The Kissing Booth: Unavoidable

Part 2 - Chapter 11

Elle's POV

After Noah dropped me off, I stood in the entryway of my Dad's house for a second, until I heard Noah drive away.  I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before going in.  "Hi, Dad!"  I called as I walked in the door.  I could see my Dad sitting on the couch watching tv in the living room. 

Dad paused the tv and stood up to hug me as he said, "Hi, honey.  What are you doing here, Elle?  I mean, I'm glad to see you, but I didn't expect to get to see much of you this weekend." 

"I wanted to spend some time with you and thought it might be fun to sleep in my old room for the night."  I sat down on the couch next to Dad and gave him a smile, trying to hide the fact that I was really upset.

Dad shot me a questioning look and asked, "What are you and Noah fighting about?"

"How do you know we're fighting?"

Dad smiled at me and put an arm around my shoulder.  "You have a horrible poker face, Elle, you always have.  I can tell you're upset.  I didn't expect to see you and Noah apart this weekend.  When I saw Noah at our lunch last weekend, he couldn't stop talking about how excited he was for you to get here this weekend.  If you really want to spend a night here when you're only in town together for three nights, there must be something going on.  You don't have to tell me what it is, but I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thanks, Dad."  I paused before continuing, trying to think about why this fight had escalated so quickly.  As I thought about it, I wondered what made me so mad about the fight, we weren't even talking about something relevant, it was just what ifs.  I don't even know if I would be interested in working for Marco's company, I just knew I didn't want Noah to tell me I couldn't.  "It was a stupid fight.  I don't know why we both got so mad so fast."

Dad moved his bowl of popcorn in between the two of us and motioned for me to take some.  "You know, I remember your mom and me having some big fights when she was pregnant with you."

"Really?"  I always loved when Dad talked to me about my Mom, especially telling me things that happened before I was born.  There was a time soon after she died where he had a hard time talking about her, but as time went on, I think it got easier and easier for him to talk about her without getting sad.

"Yes, we never stayed mad for long, but it seemed like we were quicker to get upset with each other.  I think it was the stress of knowing our lives were going to be turned upside down soon.  We were totally freaked out about having our first baby and I guess we didn't have as much patience as we needed to with each other."

"Maybe that was part of our problem.  Things got out of control pretty quickly and that hardly ever happens to us.  Don't get me wrong, we fight, but we can always talk it out.  I don't know what I was thinking telling him that I wanted to stay here."  I glanced at my Dad before adding, "I mean I'd love to hang out with you, but I've missed Noah so much these last few weeks."  We have been sleeping apart for the last three weeks, I hate the thought of sleeping without him again tonight.

"Oh Elle, I understand.  I'm sure Noah would be ready to talk if you showed up at the Flynn's.  He probably feels just as bad as you do."

"Thanks, Dad, I'm not sure what I would ever do without you.  I think Noah was ready to talk earlier, I was the one who ran off."

"I'll always be here for you.  Even after you become a mom, it's still okay to come to me with anything you need.  Do you want me to give you a ride to the Flynn's?"

"No, I feel like the walk might be good for me.  Maybe I need to work on relieving my stress a little, so I can deal with everything better.  I'll see you tomorrow at our family lunch, okay?"