"It'll get better," Eli said.
"Why the fuck are you being nice to me, Eli?" I snapped. "You don't like me. We don't get along."
"Have I ever said that I didn't like you?"
"Actions speak louder than words," I shrugged.
"Not in my case," Eli said and unbuckled his seatbelt. "If I want you to know something I'll tell you."
"Good to know."
"I don't hate you, Daisy," Eli said. "We just clash. We're similar."
"Similar?" I scoffed.
"Yes," Eli nodded. "Granted your slightly more harsher than me-"
"Harsh? Eli, we've all heard the stories about your temper," I tutted.
"I control mine a hell of a lot better than you, princess," Eli said with a small smirk.
"I'll make you snap," I said and took my seatbelt off and opened my car door. "One day. I'll see the angry you've I've heard the horror stories about."
"You don't want too," Eli muttered. "I keep things bottled up, just like you. When I snap, I really snap."
"Maybe we do have more in common than it seems," I murmured and climbed out of the car. I grabbed my bag and swung it over my shoulder.
"Daisy!" Eli called. "I don't hate you. You need to know that."
"Got it," I shrugged and slammed the car door.
"Watch the car!" Eli tutted as he got out. "When you're finished with James meet me in the training room on the third floor."
"Do I really have to help you train the recruits?" I groaned.
"Rob's orders," Eli shrugged. "Besides, you needed to get out."
"I was doing fine in my room," I grumbled and crossed my arms over my chest.
"I think our definitions of fine and highly different," Eli said and I rolled my eyes as we walked towards the Agency.
"Eli," I said quietly and cautiously glanced at him. "I'm not touching any of them. I'm not sparring with any of the recruits."
Eli looked at me with a blank expression. "Okay."
"I'm being serious, I'm out of there if one of them step towards me-"
"Alright," Eli said. "Not the recruits."
I nodded and I groaned quietly when we entered the Agency. "Bloody hell," I sighed, glaring at agents as they turned to stare at me. "I can't go anywhere in this place without attention."
"It never seems to be the good kind of attention," Eli commented, "does it, princess?"
I narrowed my eyes at Eli and shoved him harshly. "I may not like being touched but I have no problem punching you."
Eli scoffed. "Go for it."
"Don't test me," I said and sighed when we stopped outside of James's office. "My psychological hell awaits me."
"See you in a bit," Eli said. "And you better come, Daisy, I won't have Rob on my ass for you ditching."
"Just for you," I said sarcastically. "Just for you I'll come."
"Thanks," Eli said and rolled his eyes and walked off as I entered James' office.
"Daisy," James called. "Take a seat."
I walked into the training room and angrily threw my bag on the floor. "Shit!" I hissed and looked at my bloody knuckles.
"What did you do this time?" Eli called, not even looking up from where he was doing press ups.
"I snapped," I growled and shook my hand that was stinging.
Eli stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Snapped how?"
"I punched James," I shrugged and Eli paused as he reached down to grab his water.
"You're an idiot," Eli said and looked at my bloody knuckle.
"He deserved it," I muttered and picked Eli's shirt off the floor and threw it to him. "Put some bloody clothes on."
"Why did you punch him?" Eli said and pulled his shirt over his rather large arms.
"Because he didn't shut up when I told him too," I said. "I broke his nose."
"You- Jesus, Daisy. He's a member of staff, Rob is going to kill you."
"I already died once, it wasn't that bad," I shrugged.
"Oh, good one," Eli said sarcastically. "You need to control your anger."
"You try sitting in a room with someone trying to get into your head," I snapped.
"I don't need to try," Eli shrugged.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"No, tell me," I insisted.
"You're not the only one who has shit they have to live with," Eli said dismissively and walked up to me and held his palms up. "Punch me."
"What?"
"Punch me," Eli repeated. "You need to work off some of this anger."
"I'll work off more if I can punch your face," I said.
"You can try, but you won't be able to," Eli shrugged.
"Lets see about that," I grunted and went my bloody fist flying towards Eli's face. Eli's face was suddenly replaced with nothing and I glared at Eli as he dodged.
"You've not worked out properly since the accident. Just go for the hands," Eli said and held his palms up.
I rolled my arms and punched his right palm.
"Harder," he ordered and I repeated my punch. "You're weak, put your body into it."
"Fuck off! I'm not weak!" I snapped and punched Eli again. I groaned in frustration and sent a string of punches his way. He took them like a man and didn't even flinch when I kicked him, surprising myself when I did. "Sorry," I muttered.
"It's fine," he shrugged. "Keep going."
It went like that for about half an hour. Me taking all my anger out of Eli's poor palms. I was sweating by the end of it and I gasped when Eli grabbed my wrist, stopping a punch.
"We need to get this cleaned up," Eli said, looking at my bloody knuckles. As well as punching James's nose, the wall may have been harmed.
"Get your hand off me," I said slowly.
"I said the recruits would touch you," Eli said. "I said nothing about me."
"Eli, get off."
"Why?"
"Because as the moment I'm asking nicely," I snapped.
"Am I doing anything to harm you?" Eli asked and I gulped, shaking my head slowly. Eli shrugged his shoulders and let go of my hand to retrieve a first aid box. "I'm going to touch you again, but just to clean you up. That's all, princess."
I pursed my lips and tensed up, but did nothing else as Eli took my hand gently and wiped away the blood with a sterile wipe.
"I recall doing this to you," I said as Eli expertly placed butterfly stitches on the cuts.
"Looks like the roles are reversed," Eli shrugged. "Don't go around punching staff members anymore."
"Can't promise anything," I muttered just as the door to the training room opened and a bunch of new recruits filed in. "And training begins," I said dramatically and sighed loudly.
"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming, princess," Eli scoffed and chucked the first aid kit on the floor and turned to the recruits. "Pair up!" He called and I smiled when Joey waved at me. "We're going to begin with a warm up! The first person to pin your partner gets out of an eight mile endurance run later. Go!"
I glanced at Emma as the recruits all scrambled into partners and hastily began attacking each other. She was against Dante and I smirked when he pinned her to the floor in a matter of seconds, his skills a hell of a lot better than the other recruits.
"He's impressive," Eli said lowly.
"Who? Dante?"
"He may be a confident twat, but he knows what he's doing," Eli said.
"He made Emma look like a tit," I said and shrugged my shoulders. "That's all I care about."
Eli shook his head and clapped his hands loudly, calling for everyone's attention. I sighed softly and watched him as he took the class, grateful that he was taking charge. I had no motivation to do anything.
I guess Eli wasn't that bad.
When he wasn't being an ass.
I yawned tiredly and sat down on the floor as the recruits finally left the training room looking battered and bruised.
Eli didn't go easy.
"Home?" Eli called and I nodded.
"Please," I said, but my dreams of retreating back into my bedroom and snuggling up in bed were ruined when an agent walked into the training room and looked directly at me.
"Your dad wants to see you," he said and I sighed.
"Why?"
"I think the fact that you punched James earlier might have something to do with it," Eli said. "But it's just a hunch."
"Piss off," I muttered and hauled myself off the floor and grabbed my bag before following the agent out of the room. He stayed with me until I reached Rob's office and then he gave me a dirty look which I gladly returned along with a few rude words.
Some agents here were goddamn rude.
I walked into Rob's office and he sighed when he saw my knuckles. "Sit, Daisy," he said.
"In my defence, James was asking for it," I said as I slumped down into the chair.
"I've not brought you here to talk about James. What you did was wrong, but James knows he pushed you. Surprisingly that wasn't his first time he's been punched."
"He's a twat. Somehow I'm not exactly surprised. I need to find the person and congratulate them."
"It was Eli," Rob said.
"Eli punched James?" I asked and shook my head. "Bloody hypocrite."
"Speaking of Eli, he informed me about the stash forming in your bag," Rob said. "That gun isn't Agency issue, I'm going to need you to hand it in," Rob said and raised his phone to reveal a text from Eli.
"How the hell did he know about that?" I gasped. "Fucking peeping tom!"
"Language," Rob scolded and I jumped when he threw a folder at me. "Open it."
I frowned and looked down at the folder. "This is a mission," I said.
"Open the damn folder, Daisy."
I flicked it open and froze when I saw the picture of the target.
"I know you're against killing now and all that crap," Rob said and rolled his eyes, "but I think you can make an exception."
I scanned over the details and clenched my fists. "I think I can make an exception too."
"Good, then the mission is yours," Rob said and I glared at the picture.
"I'm going to make you suffer, you son of a bitch," I growled and slammed the folder shut, hiding the picture of the man who raped me. "You're going to wish you had killed me."