Chapter 8

Joel awoke to cabinets banging in the kitchen. He sighed as he reluctantly rolled out of bed and padded to the door. "Now what are you doing up this early on a Saturday?"

Sarah turned from the clutter of ingredients strewn across the counter to grin at her dad. "Go back to sleep! I'm making you a cake."

"I think you're making a racket." Joel replied. "I thought you teenagers were supposed to sleep in."

Sarah giggled. "I'm eleven, Dad. Not a teenager yet."

"Hmph." Joel crossed his arms with a smile. "With all the backtalk you give me, I would've thought you were sixteen."

"That's because I'm as smart as a sixteen-year-old." Sarah fired back.

"Damn right you are." Joel lumbered into the kitchen. "How is the cake going?"

Sarah paused. "Do you want the truth or a comforting lie?"

"Oh no." Joel chuckled as he ruffled his daughter's hair. "Well, I appreciate the effort, kiddo."

"I did get you something." Sarah scampered to the couch and grabbed something from under the cushion. "It has all those old people you like."

Joel looked at the CD she handed him. Emblazoned across the top was Greatest Hits of Joel's Time in Sarah's handwriting. "These were before my time, young lady." Joel scowled as he read some of the artist names. Then he smiled as he enveloped Sarah in his arms. "Thanks, baby girl."

"Happy birthday, Dad."

Joel lurched awake. Sarah. He tried to hold on to the warmth of their hug, to her smiling face, but the dream was slipping away too quickly. As her face blurred in his mind, Joel opened his nightstand drawer and pulled out his favorite photo of her. Joel had his arm around Sarah and was beaming a proud smile as Sarah held her fist in the air, a gold medal dangling from it. Her sixth-grade soccer team had just won semifinals and they were both ecstatic. It was one of the last good days, before she'd started complaining about strange aches that wouldn't go away, before the doctors ran any tests.

He stared at her face and wanted to cry. Some days, he could remember her perfectly, and some days, it felt like the details were slipping from his mind, those precious moments fading away. Twenty years. He hadn't seen his baby girl in twenty years.

A cabinet slammed, and the loud bang shocked Joel out of his memories. For a moment, he thought he was back in the dream and Sarah was banging around as she made him a cake. Then he heard Ellie yell, "Why the fuck is there no food?!"

Joel surprised himself by chuckling. He tucked the photo carefully back in his drawer and left his room.

The blankets he'd given Ellie were strewn across the couch she'd slept on, and every cabinet gaped open as Ellie stormed around the kitchen. She turned to face Joel as he lumbered over. "What is this?" She demanded, holding out a brown, stick-shaped object wrapped in plastic.

"Beef jerky." Joel replied.

She stared at it in disbelief. "This is a stick of meat?" She threw it back into the cabinet. "Do you have any normal food, Joel?"

"Um." Joel opened the empty fridge, then closed it. "No."

Both Ellie and Ellie's stomach grumbled. "Why don't you have any food? Did you just move in or something?"

"I've lived here for almost forty years." Joel replied, stung.

Ellie's brow furrowed. "So why-"

"Off-limits." Joel cut her off.

Ellie scowled at Joel. "You use that for everything!" She complained as she pushed past him and stalked toward the couch. As Joel watched her bundle herself in blankets, he remembered their conversation last night.

"So… you were an alcoholic?" Ellie asked after several minutes of driving in silence.

Joel sighed. "Great opener, kid."

"Hey, you said it earlier!" Ellie protested. "And you totally didn't have to."

Joel grunted in reluctant assent. "Yeah, I was an alcoholic for a couple years around fifteen years ago. Then I did all the AA stuff. Now I'm not."

Ellie leaned forward to look at him. "Why'd you do it?" She asked.

"What, get clean?" He replied.

"No, become an alcoholic." Ellie persisted.

Joel took a deep breath. "Listen, kid, there are some things that you can't ask about. That's one of them."

"Why?" Ellie's eyes glinted in the dim light of the car. "Are you a felon or something?"

Joel threw a harsh glance at her. "This isn't a joke. I'm not one of your little fourteen-year-old friends with little fourteen-year-old secrets. If I tell you to back off, you back off. Got it?"

"Ugh. Fine." Ellie slumped back in the seat. "But joke's on you, old man. I don't have any friends."

"What, your smart mouth didn't get you any?" Joel retorted.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ellie scowled. "Just so you know, I used to have a best friend. Riley. We did all kinds of shit together. Then my parents moved me to this shithole, and I don't have a computer or phone or even a fucking quarter for stamps. So I guess we're not friends anymore."

Joel considered this. "That's rough." He admitted. "Time to make new friends, I suppose."

"Everyone at this stupid suburb school is rich. They don't want to be friends with the poor girl who wears the same clothes all the time." Joel glanced over to see Ellie glaring at her lap. She saw him watching and made a face before turning away. "They're all awful anyways so I don't care. I steal their lunch money." She chuckled. "It's wild what those kids leave lying around."

Joel felt an unexpected wave of empathy for the girl sitting next to him. She had no friends, and she couldn't rely on her parents; she only had herself. She was alone in the world.

Just like Joel.

Joel frowned when he heard what sounded like Ellie trying to spit and blow a bug away at the same time. He glanced to see her lips pursed. "What?" She asked, her green eyes gleaming defensively as she met his eyes. "I'm trying to learn to whistle."

Joel shook his head, but he was smiling. Perhaps, when they were together, they could feel a little less alone.

A knock on Joel's front door yanked him back to the present. Ellie popped up from the couch. "Who's that?"

Joel shrugged. "Probably a salesman or something." He muttered as he walked into the kitchen, out of sight of the door. "Let's just wait until they go away."

Ellie considered that for a moment, then ran toward the door, laughing as her socked feet slid across the tiles. She stood on tiptoes to look through the keyhole. "Hey, I think it's your brother." Before Joel could react to this news – why would Tommy come to his house unannounced at nine in the morning on a Saturday? – Ellie was opening the door.

"Happy bir- what?" Tommy's enthusiastic shout trailed off into confusion. "What are you doing here? Where's my brother?"

"Were you about to say happy birthday?!" Ellie's mouth was hanging open as she turned to look at Joel. "Joel! Is it your birthday?!"

Joel remembered Sarah's arms wrapped around him. Happy birthday, Dad. Joel checked the date on his watch and shook his head. His dream knew before he did. Then he trudged out of the kitchen to see a very confused Tommy and a grinning Ellie. "Apparently it is."

"Whoa! Happy birthday!" Ellie bounced on her feet. "How old are you now? How did you forget your birthday?"

"Um, happy birthday, Joel." Tommy broke in, still frowning. "Why is the neighbor kid at your house?"

"She's – um," Joel started.

"My parents went on a weekend trip, so I'm staying with him." Ellie interrupted. Then she glared at Joel. "His house kind of sucks, though. There's no food."

Tommy laughed, his uncertainty melting into warmth. "Yeah, the man lives as if he'll have to pack up and move in a day." He held out his hand. "You're Ellie, right?"

"Yep." Ellie squeezed Tommy's hand and Joel could have sworn he saw Tommy flinch. "You're… the brother?"

"Tommy." Tommy replied. He gestured toward his truck in the driveway. "My wife, daughter and I have a little birthday brunch waiting for Joel and we'd love it if you could join."

"Fuck yeah!" Ellie exclaimed as she pushed past Tommy and ran for the truck. "Finally, a house with some food."

"Language!" Joel called after Ellie. "Sorry." He scratched his head awkwardly as he met Tommy's eyes. "She can be a lot."

"So can my kid. I bet they'll get along." Tommy smiled. "I'm just glad to see you opening up a little."

"Huh?" Joel was startled. "I- I'm just doing her parents a favor. No big deal."

Tommy raised his eyebrows. "One year ago, you never would have done this favor." Then he was walking toward his truck where Ellie had already called shotgun, leaving Joel to hurry after him.

I'm sorry to keep you all waiting so long for updates, that wasn't my intention when I started this. It's been a very rough couple weeks, honestly. I've had two deaths in my close family that I'm trying to cope with while working on finals and getting ready for graduation. I also have a long trip planned right after graduation that I'm a bit stressed about. So it's been a lot. I ended up taking a few weeks' break from writing this fic. I was couple chapters ahead of what I posted previously, but now I've posted everything I've written, so I'll start posting as I go. I'm going to try to get at least a couple more chapters out before I leave for my trip in mid-June, though this is a very busy time so I can't make any promises on exactly how many chapters. I do promise that I will finish this. I already have the full plot mapped out in my head, and I promise not to abandon you guys. Also, I've really appreciated all of your comments, so please keep leaving them! They help encourage me to keep going. After I get back from my trip in mid-July, I will have lots of free time to write, so the updates will come quickly after that.

- oreowrites