The Mercenary and His Love

Chapter 14 Girls Night

Avery -

Gracie and I were left alone at the table. I grabbed the bowls around the table and started to put them in the sink to wash. "Here let me help." Gracie said, rolling up her sleeves and starting to wash the bowls. I decided to get out the ice cream and let it thaw out for a bit. I pushed the table on it's side and moved it to the wall to make room for the bed. Let's just say our house is odd. I noticed Gracie was walking in an odd position.

"Are you okay? You're walking strangely."

"Oh I'm okay.. It's just a scratch. So what do you want to do?"

"Do you want me to take a look at it? You could be pretty hurt. I know because my dad always says it's just a scratch and it's a full on bullet whole."

"Oh sheesh! No but really I'm okay. I work a lot with the Avengers so I got good at cleaning wounds."

"Avengers. Sounds pretty cool."

"Yeah it is except when you almost die a lot." She laughed.

"Do you fight any of the Big Three? Androids, Aliens, and Wizards?"

"Oh yeah. Thrones, he was awful and hated him. Umm lets see, i had to fight Bucky once that was a time. Dr. Strange was more of a mentor who helped me learn the Mystic Arts, but that's about it."

I giggled, "Sounds like a handful. I wish I could fight something. My dad trained me but never let me fight or go on missions with him. He's been kind of protective ever since mom died."

"I get that. This job is tough. I have lost a lot of people that mean a lot to me."

"It's just unfair with your boyfriend being a cop and your dad being a hero. I want to do something important and the only thing I do is sell drinks and pastries." I pulled out some bowls in the cabinet for ice cream.

"Well, okay I can teach you something but you can not tell your dad and get me in trouble." She said laughing.

I giggle, "I don't want to be rude but what do you think of my dad?"

"Why would that be rude? He's your dad. You have a right to know." she said, scooping some ice cream into her bowl. I look for the chocolate syrup in the refrigerator.

"I don't know. I tried to ask my dad something like that about my mom but he never told me and said it's rude to ask questions that you shouldn't worry about. I was just curious about what you think of him."

"Well I'm telling you now. I really really like him a lot. He is a handful, but he is funny and you know he is just on my level. You know?"

"You guys do have a matching personality. I can see why the spark hit." I smiled.

"I do want to make sure that you're okay with this. Me being here. I don't want to overstep."

"Since I'm going to be your step-daughter, I would like to be honest if that's alright. I really liked you from the day I met you. You are like one of the coolest people I've met. I'm just worried about what you think of my dad. Since I was little, he wasn't happy to the fullest. His grieving process is still going to this day. He can't get over the fact that mom died and I want him to be happy. When I heard he was seeing a girl, I got super excited. When I found out it was you, I got worried but I was still excited. I thought you wouldn't love him because of his scars. His past." I poured some chocolate onto my ice cream adding walnuts and more chocolate chips.

"Babe's i want to show you something." Gracie said lifting a part of her shirt relieves lots of scars. Then she lifted her pants even more. "I used to think that because of these scars that I wasn't pretty. Then I realize that I have stories upon stories to tell about them. I have always been scared. That's why it doesn't faze me to see your dad's face. In fact I think it's really cool."