Like Father Like Daughter

Chapter 3

Giselle had ceased to listen to Chris's conversation with his sleaze right after he said "I didn't even know I had a daughter until a couple weeks ago!"

That hurt her.

Giselle finally understood why her mother had come all this way, to her father's house. It was to tell him about her. Giselle moved away from the stair case and lt the adults bicker without her eavesdropping. She wondered the hallways and stopped to look at different portraits on the walls. They were paintings of landscapes that Giselle would only be so fortunate to see in person.

One was the perfect beach scene. The sand was oure white, and the ocean was crystal blue. To the left, in the painting, you could see a bit of tropical vegitation. Giselle loved the beach. Especially, when there was hardly anyone else around. It was always calming and head clearing. Giselle smiled and moved on.

Another one was of New York City overhead at night. The lights of the buildings sparkled. Giselle's eyes lit up when she saw that one. She had never been to New York. From what she heard, read and saw online and T.V. it was a prominent, luxurious place. For the city, at least.

The last was the Holly Wood Hills. It looked so realistic, from far you could hardly tell it was painting. The Holly Wood sign stood proud in the picture, a perfect sunset making the sign glow. Giselle wished she could see it in person. She was so close to it too, it was only a drive away. Giselle cast the thought away. Like Chris would be willing to take her anywhere.

Giselle had always longed for adventure. Now she was embarking on one all by herself. Without her nuturing mother. Is this what it felt like to be out in the world all alone as a yound adult? Had her mother felt this way when her parents disowned her?

Giselle cleared her throat to distract herself from the thought of her mother. She down her luggages and opened a door. It was the bathroom. Giselle didn't take much interest in it other than the fact that it was clean and the soap bar next to the sink smelled like blueberrries.

Giselle then opened another door at the end of the hallway. It was a gym. It had one treadmill, a stationary bicycle, different size weights, and other machines to work out different parts of the body. Giselle was impressed. She could tell Chris worked out because, from what she could see, his upper body was fit. This however was impressive. He had his own little gym!

Giselle recognized this opportunity to work out more. She could come here even when she was stressed, just to blow off some steam. She could use that negative energy for a good purpose. It couldn't hurt, after all.

Giselle went to the next door. It revealed a spacious room with a queen size bed. The sheets were a silver color. Giselle entered to explore more. On one wall were attachable shelves with a couple of trophies on them. Everything looked tidy and in place. Giselle then took her attention to a few photos on the night tables.

One was of a group of guys. They looked like they were on a fishing trip. The background was a lake and a couplr guys were holding fish at the end of hooks. They were all wearing shades, but Giselle recognized one of them. Chris was standing in the middle of the group. He looked like the youngest in the picture. He must have been around his twenties in the photo.

Giselle examined the other photos. They all were featuring Chris. One was a modeling picture of himself without a shirt on. The rest looked like unprofessional pictures someone took of him at a bar, at a party, and being pushed off a yacht. That picture was Giselle's favorite. It showed him off guard, yet there was still a playful smile on his face, even though his body looked awkward.

It then registered to Giselle that this was Chris's room. Giselle removed her hand from grazing the picture and turned to the doorway when Chris appeared there. They stood awkwardly before each other in cold silence. This was the first time since she arrived here that Giselle looked Chris directly in the eye.