UNITED IN BLOOD
CHAPTER FOUR !

   PERHAPS HELPING ELLIE OUT, allowing her to vent, allowing her to scream and yell and call her all the names under the sun would assuage some of the guilt she felt. That was Danielle's main driving force behind letting Ellie use her as a outlet for her grief. Well, that was a fucking stupid idea and Danielle felt like a complete and utter idiot.

   Dina had left her alone inside Ellie's garage. Apparently she was needed elsewhere and she didn't see Danielle as a threat anymore, so she had no reason to stay. Danielle desperately wished for the girl to return. The stare that was fixed upon her made her want to peel her skin off. Ellie's eyes trailed over the young girls face, just simply taking her in. She had yet to actually speak to Danielle, just continued staring.

   Danielle had begun scratching and picking at the skin that surrounded her nails, a nervous habit that she had picked up around the same time she was brought to the WLF. It was something she had once attempted refraining from doing but it hadn't worked. Her willpower just wasn't strong enough. Scratching at her cuticles until they bled provided Danielle that brief release of stress, —gave her something to focus on. The pain kept her from drowning in her own tears.

   While she was being stared at, she couldn't help but glance around the room, taking in every little detail. This time allowed her to learn a little more about the auburn haired girl in front of her. Immediately a couple of things jumped out at her. The many impressive drawings, the photos of Ellie and her friends, the guitar that sat proudly by the desk and the small book by the door all about space.

   "What are you doing?" Ellie finally spoke up, her voice cracking from how dry her throat was. Danielle guessed Dina was right, Ellie had been refusing to eat or drink anything. She sounded absolutely exhausted and honestly, she looked it.

   "Nothing." Danielle quickly stuttered out, the sound of the girl speaking spooked her out of her browse. Danielle's hazel eyes flashed across Ellie's face, landing upon the black eye, courtesy of Jordan. Fucking Jordan. "I was doing nothing."

   Ellie folded her arms across her chest, the sleeves of her grey hoodie pulling up enough for her tattoo to peak out just a little. "Are you enjoying this? My pain, my fucking misery!"

   "You and your little friends are fucking animals! You killed an innocent man!" She continued to scream at the brunette in front of her.

   The redheads raised voice, which Danielle was so sure she could handle, cut through the brunette like a hot knife through butter. She felt so fucking horrible about what had happened to Joel, so fucking guilty which lead her to believe that she deserved the verbal abuse she was receiving. She was an animal.

   "Nothing to say for yourself?" Ellie stepped towards her, her eyes black with pure, unadulterated fury. Danielle couldn't help but trip over her own feet and she stepped back in slight fear. The Williams girl let out a scoff of disbelief. "What? Are you scared?"

   Danielle didn't answer. She couldn't answer. What would she even say? She could lie but yes, she was fucking terrified but not because she believed Ellie would kill her but because the girl in front of her had obviously not begun grieving. If she wasn't careful, she could tailspin into a uncontrollable, emotional mess.

"Answer me, are you scared?" Ellie asked her once more, though she was more desperate this time and her voice gave it away.

   Deep down, Ellie knew this girl wasn't to blame. Hell, if she hadn't stepped in when she did, Ellie would have seen Joel take his last breath. The damaged girl didn't truly blame Danielle but she needed to someone, anyone to blame. If not then she would only have herself to blame. An agonising guilt was now permanently etched into her soul, tearing away at her piece by piece. If she had just kept going instead of hiding from the blizzard, if she had just reached the mansion sooner Joel could very well still be alive right now.

   But he wasn't. He was just gone. Buried six feet deep beneath the soil of Jackson. She would never get the chance to try forgiving him. That opportunity had been ripped away from her the moment that golf club made its final collision with Joel's skull.

   Danielles eyes widened as she heard the unmistakable tone of despair. No, she wasn't scared of Ellie. She was scared for her. Scared for a girl she didn't even know. "No. I'm not."

   "You should be." Ellie simply replied as she stepped back, putting some distance in between herself and Danielle. This caused Danielle to release a deep breath she hadn't even realised she was holding in.

   "Yeah I get that." The brunette responded. She guessed that Ellie was a good fighter, if the cut and bruises that were painted across her knuckles were any indicator. "I'm really sorry, I'm so sorry."

   "No! You don't get to say that. You don't get to feel sorry for me or him." The green eyed girl bellowed in frustration. Her breathing pattern was starting to stutter as short gasps fell past her lips, the girl beginning to hyperventilate from panic. "Don't—Don't you fucking say that."

   Danielle watched on in horror as Ellie palmed at her chest, a panic attack on the horizon. The former WLF medic found herself in a state of hesitation. She wanted to help the grieving girl but would she accept her help? Even in her

   "Oh god!" Danielle body suddenly kicked into gear, falling to the ground in front of a heaving Ellie, very reminiscent of when they first met. Her hands reached out, grasping firmly to Ellie's face causing the auburn haired girls eyes to flash up at her. "Listen to me."

   Even in her struggle for oxygen, Ellie attempted to shake herself free from Danielle's hold, though without much success as Danielle simply gripped tighter to the girl. Right now, all Ellie was, was a patient in need of treatment. "Hey, I know you hate me but you can hate me later. Right now you need to breathe."

   In her panic induced state, completely unable to focus, Ellie had no choice but to follow the girls instructions. Her breaths continued to be incredibly shallow despite her best efforts. The harder she tried to even them out, the more haggard they became all the while her chest began to burn from a severe lack of oxygen. The unmistakable taste of salt fell across her taste buds as tears trailed her cheeks.

   Danielle's heart ached for the girl before her. She just seemed so incredibly broken. "I am so sorry, Ellie. If there was anything I could do to go back and change what happened, to stop him from dying, I would. He didn't deserve what happened to him, I know that."

   Just as the Williams girl was on the verge of passing out, her breathing began to even out. Slowly but surely, Ellie gained control of herself once more. As her attention began to focus, the feeling of thumbs brushing lightly across her cheeks, wiping away her tears grounded her. The gentle touch kept her from sinking further into her panic and that scared the hell out of her.

   As soon as she could, Ellie pulled herself free of Danielle's hold, pushing the brunettes hands off her face as if the simple trail of the girls fingertips across her cheeks had burned her. Danielle followed Ellie's lead, standing when she stood. The room was now completely silent save for the auburn haired girls heavy breathing and racing heart that she was sure could be heard by the brunette mere feet away.

   A deep seated feeling of disgust racked over Ellie's body. Though not at Danielle but at herself. She didn't deserve comfort. Not after everything that had happened. Not after everything she could've done but didn't do. Comfort was the last thing she deserved, not until she was successful in following through with her plans.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

jamielee's thoughts.
i hope this was in character for Ellie. She's quite complex. I feel like she definitely didn't grieve properly for Joel which could have potential lead to a panic attack, plus a certain line in this chapter will segue to a future chapter sooo :) shorter chapter this time around, sorry for that. I'm literally so excited to get to Seattle in this fic and get their relationship started. I hope you enjoyed :)