Inferno Part 3

~130~ Come Out To Play

Zoe's POV

This is all my fault

I'm crying in my bed, feeling awful. Gabby is the best friend I've ever had. Not only have I gotten her in SO much trouble, Nolan is going to absolutely hate her now: he loves Corinne.

I hear a knock on my door, and I try my best to stop crying.

"Mom made some chocolate chip cookies," dad says when he opens the door.

"Woah! What in the world's wrong, Zo Zo?" He asks as he sits on my bed and starts rubbing my back.

"Nothing," I sniff as I continue trying to dry my face.

"The thing you really need to know about me, is I'm annoying. Not as annoying as my sister, she's on an entirely different level, but I'm about half as annoying. I'm not leaving until you tell me what's upset you enough to cry."

I shake my head, still not looking at my dad. He has no idea how much of a nerd I am, and I don't want him to be disappointed.

"Come on. I can't read minds, so I'm just gonna assume the worst—You decided that you wanna join the circus, and can't make up your mind between the bearded lady or a clown."

"Dad, stop."

"I'd go with a clown...I still can't grow a full beard, so it might be a tad tricky, seeing as you're only 13."

"Dad....."

"No? Ok, um.....You made an amazing scientific discovery, and it's so big that if us dumb humans knew, our brains would explode."

I roll my eyes at that one as I sniff again.

"No? Dang this is tricky.....Um, you just found out that the man in the moon isn't real, and it's not really made of cheese....I cried when I found that one out."

I finally turn over and look at him, and his face is completely serious.

"Getting close?"

I simply shake my head.

He kisses my hair and scootches closer.

"Please tell me," he says softly, taking my hand.

"I can't," I say as I cry again.

"Why?"

"Too embarrassing"

He nods and scrunches up his eyes to think. "When I was 15, my friend pulled my pants down in front of my entire gym class, and EVERYBODY saw the goods. I went home and cried."

I just stare at him again.

"When I was in my 30s, Aunt Ellie punched me in the face and broke my nose in front of the entire firehouse she worked at. That was a tough pill to swallow.... I was mortified."

"When I was 21, I asked a girl out, and she laughed in my face. That was REALLY a tough pill to swallow."

"Dad, this is worse than all of that."

"Worse than getting your pants pulled down in front of people?"

"Well, no."

"Good. Then tell me."

I sit up and take off my glasses, wiping them on my shirt—They're fogged up from my tears.

"Gabby's in trouble 'cause of me," I whisper, looking at my bed.

"Why?" He asks, his tone getting a touch darker.

"She protected me today."

"Why did you need protecting?" He asks, his tone going from angry, to protective dad mode in a second.