Losing you ; Joel Miller

xvii. Visiting an old friend

[2023]
JOEL

The cold water from the river helped Joel ground himself. The loss of Tess, one of his closest friends made everything feel so heavy, he didn't know what to do with the kid, what to do with himself. He knew that the end destination was Bill and Frank's, but it was soon becoming dark and they'd need somewhere to go.

Searching for a specific location, his eyes landed on the small red heart in the middle of the dense forest. Eden had marked it ten years ago, as she told him that he now had no excuse to not visit. It would only take them about an hour. " Come on, we're leaving" Joel grunted out, lifting his bag over his shoulder. " What? Where?" The kid's eyebrows drew together in confusion, stumbling onto her feet as she collected her things " gonna visit an old friend."

" You? Friends?" Ellie quipped, " something doesn't add up here..."

" Ha-ha" Joel sarcastically responded, rolling his eyes at the teen. " So who is the friend?" Gasping as the older man got visibly tense from the question. " Is it a lady friend?!" Joel sputtered out, trying to act normal " pfffft- no? What even is a lady friend??" The 14 year old thought for a moment, pursing her lips as she walked next to him, eyes shining as she noticed something on the map. " So... do you like her?" Joel coughed out a " what?"

Ellie pressed her finger against the small heart on the map, eyebrows raised in a teasing manner, " does Mr. I feel nothing have a crush?" The kid wiggled her eyebrows, teasing him. " No. they're just symbols" he grumbled out, lying through his teeth. He watched as the sun started to set, they should be close. " Yeah but hearts mean something" she really wasn't going to let this go.

" Let's play the silent game, the person who stays quiet the longest wins, ok?" Ellie huffed, muttering that he was no fun under her breath.

As they walked in silence, Joel stopped, suddenly alert. What was that? Music? His eyes grew as he started to walk faster, hearing the kid yell for him to wait up. Joel stopped when he saw the cottage, it had changed a lot since he had last visited 16 months ago... not that he was counting.

EDEN

      Humming to herself, Eden chopped fresh tomatoes into small pieces, placing them into a bowl before adding some of the herbs that hung by the kitchen window. Ada's soft squeals could be heard from the floor as music played on the record player she managed to scavenge and repair.

" Are you hungry, sweet girl?" Eden cooed out, picking up the tiny human, her fingers moved gently over her daughter's head of hair, admiring her crazy dark brown curls.

Eden checked on her homemade oatmeal cereal with Ada resting on her hip, she was a constant ray of sunshine, always smiling and squealing excitedly at everything. The sound of footsteps outside made Eden's stomach drop, moving out of the kitchen, she put Ada down in the homemade crib and manoeuvred herself to peak out of the window.

Her heart fluttering when she saw him was beyond her control, the logical side of her mind spinning with anxiety at the thought of him finding out about her. What was she supposed to say? " Hey baby remember when you last visited me? Well surprise! You're a father."

Eden pressed her lips together as Joel knocked on her door, she couldn't hide up in her room forever, Ada may have been an accident, but Eden didn't regret anything. Moving downstairs, she felt her feet grow heavier and heavier the closer she got to the front door. " Eden?" Joel's voice called out, seeming worried about why it was taking her so long to answer.

As the door swung open, she stared up at him with shock, Joel's face relaxed when he saw her, dark eyes darting over her features before letting out a soft " hey..." the smile that came right after made her stomach churn, blinking up at him for a second before noticing the teenage girl behind him. " Hi, I'm Ellie" she had said, giving Eden a toothy grin.

She signalled them to come in, eyes darting anxiously across the room as she took Joel's hand into hers. He seemed to grow worried again, eye's trying to figure out what was going on before Eden had even said anything. " Are you ok, baby?" He mumbled out when they were alone, palm cupping her cheeks as he studied her face. Eden was just about to open her mouth, come clean, when a shrill shriek filled the house. Joel's hands moved to the gun in his back pocket, arm moving to push her behind him so he could shield her.

Eden's motherly instincts kicking in, she ducked under Joel's arm to sprint up the staircase and into her room. Ada was sobbing, nose running as she made grabby hands to be picked up. Eden bounced Ada in her arms as she attempted to soothe her daughter, hand softly caressing her dark hair.

" Holy shit" Ellie's voice made Eden turn around, eyes locking with Joel's, whose gaze seemed to be shifting between her and the baby in her hand.

" Oh fuck- is that his?!"

Honey is typing...
Mother is mothering omg