Set Me Free ▪︎ Joel Miller ▪︎

▪︎○ Eighteen ○▪︎

The thunder is defeaning as it roars through the evening sky, rolling through the thick grey clouds as the rain begins to fall. It starts slow; a rhythmic pitter patter as it makes contact with the trucks exterior, then the droplets grow large and heavy, becoming an echo similar to the buzzing of a hundred bees.

Olivia sat in the passenger side, her head resting against the cool glass window as her forest green eyes watched the droplets run down the window. She felt calm and content, relaxed even.

They'd been on the road for an hour or so, driving in silence. Bill had helped get the car started and then as expected, he'd left to return to his side of town, simply handing off a hose of some kind to Joel and making sure the two were finally square.

Ellie sat in the backseat, silently fiddling with something Olivia paid little attention to while Joel sat in the drivers seat, rubbing his face tiredly and staring at the road ahead.

"Oh, man..." Ellie suddenly complains from the backseat.

"Hey, what happened to sleeping?" Joel drawled, straightening up to glance at the teen through the rear view mirror.

Olivia turned in her seat, looking at the teen curiously only to chuckle at the comic book in her hand - clearly something she'd taken from Bill's collection. "Okay, I know it doesn't look like it but this here is not a bad read. Only one problem. Right here." Ellie leant forward between the two seats, pointing to a text bubble on the back page that read 'to be continued.'

"Where did you get that?" Joel queried.

"Uhh..." she paused for a moment, looking rather sheepish, "back at Bill's." Joel sighed as Olivia once more chuckled, already having guessed that Ellie wouldn't have left empty handed. "I mean, all this stuff was just lying there..." the teen reasoned.

Joel shook his head at her, the slightest curve at the corners of his lips. "What else did you get?" he breathed out, clearly aware that scolding her would get him nowhere.

"Well..." Olivia watched the teen, smiling wide as Ellie dug through her bag pack before pulling out an old cassette tape and extending it out to Joel. "Here, this make you all nostalgic?"

The Southern man reached out to take it, turning slightly in his seat as he examined it. "Y'know this was actually before my time," he waved the tape around, a smile pulling on his lips. "That is a winner though,"

Olivia perked up in her seat, rather curious to hear the type of music Joel considered to be good. She figured it would be something country related given him as a person and the moment he slid it into the player she was not disappointed.

Gentle guitar and banjo progressions filled the car, perfectly fitting for the weather. Joel leant back in his seat, resting his elbow on the door and looking rather content. "Oh man..." he murmurs.

Ellie and Olivia share a look, neither one all too impressed by the music. "Well, better than nothing," the teen shrugged before turning back to her bag and pulling something new out. "Oh, I'm sure "your friend" will be missing this tonight."

Olivia choked back a laugh, hiding her amusement behind her hand as Joel simply hummed in response, paying no mind to the teen.

"It's a little light on the reading but it's got some interesting photos,"

Her words finally seem to attract the older man's attention, causing him to whip his head round, his eyes widening the moment he spots the adult magazine held tightly in the teens grasp. His expression alone and the clear discomfort he felt in this moment caused Olivia's amusement to become too much, boiling over as she bent over in her seat and laughed heartily.