Page 135 of Fierce-Gabe

Her eyelids felt as if there were ten pounds of sand on top of them that bled into her eyes.

They were dry and itching from crying and even her throat scratched from screaming some in the house.

Everything Gabe said hit home so much that she couldn’t help but let it out in shouts until she was exhausted.

She couldn’t even dispute the words he said. Not when she admitted that her pride and stubbornness would have had her running in the opposite directions if she knew someone was trying to put them together.

All she could think of was the years of her mother trying to have her be someone she wasn’t.

The one person who stood in her corner all along was her father. The fact that he knew what was going on was what upset her the most.

She took it out on Gabe and shouldn’t have.

After she’d talked herself off the ledge of emotion last night, she realized he had no control over what the Fierces did either.

Just like Royce and Chloe didn’t.

Gabe did exactly what she’d done in her life. He took control.

It’s just she was part of it and had no idea.

Even if the clues were right in front of her face and yeah...she’d been blind to them.

She walked into her bathroom and took a hot shower, then turned the water on cold to help get rid of her swollen eyes.

It didn’t seem to help any so she gave up and went downstairs to get coffee.

When she heard knocking at her door, she looked and saw it was just seven thirty and couldn’t imagine who was here that early unless it was Gabe.

There was part of her that hoped it was so she could apologize, then another part that wasn’t ready to face him and choke on the feathers of a crow.

The last person she expected to see was her father when she opened the door.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have some scheming to do with your friends?”

Her father looked at her face. He’d know she was up crying all night. It was obvious.

“No,” her father said. “I’m here to see how my daughter is doing.”

“I’m sure you can see,” she said.

“Did you and Gabe fight?”

“No,” she said. “I just watchedThe Lion King.”

Her father snorted. “That always did make you bawl like a baby.”

Elise didn’t cry much in her life around people, but for some reason a few movies kind of broke the dam. She only did it with her father too.

“Why did you lie to me?” she asked. She might as well get right to it. He’d expect no less.

“I didn’t come right out and lie,” her father said. “You asked if Jim and I ever talked about you and Gabe getting together before you did. I said yes.”

“Then you said you laughed about it,” she said.

“Again, the truth,” her father said. “For years we all knew how you felt about Gabe. No one knew why. I doubt you’re going to tell us anything other than some sarcastic comment about him having a pretty face.”

No, she’d never admit why she felt the way she had toward Gabe. She didn’t want her father to think poorly of her.

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