We are all assembled in the family room, waiting for the special guest of honor, Gilbert James. He should be here anytime from now and i know everyone is just curious to meet him.
Belle is sandwiched between Nick and i and she is all composed. I didn't expect her to be this calm, and i am not sure if it's a good thing.
"He is here," Lee announces a few minutes later waving his phone at us and i instinctively take Belle's hand.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask her for the umpteenth time today and she just nods. She hasn't said much in the last two hours.
It's when she takes a deep long breath that i know she is edgy. She has been assuming a calm composed posture and i was almost buying it.
"I can do this." She says more to herself than to me and i just smile. She is psyching herself up and i find it funny. She has changed a lot.
From the girl who choked Jake on her very first day in SU to a girl that's all nervous to meet her birth father.
From a girl who broke down literally everything whenever she was nervous to a girl that's assuming a composed and calm posture yet she is nervous.
A calm nervous Belle is all new to me.
I wanted Keith to take her and Jessica somewhere safe but she insisted that she wanted to be here when Gilbert arrives. She confessed that she was curious to see his face and i just couldn't take it from her.
The door bell rings a second later and Keith's the one that walks to open. Silence takes over when the door is pushed open open and Gilbert walks in with Keith following him.
I feel Belle tensing besides me the minute Gilbert walks in and i secretly wrap my arm around her tiny waist, she proceeds to lean her head on my shoulder and i tighten my grip sitting upright to make her comfortable.
"Are you okay?" I ask her in a whisper.
"Why won't i be?" She whispers back and her voice is slightly shaky.
"Your birth father just walked in."
"He is not my birth father, he is just a stranger to me." She says the sentence with so much confidence especially the last part.
"You don't feel anything ? Pity or anger tomaybe?"
"I am just nervous, that's all." That she is.
I turn to look at Gilbert and my heart goes out to him immediately. Unlike Lee who looks okay and healthy, Gilbert is quite the opposite.
Prison really took a toll on him, he looks depressed and sad. Either he has been in there for quite a long time or he has been through hell. I bet it's the second one, if the scars on his cheek are anything to go by.
He has a very huge scar on his left cheek and another scar on his chin, though he looks healthy, there is something missing in his appearance. I can't quite figure it out.
Gilbert eyes lands on Belle the minute he walks in and he freezes, his whole world freezes at the sight of Belle.
Belle stiffens besides me when her eyes lock with his and they just stare at each other as we watch them to see what will unfold next.
I look at Belle whose eyes are fully on Gilbert to gauge her reactions but there is nothing. There is no sign of pity, hatred or anger in her expression. She is just looking at him blankly.
