💫GISELLE💫

"Hi dad. I didn't expect your call this morning. How's it going?"

"Good morning, Star. I was just sitting here in your room and thought to call you. How's my girl doing in college so far?"

"You're home?" Smiling, I felt hope fill my heart. My father was never home.

"I am." He laughed.

"Well, too bad I'm all the way over here, right?" I tried to make a joke of it to hide the hurt in my voice. He chose now, of all times, to come home. The time I wasn't there to see him.

"Which is why I was calling. I was wondering if your old man could come visit his adult daughter Friday. You know, catch up."

"Dad! Really? I'd love that. I only have two morning classes that day, so I'll have all day to spend with you. We could hit the beach and catch a few waves. There's this pizza place, Hanigan's that I go to with my friends. We could eat there." Overjoyed with happiness, I couldn't stop rambling on enough for him to get another word in.

"Ok—Ok! All the things." He laughed again. "We'll do all the things, Star."

"Aww dad, you really made my day. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I guess so. Love you, hun."

I jumped from my bed and did a dance in the middle of the floor. Happy I was in my dorm room alone, so no one had to witness the corky side of me, I twirled in disbelief, as I floated on the clouds of my hopes and dreams. It wasn't in my father's character to voluntarily offer his attendance in my world unless I acted out. Here I was, minding my own business, and he just pops in and makes plans? That's when it dawned on me. Was something wrong? Was he traveling home and then all the way to Florida because he was delivering bad news?

Strong enough to get whiplash, the way my mood whipped from one end to the other left me dizzy in the middle of the floor.

"Hey there, Sunshine." Max burst through the door.

"I wish you guys wouldn't call me that." I laughed, tucking my hair behind my ear and taking a seat at my desk.

"What's wrong? You okay?" Maxine hadn't taken the time to look my way, stripping all of her clothes off and putting them in her bin.

"Yeah. Everything is just great. My dad is coming to see me Friday."

"Awesome. Why don't you sound too thrilled?" Finally, she turned to look my way.

Sighing as I thought of the best way to explain how I felt, I shrugged it off and ignored my intuition. "I'm happy." I smiled. "I haven't seen him in a while and I'm actually pretty stoked.

"Good. But why don't you see your dad? He and your mom divorced?"

"Nope. He travels for work. He's gone most of the year and he'd been gone for three months prior to me starting school."

"Dang. How does your mom handle that?"

"Easy. She's pretty busy herself. I mean, there are times when she will leave and go be with him in whatever country he is assigned to. But other than that, she has her own thing going."

"And where do you and your siblings fit into all of that?"

"Well, its just me." I waved my hands in a 'Tada' manner, grinning and raising both brows. "I have a fabulous pair of aunts and uncles. I was raised by an amazing nanny. I manage."

"Sheesh, Star. That sounds depressing." Maxine looked genuinely sorry for me.

"You've mastered empathy young lady. You'll do great in the medical field." I found that joking was a great way to lighten a mood headed towards hell. And that's exactlyf where mine would have ended up had I not taken control. I wasn't going to let the terrors of my upbringing get me down.

"Why, thank you. I'd like to add that you are a master of evasion, and it will get you nowhere in this friendship." She shot back.

We both laughed in unison. As she spoke of evasion, I had to find a way to pull myself from our room and head to another sorority meeting. I only had a few weeks left before the initiation week and ceremony. I had two more weeks to survive what started out as heaven but was slowly looking a little bit like limbo.

FRIDAY MORNING, AFTER MY second class, Angel stopped me on my way to the café. Sinking slowly in a puddle of quicksand, all week, I'd worked hard not to fight the feelings boiling inside of me. Every time he avoided looking in my direction was every inch I sank deeper. Every time I spoke to him and he shot back a quick answer that I couldn't respond to, I inched further down into my slow death. All I wanted was for him to acknowledge me. How could he not? After the night we shared and the intimacy we invested our body's and emotion's in, how could he not? I was shocked that he could recall my existence, let alone chase me down after class. I stopped two feet from the café door, deciphering if I should play his game or be myself and respond. I chose to be myself.

"Yes?" I turned, flashing a half smile.

"Hey! I wanted to get up with you and make sure everything was ok."

I couldn't understand him to save my life.

"Everything is ok with...?"

"With you."

"I'm fine. Are you?" I couldn't help but throw in some sass.

"Yeah. I am. I'm good. Thank you."

"For helping you that night or for asking if you're okay? Because now that I think of it, I never got a thank you." Hands on my hips, lips pursed, and expression harder than usual, I was doing a terrible job at hiding how I truly felt. In fact, the anger and frustration that I'd buried deep down found its way to the surface and displayed itself as clear as day.

"I mean—" Angel looked confused.

"Enlighten me. What exactly do you mean?"

"Giselle." He laughed nervously. Angel began looking around, as if to ensure we hadn't gained an audience for my public display.

"Angel, what do you want from me?"

"Nothing." He went from inquisitively invested in my presence to carelessly shrugging off my existence.

Angel shouldered past me, nearly knocking me off my feet as he entered the café ahead of me. I watched in awe as he quickly made his way to our usual table, leaving me standing outside the double doors, speechless.

For a moment, I stood there on the sidewalk as the breeze of the day swept through my hair. I didn't know what to think anymore. A part of me felt like I was overreacting. A part of me felt like felt like I was losing my mind. There was no way I had any business getting mixed up with Angel. I had Aaron and he was good to me. He paid attention. He was predictable. He loved me. He wasn't hard to understand. With those thoughts, I placed my feelings aside and made a memo to stay in my own lane and stay true to myself and those things meant for me.

"Headed to the café?" My thoughts were interrupted by Zack extending his arm out to me.

"Hey." Genuinely happy to see a welcoming grin, I hooked my arm into his and allowed him to lead the way.

Once we arrived at our usual table, I sat next to Zack and across from Loki. He was going on and on about the party he was throwing on Saturday and how epic it was going to be. Based on all the planning and RSVPs, I knew he wasn't exaggerating. Loki was expecting at least two hundred people at his beach house. He'd hired caterers, bartenders, and a decorator. He was really going all out. It was like watching a magic show, seeing him light up as he went on and on about it. Everyone listened and smiled as he explained his ideas and plans. It was almost as exciting as the beach party.

"You're still coming, right sunshine?" Loki stopped to ask.

"Maybe." I shrugged, trying not to look up at what I knew was disappointment.

"Aww, come on! Don't bail on us. We need you there."

"You don't need me." I shook my head, laughing inside. "You'll have a blast with or without me. Don't kid yourself."

"Seriously." Loki stood to his feet. "This crew. This is our crew. I can't have one of it's most elite members missing in action. You have to come."

"My dad's coming into town in a couple of hours and I don't know if he'll be here tomorrow as well. I'll have to play it by ear."

I looked up at Loki as he continued to make a scene. Without giving an answer, I covered my face and shook my head in embarrassment. That only made matters worse. Loki jumped from the table, landed on the floor behind me and got on one knee.

"Giselle Sunshine Soon to be future wife, will you please attend my party tomorrow?"

"Oh my gosh, Loki. Get up!" I shouted, cheeks lit on fire, and butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I just knew the entire café was watching and was too ashamed to look up.

"Aww. See. You're blushing. I knew you loved me." He stood up. "Maybe not more than you love Angel, but you love me?"

"What?" That was the last thing I was expecting. The entire table stopped whatever they were doing to tune in. "What?" I repeated. Without thinking, I looked up at Angel, who was also looking at me. His face was expressionless.

Sevyn spit out her drink onto the table, herself and the floor. Zack's brows collided as his face crunched into a deadly frown. Max's eyes went wide right before she tried to savor the moment.

"I'm with Loki, the man blurted out how 'beautiful you look' the other day," Zack mimicked Angel in an exaggerated fashion, looking more like an actor portraying a Shakespeare profess of love.

"On the bright side, love doesn't always mean a romantic feeling. I mean, I've grown to love all of y'all. I think that's what Loki means."

"What Loki means is—" Loki wasn't giving in or getting the queue to shut up. He just had to make matters worse. I mean, he wouldn't be Loki if he didn't. "Last weekend, for instance—"

"Okay, Loki. Dude, that's enough." Angel stood up from the table and grabbed his bag. Happy that Angel stopped him before speaking on our secret rendezvous.

I was stuck in my seat and lost. I didn't know what to say. I didn't "love" Angel as Loki implied. I just grew a few feelings that were manageable. But that's not how everyone looked at me. I could tell they were curious where Loki was getting his information. I could tell they wanted to know more. I could tell I was being dug into a hole I had no intention of being in. Suddenly, I felt like a witness sitting in the hot seat, curious eyes widening as the twist of the mysterious plot began to unfold. Why me?

"Loki, you're a jerk!" Was all I managed to say before grabbing my things and leaving. On my way out of the door, I pulled out my phone and saw that I had six unread messages from my dad. My heart jumped as I thought, "His flight must have landed." And my entire mood changed.

Honey, can you return my call please. I'm sorry. Was the most recent message. My heart sank as I scrolled up to read the previous messages. Something came up. I scrolled more. I tried calling you. And once more. I missed my flight. I'm not going to make it. Just great. Once again, daddy dearest breaks my heart.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to break down right outside the café and bawl my eyes out. Not only did one of my friends just embarrass me in front of everybody, but my dear old dad was standing me up after barging in on my life uninvited. I closed my eyes and took a slow breath in. I wanted to release it. I wanted to exhale, but I was afraid. I held it in as long as I could. As long as the water filling my eyes found no place to go, I would be fine. I would be able to mask the hurt I felt and move forward.

"Can we talk?" Angel snuck up on me, gently touching the back of my arm.

"I'm fine." Without turning to look at him, I walked toward the dorms.

***Author's Words****

We all know Angel has had a change of heart and is ready to open up.

Do you think he's about to tell Giselle?

Only one way to find out. Continue on

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