A broken promise

chapter 20

"are you sure it's ok" Gabbi asked Elijah as they sat waiting for Avery. Gabbi had begun to feel a little awkward about bring here, she knew with everything going on Elijah would probably prefer it just being him and Avery.
"Of course, Sure Avery and I aren't on the best of terms and I will cut you off completely if you ever hurt her but she can't decide who I spend my time with" Elijah tried to reassure her as well as warning her.
He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice but deep down he knew Gabbi would never hurt Avery.
"I can leave if you want and we can grab lunch tommorow" Gabbi offered which made Elijah smile because of how considerate she was being.
"Nonsense, you are staying put" he said just as he noticed Avery walk out with Beth and Nathan, Xander was following close behind.
He took his focus of Avery and had it on Xander. He would make a good recruit one day but of course Elijah had little intention of allowing him to become a proper member. Xander had been trained by his parents and had a rough upbringing making him more aware of his surroundings. He spotted Elijahs car in seconds and for a second they both made eye contact. "I'll go get her" Elijah said and quickly got out of the car.

Once he approached Avery, he noticed she no longer looked happy, she simply sent him a little glare, not wanting to make a scene in front of her friends.
"I could have walked" she muttered and Elijah rolled his eyes. "Can't even pick my own daughter up from school now" he replied trying to pass it off as a joke but he was hurt that she didn't want him around.
Avery didn't reply instead she said goodbye to her friends then followed Elijah to the car.
"Gabbi is with us today. I invited her for dinner" Elijah said as they begun walking back.
"Ok" Avery was still unsure of Gabbi but she didnt mind her. She knew her dad liked her, and Gabbi had already expressed part of her feelings for Elijah a while back.
(Incase you forgot, Gabbi asked if it would be ok to be with Elijah in the last book)

Not wanting an argument Elijah left it at that and they both got in the car.

Gabbi decided to ignore the nervous feeling. She had grilled cheese with them a month or so ago so it wasn't the first time.
"Hi Avery how was school" Gabbi asked once they were all in the car.
"It was school, boring and tiring" Avery anwsered.
"Do anything interesting" Elijah asked wanting to know about her day.
"No just the usual" she replied and Elijah couldn't help but take notice of the cold tone she used with him. Gabbi also noticed and she glanced at Elijah, she saw the pain in his eyes and it hurt to see.
There wasn't much of a conversation after that, Elijah ignored how much it hurt and pulled out of the car park.

Half way home he realized they were out of a few items. "I need to go to the shop, we need a few things" he said and pulled into a shop which they were about to pass.
"Can't I wait in the car" Avery asked, Elijah thought for a second he was about to say no but then Gabbi spoke "i can stay with her" which convinced Elijah, and he nodded "I'll be five minutes, if anything call me"

"Can we talk" Gabbi asked Avery who nodded. She was still not happy about being left alone with Gabbi due to Jess.

"Good because I wanted to ask about you and Elijah. I saw how cold you were and I wanted to know what caused it" she knew she was pushing a bit and if Elijah knew he wouldn't be happy but she had seen the look on his face and couldn't just ignore it. She didn't believe max when he had told her how cold and distant Avery was lately up until now.

"I just don't like him thinking I can't protect myself and having me followed by guards"
Gabbi couldn't help roll her eyes, she was an expert at reading people and although she saw Avery was telling the truth she also saw Avery wasnt being completely truthful.

"Ok and what's the truth" she asked again.
"That is the truth"

"Fine, if you want to talk about it you can come to me but I'm not going to push you, but I know you are witholding a deeper reason. And in doing so you are hurting Elijah. He is your father and he will do anything to keep you safe, you can complain all you want but nothing is going to stop him from protecting you. In fact all you are doing is pushing him away and hurting him"