CYOA Page 241
Sep. 10th, 2013 07:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12You're in too vulnerable a position to take chances here. You scream at the top of your lungs (more as a beacon for Joel than out of actual fright), turn around, and run -- or, hobble-run? -- as fast as you can manage.
"Joel!" you add when you're done screaming. In case he heard the scream but didn't know it was you or something.
"Ellie! Where are you?"
"Over here!" ...Man, he's going to be so mad, you lament to yourself. But... maybe the relief he feels when he sees you're not actually in mortal peril will diffuse the anger... you glance over your shoulder to make sure you're not in mortal peril. You don't see the man anymore.
You stop and yell for Joel again when you round a corner. You just want to wait for him to find you, but if you're just standing around, it won't look like you're scared for your life. And, Joel being Joel, he'll probably spot you before you spot him.
After another minute or so, you see another man coming out of the shadows -- you feel a split-second's worth of fright before realizing it's Joel. A still-shirtless Joel, his flashlight clipped to his waist.
"Joel!" You stumble into his arms. Or, arm, rather; he's got his gun drawn, and he's in high alert mode rather than hug mode. "There was a man... but I got away..." (yeah, it was a real struggle, but you managed...) You stop yourself from adding "it's okay," because Joel's supposed to say that to you when you're scared.
"Is he chasin' you?"
"No, I lost him!" (with those slick maneuvers of yours...)
"Where's he at?"
"I dunno... back there somewhere... but don't -- can we just go back to the house?"
Joel pulls back and looks you over in between his looking-for-the-guy glances around the street. "He hurt you?"
"No, I'm okay... now that you're here," you add, flinging your arms around his neck again. See, Joel? I need you. You can't leave me.
"Did he... what happened to your pants?"
Oh... yeah, I guess that looks bad... You can't lie about it because he's going to eventually see that they're upstairs in the house, right where you left them. "I sort of... forgot to put them on when I left? My shoes, too."
He pulls back again. "And your gun?"
"Forgot that, too. And my flashlight."
He sighs. "Ellie--"
"I know I know I know. I don't need the lecture. Can we just get out of here before that guy finds us?"
"Just one guy? I'll take care of him."
"No no no -- let's just go. Please?"
"I don't wanna be lookin' over my shoulder the--"
"You won't be!" Not like he was ever actually CHASING me, even... "The house is too far away from here -- and like I said, I lost him -- and I don't know if there are more..."
"More? What, like a band of hunters?"
...Hmm, maybe that's not the way to go with this... "We can look tomorrow if you want. In the daytime. Pleeease can we just go!"
He's quiet for a moment, as if mulling it over. He sticks his gun in the waist of his pants and starts buttoning your (his) shirt up the rest of the way. "I can't believe you just ran out, dressed like this."
"I wasn't thinking straight," you admit... which is true, you suppose, because deliberately doing that was pretty stupid, too. Probably more stupid.
"I should've known you might run off."
"You should have? Why?"
"You were upset, that's why. ...did you twist your ankle?"
"Oh-- no, I just stepped on something and it... got lodged in my foot."
"Let me see." He unclips his flashlight from his pants. With one hand on his shoulder for balance, you lift your filthy foot and brush off the bottom, then hold it under the light. "Right there? That pebble?"
"Yeah."
He runs his hand over it. "We'll have to dig that out back at the house."
"It doesn't hurt... I just can't really put that part of my foot on the ground."
"Meanin' you can't walk."
"I can, I just--"
He clips his flashlight back on his jeans and switches it off. "Put your arm around my neck. Go on."
You see he's about to pick you up. "Oh, you don't have to carry me... it's so far..."
"Like hell I don't. Your feet'll be in shreds by the time we get back. C'mon."
He scoops you up in his arms, and you feel mildly guilty because you're glad you don't have to walk now, even though you know you're putting extra strain on Joel... and there's nothing romantic about it this way. "Sorry... I'm getting too big for this."
"You sayin' I'm too old for this?" he asks, a hint of challenge in his voice.
"No! You're not old at all," you lie. You're trying to get yourself to think middle-aged instead of old, but... he is really old! He's fifty now. Almost fifty-one.
He snorts. "Uh-huh."
"Really!"
"You still ain't heavy."
If you were twice your size, you think Joel would still struggle to carry you just to spare you from getting more shit stuck in your stupid bare feet. Even though you know he suffers from back pain sometimes. "I'll give you a massage when we get back," you offer.
"Not necessary."
...Not necessary, or not wanted? "Okay." ...Do I really want to find out? ...Yeah, kind of... "Um, I get it... if you don't want me touching you..."
He doesn't take the bait. He doesn't say anything at all!
"Anymore, I mean," you add. "If you don't want my hands on you now cuz you're... afraid..." ...You know it's not the right word, but you said it on purpose -- you hope it might spark some macho thing in him that makes him insist on telling you he's not afraid...
Apparently, it doesn't. He remains silent.
"Afraid of what I might do, I mean." ...Yeah, like he needed that clarified?
He's still looking over his shoulder... glancing around... he might not even be listening to you. Stupid high alert mode!
"Um, did you hear anything I just said?" you hazard.
"I heard you."
...Okay, then... ...fuck, is he really that pissed at me? Isn't he happy I'm alive and not seriously hurt?
You're not angry with him now, you realize. You're probably too worried about him hating you to put much energy into being angry.
"So... if that's why you don't want me to give you a massage... if you think I'm gonna try to... uh... violate you or something..."
"Ellie, we can talk about this when we're back at the house, all right? Or... maybe tomorrow."
Tomorrow?! You're not going to be able to sleep if you have to worry all night about him dumping you in the morning. And that's what he's planning to do, right? Otherwise, wouldn't he have just... answered the way he's supposed to, with reassurance and love?! You can't stand it. "No -- I want to talk right now."
"Well, tough shit, 'cause we're in no position to--"
"Just put me down and we can go sit inside one of these houses and talk. Okay? Can we do that? Please?"
No answer.
"Please, Joel -- I just have to know if you can forgive me for being an idiot. Can we--"
"I forgive you. Now hush."
...Yeah, that wasn't REAL... "Do you really, or did you just say that to shut me up? And if you mean it... which part are you forgiving me for? Running away, or pushing--"
"Is there any chance you will shut up if we don't stop an' do what you want?"
You're a bit taken aback by how he phrased that... and it didn't sound like he was teasing. But you don't know how else to respond, so... "Um... no?" you reply, complete with an impish grin that he may or may not have noticed.
He takes a sharp turn into the yard of the nearest house.
"Wait... we don't have to go inside. It's too dark inside. Can we maybe just... sit on the steps or something?"
"The back steps, then."
"Okay, yeah, whatever." Unlike you, Joel errs on the side of caution, as they say.
He deposits you on the back porch and then leaves you there while he goes to search the house -- which he insists on doing, despite your protests. You don't sit on the steps, and you don't sit in one of the uncomfortable-looking wrought-iron chairs at the little table, either. You just sit and lean against a moonlit patch of wall, hoping Joel will come sit next to you. You chose this spot because it seems to have the greatest potential for climbing into his lap and snuggling.
Your legs finally start to feel cold. You hug them to your chest... but then think better of it, because don't you want Joel to warm them up? You extend them in front of you to let the cool deck floor chill them even more. You also unbutton the last button that Joel fixed (second from the top); any more than that might look suspicious.
Joel must approve of your seating choice because he eases himself down next to you... not so close that any parts of you are naturally touching, but close enough that you could reach out and touch him if you wanted to (...dared to?). "You cold?"
You love that he thinks of that so quickly. "I'm fine," you say nobly.
"That's good, 'cause I ain't got much to offer to warm you up."
...Except your nice warm HANDS -- duh! "Oh, yeah, um... do you want your shirt back? You must be cold, too."
Joel snorts. "An' you even said that with a straight face."
"I guess you're rubbing off on me?" You wish he was rubbing you in some way... "It's okay. If I get cold, I'll just be suffering the consequences of my actions. Which is what I deserve."
Joel eyes you suspiciously, and you wonder if you went too far. "Since when are you so eager to suffer for bad decisions?"
"I'm not eager, I'm just... I get it. But Joel -- I have to know. Are you still mad at me?"
"For which part?"
Shit... his anger is multi-faceted now! "Any of it. All of it! Everything from tonight."
"I don't think mad is the right word for it."
"Annoyed?" you suggest. "Pissed off? Angry? Furious? Irate? ...hateful?"
"None of the above."
"So... something better, or worse?"
He just looks at you. "You're shiverin'."
Yes! You were hoping that would happen! "I'm okay," you repeat.
He sighs. "Come here."
You scoot over... and to your delight, he does pull you up into his lap, just like you wanted! He coils your legs up and runs his hand over the exposed one. It's very much a just-to-get-warm touch and not a sexual one, but, whatever -- his hands are on you; you're happy. "Thanks. You don't have to..."
"Well, I can't just sit here an' watch you shiver."
Continue to page 272.
Carlos
Date: 2021-02-16 04:36 am (UTC)RE: Carlos
Date: 2021-02-16 01:59 pm (UTC)