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She smiled a little. "If I ask you for something, would you give it to me?"
"I'll give you my life."
She pondered. "Can you... Can you leave your gang?"
He sighed as if he expected it all along. "Giselle, I..."
"Xavier, please stop this. It isn't you." She broke the embrace and looked up at him. "Come with me to Phoenix."
"I just told you it's not... It's not possible."
"Can't you try?"
He closed his eyes in frustration. "The magic word 'please' doesn't work with everyone, Giselle."
She gulped.
He took her hands in his and said, "You don't understand."
"I don't want to. You can call me naive if you want. I don't care," she said. "Do you remember your mom's face?" He froze. "Would she be proud of you right now? Is this what she would've wanted you to become?"
He blinked. "I never claimed to be a good person."
She said quietly, "You don't have to be bad, either." He looked down. "Will you leave the gang?"
Their eyes met as he whispered, "Yes."
"Promise?"
"I will talk to Sean."
Giselle hugged him again as she spoke, "Xavier?"
He placed his hand on her head. "Yes?"
"I want one more thing."
His chest vibrated as he said, "Yeah?"
There was silence for a moment before she said, "I want you to meet my father."
That evening, when both of them had composed themselves, they sat in a café a few blocks away as the rain tapped on the windowpane.
Giselle sipped her coffee, letting her mind wander. It was as if she was seeing life with newfound respect, finally feeling like she could let go of the grief of her mother's death.I'm blessed,she thought, andI'd make every moment count!
She looked at the man in front of him and took in his appearance. His eyes weren't bloodshot anymore, though they were lined with dark circles deeper than she'd seen before. He stared out the window, his jaw locked.
Her eyes traveled down his body. His black shirt was buttoned up except for the first two. Giselle's sight dropped to his hands that held the cup of coffee his lips hadn't touched. He'd placed both his arms on the table, and the sleeves were slightly pulled up.
Her eyes zeroed in on the scar.
"Are you checking me out?" She heard him asking, a sliver of humor in his words, but she couldn't concentrate. All of her attention was on his arm.
Xavier, probably noticing the direction of her gaze, snatched his hand back, slightly spilling the coffee on the table. He adjusted the sleeve.
Giselle's eyes snapped up to meet his. "Show me your arm."
"It doesn't matter."
