Ellie didn't even really know why she snapped at Joel the way that she did. Doesn't know why she didn't stop even seeing the hurt in his eyes.

They'd been growing apart for years. Ellie assumed it was because she was growing up, wanting to explore. And the little things that happened in between. Ellie loved Joel like a father she'd never known. To even the present day, she still had some of his mannerisms that she'd picked up when she was thirteen and crossing the country with Joel.

Maybe that was why she turned and ran afterwards when she had been the one to blow up and start saying things that she knew she didn't mean. Maybe that was why she couldn't even bring herself to go back, to apologize to Joel for defending her.

Of course, you could never leave her on her own, so you followed her. You found her sitting on the porch of the house she slept in, chewing on a toothpick, and sat next to her.

"...Hey." Her voice was quiet when she eventually spoke. "Did you come to tell me how much of an asshole I was?" She sighed.