Faithless

Chapter Twenty Four

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try one more time." - Thomas Edison.

Dedication: Autumn_May for the cover! Thank you so much!

Recap:

I froze, recognising the car in the driveway.

"What the..." I trailed off slowly.

"Who is it?" Xavier asked, peering around me.

"Hey, Kiddo."

I've never been more glad to see my dad, than I was in this moment.

---------------

I stood there, completely dumbfounded.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to give your old man a hug?" he teased, offering me his trademark grin.

I blinked, still not comprehending the fact that my dad was standing in front of me. I had accepted that he was going to be gone for six months, or more. And here he was. Wasn't it less than 24 hours ago that he was saying he couldn't leave because of his contract?

"How...?" I trailed off, not even sure what I was trying to ask.

"I had a long think about what you've been saying to me and I realised that you need me more than we need the money. I'm sorry it took me so long to see that."

A grin broke out on my face. I surged forward and slammed into him. He let out an oomph sound as I connected with him.

He chuckled, wrapping his arms securely around me.

"I missed you so much."

"I know, Kiddo. I missed you too."

My grip tightened, if possible.

"Good to see you, Xavier," dad said, with a nod, after I detached myself from him. "Thanks for keeping an eye on this rascal."

"Rascal?" I echoed, quirking my eyebrow.

I pressed a button on my phone and the distinct alarm turned off. I beamed at dad, realising the smile on my face was not going anywhere, anytime soon.

"Was my pleasure," Xavier replied, his voice polite. "How was your flight home?"

I stared at him, with my eyebrows raised. I then realised that dad didn't know we were dating. So of course Xavier would want to make a good impression, even though they have met before.

"Not bad, didn't really take that long," he admitted, a yawn escaping him. "But there was a baby on board and it cried the whole time, so I didn't get any time to rest."

"You're such an old man," I sighed, shaking my head.

"Hey!"

"Let's get inside and get you unpacked," I suggested grabbing his carry-on bag. "I want to hear all about your work."

"Oh, it's very exciting," he laughed, grabbing his suitcase.

We all began making our way inside, before dad spoke again.

"Oh and Faith, why is there an alarm on my house?"

I glanced at Xavier, who gave me a shrug.

"Long story..." I trailed off, before we walked through the front door.

***

"It is good to have a shower in my own house," dad declared as he walked through to the kitchen.