JESSICA

|12|

Sat on the bathroom floor, I was a mess. I'd thrown up my guts. My hands shaking, I was so nervous. A cold heat took over my body.

I had to pull myself together, but how could I? I made myself sick, he wouldn't want me. Hell, why did he even agree to meet me? Who was I to him anymore?

I pulled myself together, dragged myself off the floor, cleaned everything up, including myself and left the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked.

I sat down on the sofa and pressed my palms on my jeans, moving them up and down nervously. "I'm okay." I lied.

He sat down next to me, wrapped his arm around me and held me close. He gave me a comfort that I'd only ever dreamed about before him. "I know you're not, and it's okay that you're not, no ones expecting you to be."

I leaned into him. "How is it that you always know the right thing to say?" I asked, chuckling a little to myself.

"I'm a magician, wasn't it in my file?" he nudged into me gently whilst wearing a huge smile like it was his favourite jumper.

"You know I don't think it was." I laughed at his terrible joke, only to realise that I didn't feel sick anymore, my stomach had settled in the time he'd distracted me.

"How do you do it?" I asked, my eyes wide.

He furrowed his brow at me. "Do what?" he asked, but just as he asked the door bell rang.

"You're going to have to answer that you know, I'm far too nervous for that." I motioned for him to get up.

"I'm on it."

He jumped up from the sofa and opened the front door. I gripped the cuff of my jumper nervously. My eyes flickered between my hands, the floorboards and the door. I didn't know if I was ready to see the face I'd cried over for years walk through that door.

"Daisy?"

The voice I had once forgotten pulled me out of my trance of thought. I looked up to see him, my father. Like an ethereal being standing right in front of me. My body was frozen in time, in this moment.

"Dais." Henry snapped me out of it.

"D-Dad." I stuttered. I stood up, ran over and threw my arms around him. "I never thought I'd see you again." I squeezed him tighter. The smell of his aftershave hit me, he still wore the same one,

"You're all grown." He pulled away from me and held me at arm's length.

I studied him, the eyes I knew too well, the new age of his face. I couldn't believe he was standing in front of me. "I am." escaped my lips.

"Shall we sit?" Henry asked. He closed the door behind my dad and walked us to the sofa. "I'm going to go-"

"No, please stay." I grabbed Henry's hand before he could walk away. He moved the solid wood coffee table back and sat down on in.

"So, Henry told me that they kidnapped you? And then you had to go into hiding."

"I can explain everything. We were on a mission, in the hive of the enemy. We were there to take out someone called Christoper," I gulped at his name. "But something went wrong, someone had informed them that we were coming and they were ready for us, so they killed my partner in front of me and held me hostage for information. After there was no response the reinforcements came in and found me, but going back home wasn't an option. I couldn't put you and your mother in danger like that." I winced at the mention of her. "So I found myself having to leave with no other option, I knew you'd be safe that way. Daisy, I'm so sorry." he finished.