Promise

chapter 64

Elijah

I was in a great mood this morning.  She had called me dad last night and I was still happy. I knew she would most likely go back to calling me Elijah but just calling my dad once was enough for me. It meant even though she might not say it she does consider me her dad.

I was going to tell her today. However as I stood plating up breakfast I realized it was monday. Avery really should go to school, it seems she had the same thought as minutes later she came into the kitchen, wearing a hoodie and jeans instead of pyjamas.  "Morning, I figured you would want me to go to school today" she said taking a seat. I place her breakfast in front of her, it consisted of fruit salad and waffles "you are correct. Did you sleep ok" I reply. "Yeah the bed is so comfy" she says, i could tell she was more focused on the food in front of her which brought a grin to my face "well we can decorate it at the weekend or whenever" I suggest and she looks up at me instead of her food "really" her excitement almost had me telling her we could start on it now.  "Yeah of course. I know you havent been to school in a while and when you have your attention has been elsewhere  but I need you to focus more on the grades" I tell her only realizing how much I repeated myself. "And I want to talk to you after school so please dont make plans this evening" I tell her and she nods "ok but is it good or bad" she asked. Honestly i had no clue which it was, it a depending on how she took the news. I hope it goes well.

My biggest fear right now is that when she finds out she will blame me for everything that had happened to her, maybe she will think I abandoned her, something I would never do. Maybe she will think I didn't try hard enough to find her.
Maybe I didnt. Maybe I was a terrible father. I couldnt protect her even when she was with me.

I must have zoned out because out of nowhere I feel a pair of arms wrap around me, I look down and see my little girl hugging me,  I quickly return the hug, I really didnt want to let go but a quick look at the time I saw it was almost 9am. "As much as I love our hugs, it's time to go to school" I say and she nods as we separate from the hug "will you be ok" she asks, looking at me with concern. "Of course, why wouldnt I be" I reassure her but she doesnt look convinced.  "Its just you look sad"  she tells me and my smile grows. "I'm ok, let's get you to school" I didnt want to worry her so I changed the topic.

I could see she still wasnt convinced but the topic was dropped and we left the house.
As I drove her to school I began to think about how it had been a few months since I did this and I had missed so much time due to letting my anger get in the way. Yep i was definitely a bad father.

"So how are you and nathan" I decide to start a conversation.  Why nathan you might be wondering. Well I wanted to know if I needed to pay him a little visit. Maybe have a few words with him. "Yeah nathan and beth have been great" she gave me a look which was filled with suspicion.  "If they hurt you, you can come to me" I say and she rolls her eyes. "No thanks" ok that might have hurt me but just before I could say anything she continues "I didn't mean it like that, I will come to you if they really hurt me but I know you dont like nathan, I know that you had words with him  outside school that day, I dont want you to hurt him" ok now I understood and I smirked  until it dropped, he told her. "Did he tell you" I ask and she gulps "no I was listening in, I'm sorry. I know it was wrong. I shouldnt have done it.  Please don't be angry. I'll never do it again, I swear just please" she went into panic mode and unfortunately there was nowhere to pull over but luckily we entered the school car park, so I parked in the first available space. "Avery I'm not angry, please calm down. Listening in isnt exactly ideal and I dont want you doing it again" I tell her, I wanted to let her know eavesdropping wasnt acceptable or she might end up like Maisey but at the same time I needed her to know I wasnt angry with her. "I'm so sorry" she whispered and I reached and pulled her into a side hug. "I know you are sweetheart but please dont fear me, I'm not angry, I forgive you" I tell her and I feel my top start to get wet, she was crying. "Hey it's ok, I got you, you're ok, I'm not going to get angry" I comfort her and I feel her move back. She wipes her tear stained cheeks and looks anywhere but me "I'm sorry I got way to emotional" she whispers and I give her a smile. "Its ok" I tell her and shr nods "I should get going" she tells me and I reluctantly agree. She opens the car door but turns back to me.

"Thanks dad"

And then she was gone, she had left mr staring in shock whilst she walked up to the front of the school where I saw Beth and Nathan were stood talking.

She was fully aware of calling me dad now, last night she was half asleep but now she was fully awake. I knew the smile on my face was going to be there most of the day now and I was completely ok with it.

Avery

Shit. I called him dad. I mean I did see him as a father figure, no not a figure he was my father. Maybe not by blood but after everything hes done I saw him as family. Even though I was sure of how I felt I still felt nervous about it all, what if he didnt see me like I saw him? Maybe he saw me as a orphan? No. I cant go there. Elijah was different.

Soooo this chapter was going to be longer and include the reveal but I havent updated in a while and so I decided to split it into two parts as I have not written the next yet.

Hope you all enjoyed :)