Don't let go: Joel Miller x OC

Hurt and heartbroken

He let her go, jaw grinding as the slam of the door reverberated through the walls of the house, his eyes screwing closed the second that his daughters wails filled the air. The agitation of his wasted coffee fading with each step taken towards the nursery. From then, Joel spent the remainder of his morning simply enjoying the comfort of his own home mostly in peace. He lounged lazily across the couch with Lily peacefully curled up asleep on his chest. The feeling of her little chest rising and falling against his own, along with her faint breaths warming his skin through the fabric of his shirt gave him all the alleviation he needed in that moment... The exact same sense of relief that he'd get from Sarah all those years ago...

He glanced down at his watch. One forty eight. A sigh leaving his lips as he dared to wake his sleeping daughter. Carefully he sat up, his hands gently gripping beneath her dainty arms as he pulled her up with him, "C'mon baby girl, let's get you over to Ellie."

The little ones nose wrinkled as she let out a tired yawn and for a split second, he couldn't help but note how she looked just like her mother. A small smile twitching at the corners of Joel's lips before falling flat at the sudden reminder of the current state of their strained relationship.

He shook the thoughts from his mind as he moved into the hallway to slip on his boots, not bothering to lace them whilst the plump five month old was in his hold. His feet then guided him out towards the back garden, stopping at the outhouse where the teen resided.

He adjusted the hold he had on the infant, bouncing her up into his left arm a little more before rapping the knuckles of his right fist against the hardwood of the partition, "Ellie?"

Rummaging could be heard on the other side of the wall as the young woman then made her appearance at the door. Another relationship of his that was hanging on by a thread...

Ellie didn't provide a verbal acknowledgment as she simply raised her brows at the familiar man that stood in-front of her along with his young child.

"I need you to watch Lily." He continued.

The teen huffed, folding her arms across her chest, "Where's Ava?"

The conversation remained blunt, both refusing to delve in on the undiscussed tension between them. He'd barely seen her since their latest spat a few weeks prior where once again they found themselves rehashing the events that took place at the hospital in 2023. As always, he stuck to his story in an almost defensive manner whilst she pulled the timeline apart...Joel responded flatly, "Workin'."

Ellie wetted her lips as she eyed up the infant that had been introduced to her as a sibling, "I'm going out later..."

"It's just for a couple hours. Ava will be home by four." He sighed whilst pinching his brows. He couldn't take Lily with him, not for this. He didn't want Tess to know about her existence... not yet at least. "Please..."

With a hesitated thought, the teen soon backed down, reaching out to the small being that was nestled into Joel's side and taking her into her own arms, "You owe me..."
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Child free and with just five minutes to spare he strode his way towards The Tispy Bison. He hadn't spoken to Tess at all since their initial altercation a couple of days prior, deeming it wise to keep a wide berth from her. In fact, he'd go as far as saying that he had been avoiding the woman at all cost. He would have continued to do so as well if it weren't for Tommy relaying back that she wanted to talk with him.

He wasn't much of a talker... so it better be for good reason...

Joel heaved out a deep huff, rubbing a palm down over his exasperated expression as he arrived at the front of the building. He wasn't in the mood for difficult discussions, he never really was but he knew Tess well enough to know that she wasn't petty enough to drag him out just to fight with him, there was going to be a reason... and if he was being honest, he had a couple of his own questions he wanted answering.