Hidden Miracles • Tyler Joseph •

🦒 FOUR

Tyler jolted awake at the shrill buzzing that filled the basement. He groggily rubbed his eyes as he lifted his head from his desk. He realized he must have fallen asleep while writing lyrics. He glanced at the baby monitor and smiled softly when he noticed his daughter sleeping peacefully in her crib. Good, she had still been asleep while he had fallen asleep himself.

He turned his head towards the panel next to the basement stairs. The button for the front door was lit and he could see a blurry image of Josh in the video feed. He stood from his chair and rushed to the intercom panel. "Hey J, I'll be up in a sec." He told him. "Hurry up, I've got loads of stuff in my hands." Josh replied playfully. Tyler grinned at his best friend and hurried back to his desk, grabbing the baby monitor and turned off his computer.

He hastily marched upstairs to the main floor and then opened the front door to see Josh with two armloads of grocery bags and a grin on his face. "Whatcha got?" He asked his friend as he stepped back from the door so Josh could come in. "Well...I've got some coffee and danishes from that bakery in town you like and some stuff for us to do." Josh replied as he shuffled noisily passed him towards the kitchen. Tyler smiled gratefully at his best friend for wanting to help take his mind off of Selene and his grief, even temporarily. Josh was the best friend anyone could ever want.

He grabbed a few bags from his friend and followed him into the kitchen, piling the bags on the counter. He peered into the closest bag near him and pulled out the decks of Uno and Skip-Bo cards. He turned to Josh and held up the box of Uno cards, shaking the box to cause the cards to rattle. "Remember the last time I kicked your butt in Uno?" He asked with a playful grin.

Josh turned to face him. "Yeah, you kicked me out of the band for a week!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms up before continuing to fish items from the bags. "How's the munchkin? You look dead."

Tyler's shoulders sagged a little and he rubbed his eyes. "I was up with her nearly every two hours. I maybe got four hours of sleep all night." He replied defeated.

"Well, let's go to the living room and set up Uno and stuff our faces." Josh said, grabbing the danish bag and led the way into the living room. The pair sat on opposite sides of the couch and laid the Uno card stack on the middle cushion. They each drew their own cards. "This is already fun. Thanks J." Tyler smiled while laying down a yellow five. Josh returned his smile. "That's what I'm here for." He put down a blue five and looked up at Tyler who was staring at his cards in total concentration.

After a while, Tyler had once again beaten Josh at UNO with four wins and one loss. They had finished their danishes long ago and that was when they heard the baby crying from upstairs. "Duty calls." Tyler mumbled as he got to his feet. He stretched his arms above his head, his bones cracking in his back as he did so. He hurried up the stairs and opened the door to the nursery. Adelaide's cries never softened even as she kicked her feet and waved her arms wildly. Tyler smiled softly at his daughter and scooped her up. "Hey princess, it's okay. Daddy's here." He muttered, rocking her from side to side. He laid her down on the changing table and changed her diaper quickly. "There we go. I bet  you're hungry, you slept for a long time." He said, cradling his daughter once more before he left her room. He smiled at Josh as the pair made it downstairs. "Do you mind holding her while I make her a bottle?" He asked him. Josh extended his arms towards the baby, grabbing at her. "Come here, I haven't gotten to hold you yet." He said. Tyler carefully placed her in Josh's' arms and scurried off to the kitchen to make a bottle. 

After the day with Josh had come to an end, Tyler smiled to himself, he was feeling...at ease. Peaceful even. It had really been a great day filled with jokes and laughter and when there would be a slight lull, Josh would make a silly remark, causing him to laugh uncontrollably. It felt light and normal when he was with his best friend.

"Hey, J?" He called to his curly-haired friend just before he stepped out of the house.

"Yeah?" Josh replied, his hand resting on the doorknob. "I'm gonna keep working on music. I have to."

Josh raised his brows in surprise at his words. "You sure? Shouldn't you focus on your daughter right now? The band can wait." Tyler averted his eyes to a spot beyond his friend.

"I have to put my grief on paper and to a melody. It's the only way I can get through this." He answered, frowning. In his mind music had always been a type of therapy for himself. It was only right to include what had been going on recently.

Josh looked at him with uncertainty. "Okay Ty. Just...don't overdo it. We all need you at the best you can be." He said. Tyler shrugged and shifted the baby in his arms. "I know. Thanks Josh. Call you later?" He prompted, raising a brow. Josh nodded shortly and walked out of the house, pulling the door closed as he left. Tyler frowned to himself as he stood in the foyer even minutes after Josh had left. Once again, he was alone. His eyes filled with tears and his heart felt as if it were twisting painfully in his chest.

(Hope everyone had a great holiday season! Please leave a vote and a comment if you wish ❤️❤️)