. Guilty because Joel had died while she watched. Guilty because her body had chosen fear over movement. Worst of all, buried beneath every memory she wished she could erase, another truth had coiled tighter every time she remembered the woman swinging the golf club.
She had been attracted to her.
The thought had crawled beneath her skin until it felt poisonous.
If that woman had been ugly, would I have moved?
The question had followed her everywhere. It had waited beside her when she woke, echoed through every quiet moment, and returned whenever she closed her eyes. She had hated herself for asking it because she already knew there was no answer that could make her feel clean again.
Tommy had stopped by a handful of times after they returned. He had never stayed long. He had stood in front of her with a plate of cookies balanced in his hands, studying her with an expression she could not bear to meet before his jaw tightened.
"You couldn't even go in that ski lodge," he had said quietly.
Ellie had lowered her eyes to the floorboards instead of answering. His words had not cut because they were cruel. They had cut because they were true. She had not walked through that door. She had not pulled the trigger. She had not saved Joel.
Now she and Dina were in Seattle.
Days had passed without finding a single member of the WLF. They had hidden inside a crumbling theater after outrunning infected through streets swallowed by moss and rain, chasing people who seemed to disappear every time they got close. The city had stretched endlessly around them, and every dead end had given Ellie more time to think.
She had wished it didn't.
"Pregnant?" Ellie hissed across the battered theater.
Dina sat on the worn cushions, staring up at her with wide brown eyes. Her hands rested against her stomach as if she didn't know what else to do with them.
Ellie let out a sharp, bitter laugh that echoed through the empty auditorium before fixing her girlfriend with a hard glare. "Really?" she scowled. "You told me I was the one."
Dina swallowed and slowly shook her head. "This was before you and I got together." Her voice stayed gentle, but her shoulders curled inward beneath Ellie's stare. "I didn't even know you this way then."
Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and dragged an unsteady breath into her lungs. "How could you only want me if you'd been with someone else?" The words escaped before she could stop them, quieter than the anger twisting through her chest.
She turned away, pressing a hand against the back of one of the theater seats until her knuckles whitened.
She had been growing more frustrated with every passing day. Seattle kept swallowing them whole, and they still hadn't found a single person connected to Abby. Tommy had refused to come because he couldn't leave Maria behind, and every dead end made Ellie wonder how different everything could have been.
In another reality, she might have already killed one of Abby's friends.
A knock echoed through the theater.
Ellie looked down at Dina with a scowl before pushing herself off the couch. Every muscle in her body tightened. "Who is that?" she asked, the words coming out sharper than she intended.
Dina swallowed and crossed the worn stage toward the entrance. Her footsteps sounded impossibly loud in the empty building. She hesitated before pulling the door open.
It was Jesse.
Fucking Jesse.
Stupid, oblivious fucking Jesse.
Ever since Ellie had fallen for Dina, she couldn't stand being around him. Now that she knew Dina was pregnant, the resentment only dug deeper. Every glance at Jesse reminded her that there had been a life with Dina before Ellie had ever mattered. It made her stomach twist until she thought she might be sick.
Jesse stepped inside and leaned over to kiss Dina.
They hadn’t told him they got together.
Ellie didn't say a word.
Now that Dina was pregnant, Ellie got the memo that it would never happen.
She stood rooted beside the couch, her jaw clenched so tightly it ached while she watched them greet each other as though the room held no one else.
Straightening, Jesse finally looked toward her and rubbed the back of his neck. "I've had no luck."
Dina's eyes drifted to the floor, lingering there as if the cracked boards offered somewhere to disappear.
"Me either," Ellie answered. Her voice came out flat, drained of the anger she couldn't afford to show.
Jesse wandered over and dropped onto the couch beside Dina with a weary sigh. He scrubbed a hand over his face before glancing back at Ellie. "Maybe..." He paused, shaking his head while he searched for the words. "Maybe you could try joining them."
Ellie's gaze snapped to him. "Joining them?"
He nodded. "They don't know what you look like yet, right?"
She folded her arms across her chest, studying him for a long moment before giving a reluctant nod. "Yeah."
As Jesse's hand settled absentmindedly on Dina's thigh, heat flared through Ellie's chest. Her fingers twitched toward the pistol holstered at her hip before she forced them into a fist instead. She hated herself for noticing. Hated him for touching her. Hated the ache that came from knowing Dina didn't pull away.
Why was no one ever in love with her the way she was in love with them?
Masterlist
Lemme know if you wanna be taggggeedddddd
I needed to write a short series to refresh my brain, i'll be posting other parts soon
Generic tag list:
@cherryblossomtidalwaves @urmascmuse @neptunezxx @celinealways @kae9s @notkyleelol @loverseen @sapphicdarlingx @lobotomymutt @m3ta4r @seasonsofchaos @ghostin4girlsbody @pieceofshit11826 @carefullyominouslegacy @ilovewomenfr @mopperbabixz @sevikas7princess @redroanmustang @starzinellie @tewwwteamiss @visupremacystuff @femmesicle @lillybunns @emiliaaaassss@cherryblossomtidalwaves @urmascmuse @neptunezxx @celinealways @kae9s @notkyleelol @loverseen @sapphicdarlingx @lobotomymutt @m3ta4r @seasonsofchaos @ghostin4girlsbody @pieceofshit11826 @carefullyominouslegacy @ilovewomenfr @mopperbabixz @sevikas7princess @redroanmustang @starzinellie @tewwwteamiss @visupremacystuff @femmesicle @lillybunns @emiliaaaassss @wishingonjellyfish @savedforlaterr @we-rice-boi @sevikaslabyrinthpiercing @blckles @zzzzwhyyyyy @visupremacysstuff @therealcaitlyn@httpscatra @nymphorsaken @alicep1ink @meamouraa @dut1fuldyk3
