I know, it's been almost a month. Sorry.

Enemies to Lovers - Part Twenty Six

"Sorry," Molly said, joining the others at the breakfast table three minutes passed seven thirty.

"Quite alright dear," Angela said, having one of the servants serve her.

"She gets served for being late while I had to serve myself even though I was on time?" Peter asked, somewhat grumpy. "And you threatened not to even let me eat."

"That's because you can get food on your own."

"I'm sure Molly is perfectly capable of fending for herself."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Matt said, swallowing a large bit of egg. "She got lost in this place last night."

"How do you get lost when you can sense where people are?" Gabriel asked before he could stop himself.

Molly glared at him from across the table and kicked him as hard as she could in his shins.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"How can that hurt when you're an evil ruthless bastard who kills people for a living?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Peter.

"Dude, she's like twelve. Are you seriously going to pick a fight with her?"

"That was a little uncalled for," Matt whispered in Molly's ear.

"But he's a bad person," she said angrily.

"Molly-"

"No!" she shouted, scooting her chair back out from under the table and storming out of the room.

Matt put his napkin down on the table and made to follow her, but Peter stopped him.

"I'll go talk to her." Matt nodded reluctantly.

"Hey Molly?" he called as he followed her up to the room she was staying in.

"I don't wanna talk to you," she said, slamming door in his face.

"Molly-"

"No!"

Peter sighed and sat down just to the left of the door.

"You don't have to say anything, okay?" he offers. "Just listen."

He isn't sure if she can hear him, but he began talking anyway.

"I know what he's done. I know that he's killed and done so many evil things. But you have to give him a chance. You have to give him a chance to be good."

There is no response, he hadn't really expected one, but he can tell, based on the mass of incomprehensible thoughts he can hear running through her head, he can tell she is sitting on the opposite side of the wall, and that she is listening.

"I know he deserves punishment for all the things that he's done and that he can never make up for it, but you can't hold him entirely accountable. His power was uncontrollable."

"That's no excuse," she says, just loud enough for him to hear. "He killed my parents. It's no excuse."

"I know. And he's tried to kill me on more than one occasion."

"And you trust him still? Why?"

Peter is quiet for a moment.

"Because he saved my life. More than once."

"And that just makes up for all the pain he's caused everyone else?"

"No. Of course it doesn't. But it shows that he can be good."

"I wish he'd figured that out about fifty brains ago," she said.

"So do I," a third voice said. Peter looked up to his left and saw Gabriel.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked as Molly opened the door to her room.

"Long enough to hear you defend me."

"I can maybe learn to forgive you for what you've done," Molly told him, hate in her eyes. "But I will never forget."

"I don't deserve forgiveness," he replied as she walks passed him and back down the stairs.

"No, you don't. But I'm a better person than you are; I have the ability to look passed it."

"You stuck up for me," Gabriel observed as they descended the stairs.

"Don't read so much into it."