WHEN YOU FINISH SAVING THE WORLD ✸ Joel Miller

xxi. Silent Affirmations

[ CHAPTER TWENTY ONE ! ]

silent affirmations

DECEMBER 25TH, 2000

HAZEL AND TOMMY HAVE BEEN DATING for six months yet they're still making out any chance they get. Like they are right now. 

"Can you two leave each other alone for one second?" I groan sharply, though I may be exaggerating. Neither of them responds, or even cares to put a stop to their public display. 

Tommy simply raises his finger to point to the mistletoe right above the accent chair they're sharing, causing Joel to scoff, covering little Sarah's eyes. "You don't need to be doing all that with Sarah here." 

He waves his brother off, pulling away from Hazel for only a second. "She lives with you two. She's seen and heard worse." 

This remark earns another scoff from Joel. "Yeah, right." 

I chuckle, taking in every second of this holiday. At every candle that's lit, at the stockings with each of our initials hung on display. I lean back into Joel's torso with a slanted smile. "So can we expect a little cousin for Sarah soon, or what?"

Hazel rolls her eyes, but I can see her smiling just a little bit. "Fuck off." 

Tommy nudges Hazel forward a little bit. His lips curl into a wicked grin. "Tell 'em." 

Joel and I look at one another with unified confusion, then back at our siblings. 

Hazel holds up her hand and there we see the shining ring on her finger. "We're gonna be double in-laws!" 

A gasp escapes between my lips and I immediately am on my feet with excitement jumping off of me. "Oh my god, Hazel!" 

She meets me halfway in the living room with her face lit up and her hands raised in excitement. I grab her and pull her for a warm embrace as bliss overtakes me. 

2023, PRESENT

MY FEET SINK INTO THE SNOW WITH each step I take. I can see faded footsteps--no, they're just walked over. Not faded. They were once there, not long ago, but someone has stepped over them, leaving them almost invisible. Nature always has it's ways of relating to humans and their relationships with one another, it seems. It's ironic.