「 let me let you go 」— open.

[truce.]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 1.5;"]･ﾟ✧ — For those who knew Ellie, it was clear to begin to notice that her life revolved around a daydream. She could see the world with such vibrancy and color, and her optimism-filled mindset could only cause one thing to lead to another... and, if her perfect world began to crumble in front of her eyes, she was bound to fall apart. First, the electricity had gone out and Ellie was unable to contact her family. She'd not seen them since. Then, she began to feel trapped in a world of gangs and violence - this was not the sweet and honorable lifestyle she wanted to share with her Mickey.

But then, she slowly began to lose her love through post-traumatic stress and a sudden realization that he could not be with her if his heart wasn't in the right place. He was soon gone from her life. A stranger once again. They'd lost their child, the sweet spaniel called Winnie, to Elllie's own stupidity; slowly, one by one, Ellie began to lose every aspect of the perfect life she'd dreamed of. She felt like a widow - not only was her engagement called off, but she watched helplessly as a piece of Mick died too in that very moment. Ellie's heart was unable to mend - all that she'd ever dreamed of was crushed, and she didn't think she was able to pick herself up after this.

Sure, it seemed dramatic, but no one but Ellie herself could quite fathom the hurt she felt at the knowledge that her dreamy world had come crashing down. That was the only thing that motivated her. And, besides, when she lost Mick, a piece of her heart went along with him. He had been everything to her. He was her rock, her safety net whenever she felt afraid. And now, she was completely alone to fend for herself, because he didn't seem to want to have anything to do with her anymore. She swallowed hard, trying her very best to dissolve the lump that sat in her throat, till a voice startled her out of her sullen contemplation.

Jay. Ellie had become quite fond of Jay over the past week or so - from the conversations that they'd been having, they seemed to be getting along swimmingly. Ellie was a friendly face who seemed to get on with almost anyone, with that being said, but regardless, she had a soft spot for the Southern sweetheart. He was kind to her, despite seemingly somewhat aloof. And honestly, she couldn't have hoped for a better person to have come walk in on her crying (not that she was expecting anybody to walk in, might she add) than somebody who was kind to her. Her head turned, biting down on her lip roughly as she exchanged glances with the man, eyebrows knitting together slightly before she attempted a sad smile. "Sorry... It's nothing, really." She sniffled, voice sounding slightly more nasally than usual. "Just... Had something on my mind." Choosing to settle on that very brief explanation for her tears, she knew that she couldn't overwhelm the man with all of her problems; it'd be mean to do so.

And so, instead, she turned around so that she could lean against the counter, wiping a tear away before laughing awkwardly to herself. "Sorry... For this." Finally, she took a deep breath before very obviously attempting to change the topic of conversation. "Whiskey and coffee, hm? I may not know where to find the whiskey nor coffee in the Lodge, but this tea is lovely." She smiled faintly, blinking her puffy, bloodshot eyes. "I... I can make you a cup, if you want?" And with that, before he could even answer, she was quick to fill the pot up with water again, placing on the stove. Anything to get her to forget about her grief for just a moment. But then, anxiously digging her nails into her hands, she finally cracked, lip wobbling as she watched the flames heat up the water below. "I'm just being oversensitive today... Just missing someone a little more than usual, I suppose."