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“Hey, I found something you might like.”
Ellie curiously walked into the room Joel had been looting, and a smile made its way to her lips at the sight of his surprise.
“Shampoo and conditioner? Hell yeah!” Ellie eagerly said as she snatched the bottle off Suave from his hands. “A little expired, but it’ll do.”
On their journey towards Wyoming, they had stumbled upon a small house, and unfortunately for the late owner (who was found deceased in the backyard), it was now up for grabs. Not only did it contain amazing loot, but even a working well. The owner had definitely kept it up.
Bathing was a luxury, so this was an opportunity the two needed to take. Body odor wasn’t exactly avoidable in their world.
“I’ll stand guard while you take a shower,” Joel insisted, making sure to reload his pistol in case of an emergency.
Ellie nodded before heading into the bathroom. Joel rummaged through the rest of the house while she cleaned up. Food, tools, medical supplies, clean clothes. This house was a jackpot.
“Ugh!”
Joel raised a brow at the grunt from the other side of the door. “Uh, you okay in there, kid?”
His question was answered with Ellie opening the door, a comb stuck in her hair. Her eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance.
“What’s the matter?” He asked, confused by her frustration.
Ellie groaned as she angrily raked the comb through her wet locks of hair. “I can’t… braid. I wanted to braid my hair. It’s finally long enough for it and I can’t even do it!”
Joel let out a sigh as he made his way toward the old, worn down couch. “Well, ripping it all out isn’t gonna help. Here, sit down and I’ll… I’ll fix it.”
Ellie huffed before following him, sitting down beside him and surrendering the comb. “What, you know how to braid or something?”
“I do, actually,” Joel replied, taking the comb from her and working his way through the knots she’d created. “A little rusty, but I think I still got it.”.
“You’re shittin’ me.”
Joel let out a small laugh at her remark, gently detangling her auburn hair. “Told you I was good at everything.”
“No way. Why’d you learn?” Ellie decided to ask, closing her eyes as he brushed out her hair and began to section it off. The sensation was new, and it soothed her.
The question took him by surprise, and he reluctantly remembered braiding Sarah’s long, blonde hair. That was before she wanted it all chopped off.
The memory had slipped through his mind.
“My daughter, Sarah. She wanted me to learn so I could style her hair for school.”
Ellie perked up at his response. “You have a daughter?”
“Had,” Joel corrected, and Ellie felt a pang of guilt at the revelation. She was afraid to ask anymore questions.
“Oh. I’m— I’m so sorry, Joel. I didn’t know,” Ellie said, and closed her eyes as he began to intertwine the sections of her hair. He messed up a couple of times, but went back and fixed it.
He sighed. “It’s all right. You have a tie?”
She pulled the elastic band from her wrist and offered it to him. Once he was finished, he began to tie it off.
“Um, I know this won’t make you feel any better, but…” Ellie spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence, “You seem like you were a great dad.”
Before he could reply, she hesitantly added;
“Still are.”
The words struck him, and he cleared his throat before responding. “All done.”
Ellie accepted the change in subject and reached a hand back to observe his work. “I’m impressed. Thanks!”
“Like I said, I’m rusty,” Joel retorted and stood up from his spot. “You good to hold the fort down while I shower?”
“Absolutely,” She answered, covering her nose and acting disgusted. “You need that shower. Good thing the infected can’t smell you, or we’d be dead.”
Joel laughed at her insult before turning on his heels, mumbling under his breath as he shut the bathroom door behind him.
Ellie did the same as him, rummaging through the abandoned goods in the house. A cracked mirror hanging in the living room caught her attention, and she admired her reflection, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
“Not too bad, old man.”