save me

WHEN YOU'RE ALL ALONE, I'LL REACH FOR YOU

Screaming awoke him. He startled before he sighed, a hand coming up to run across his face. Ellie was having another nightmare. It was always a tie between her mother or David.

One of them would haunt her dreams. This was the third one this week. He climbed out of bed and left his room, goosebumps erupting on his skin from the cold. But it was better to keep the house cold at night. It helped Ellie. Usually.

But not tonight. He walked into her room, seeing the girl flail about in her bed as she sobbed. He went over to her, sitting on the empty bed space next to her as he started gently stroking her hair.

"Ellie," he said softly, not wanting to necessarily wake her up. Normally, he could talk to her and she would calm, the nightmares would dissipate. "It's okay, you're okay. You're home. They can't hurt you. You're okay. I promise."

Ellie's screams quieted down and she let out a whimper, her head turning towards the sound of his voice, eyebrows pinched together.

This trick didn't always work and he would have to wake her up but it seemed like she would calm down without having to be woken up tonight. "That's right," he murmured. "You're safe. I'm here. I'll keep you safe."

Ellie settled against her bed, the pinch between her eyebrows soothing itself out. Joel sighed softly in relief. These nights were easier. Just a few more minutes and then he could lay down next to her and get some more sleep. "It's all okay now. You're home. You're safe and neither of them are ever laying a hand on you now."

He wished they had met sooner. Though he knew that if they did, he wouldn't have been healed enough to do this. He would've been an empty shell of a man. Joel Miller died on September 26, 2013 when Sarah died. And Joel Miller was reborn when he met Ellie.

It was scary how attached he had gotten to the young girl, they had only known each other for less than a week when he felt his heart seeing Ellie as his. The ache that only worsened when she was at David's. Yet, as attached as he was to her, she was attached to him.

It wasn't healthy, he recognised, but neither of them really cared. They were broken pieces that were able to mend back together after meeting and that was all it needed.

He would give the world to Ellie. She deserved it. She deserved to be happy and live carefree. She didn't deserve to be plagued by nightmares. So he didn't mind when he had to spend nights with her as long as it gave her some kind of peace.

He would do anything for her and it was a feeling that he hadn't felt in such a long time. All of those instincts that he had shoved down were slowly making their way out, bringing pieces of himself back. And he was more than okay with it.

Years ago, he had built up a wall around his heart, never letting anyone in. Until Ellie came along and bulldozed it all down. It took him by surprise but it was a lovely surprise. It also shocked his family, he could tell when they talked. His dads and Tommy loved Ellie. They saw Joel in her and her in Joel.

It was a match made in heaven. In fact, Tommy told him that Sarah had sent Ellie, she must've. And while it brought tears to his eyes to think about it, he knew. Ellie was a gift, a second chance, and he wouldn't waste it. Not one single second.