Tough Love

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Just thinking. Bad habit, sorry.”

“Don't be sorry. If you need me to snap you out of your thoughts, I will. Sometimes Ash or I get caught up in the things we've seen and we have a silent agreement to snap each other out of it. Otherwise we'll just get stuck there. You want me to do the same for you?”

It's worth a try, and it's also not a bad idea. “Yes sir. That might be helpful.”

“Ash and I wait a few minutes and then we grab the others attention. You want to be brought back straight away or do you want me to wait?”

“I don't know.”

“Well, sometimes you need to think things over, so maybe we'll wait a few minutes and see how that works, yeah?”

“Yes sir. What time are you going to see your dad?”

“About 5. I'll be at least an hour.”

“Ok. I have a stack of files to go through before Monday.”

We just lounge around and watch a movie or two before Eli has to go.

Before he leaves, he says, “I need to go home to check my mail, messages and get some clothes so I might be a little while. If you need me, just call, ok?”

“Yes sir. I'll be ok. Have a nice time. Tell your parents....hi.”

He smiles, with a knowing look on his face. He knows that wasn't easy for me to say, but he doesn't comment on it for which I'm thankful.

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Eli's POV

I pull into my parent's drive at 5:20pm. I slowly get out of the car, not knowing how this evening is going to turn out. My dad was in the Army; he's an easy-going man, but he's not someone you cross. Not that I'm going to cross him, at least I hope not. But I will protect Dani at all costs. If that means falling out with my folks, then I will. I can't lose her and she can't lose me. Not when she's making progress. I don't bother to knock, I just open the door and shout, “Dad!”

I hear his voice, “In the living room, son.”

I poke my head into the kitchen to say hi to my ma, knowing that's where she'll be. She gives me a quick hug and I head into the living room. My dad is ready for our session, he's already in sweats.

“Hey dad. How was work?”

“Busy. We had a cop in, shot on duty.”

“I heard about it. How is he?”

“In ICU, but stable at the moment. Quite a nasty incident by all accounts. How's Dani?”

“She's ok. She asked me to say hi... What? What's that look for?”

“Did she really say that?”

“Yes sir, she did. She feels awful about last night, but she's not going to be rude to you.”

“I get the feeling she doesn't know how to be rude.”

“You'd be right on that.”

“Shall we get started then?”

We head upstairs to the gym and we start on the treadmills. As we jog at a relatively slow pace, he continues his questioning, “So, what's the deal, son?”

“With what?”

“Don't play coy with me, Elijah. You know exactly what I mean. I know you're more intelligent than that.”