29. Matty
Chapter twenty-nine
T he front door wakes me first, slamming shut with a force that startles me from sleep.
Xed mumbles under his breath, his skin hot and sticky against me. The blanket is still around us, but it’s like an inferno in here, so I’m about to throw it off when my daughter’s voice renders me completely awake.
As I open my eyes, I lock gazes with Hannah, standing two feet from the couch in an adorable pair of footsie pajamas.
“Hi, Daddy.” She smiles wide, her hair a rats’ nest around her shoulders.
Xed immediately jolts, his lids flying open, and pure terror flashes across his features as he looks at me.
But I’m not scared of Hannah.
No, what horrifies me down to the fucking bone is the woman standing behind our daughter, glaring down at me with those eyes that I simultaneously hate and love so much.
Love, because they’re my daughter’s eyes.
Hate because they also belong to her mother.
“Hey, jelly bean,” I rasp, smiling at Hannah as Xed starts to tremble in my arms. It hits me then that we’re both still very much naked under the blanket. “Why don’t you take your backpack upstairs so Mommy and I can talk?”
Valerie’s lips twist, outrage crossing her features, but our daughter just giggles and runs for the stairs.
“Kay. Hi, Fungus!”
Xed lifts his hand in a wave but says nothing, resting his head on my shoulder as we wait for Hannah to leave. I can feel his pulse pounding through his body, and mine matches the tempo.
When we’re all alone, I sit up slowly, wincing when my asshole twinges, reminding me of what happened last night. Keeping our laps covered, I lean down to grab Xed’s boxers off the floor, then mine.
As we dress beneath the blanket, Val says nothing, but the anger rolling off her body is like a physical being tearing through the room like an inferno, burning everything to ash. When I finally raise my gaze to hers, I feel it in my chest, in my gut, down to the very fabric of my existence.
Everything’s about to change.
“Where’s Jenna?” I ask, clearing my throat, and Val eyes Xed with a look that could kill.
“She was running late for work and couldn’t reach either of you. We were worried.”
Shit. I was supposed to pick up Hannah at nine. Goddammit.
“What time is it?”
Xed groans, grimly checking his phone before shooting to his feet. “It’s almost noon, fuck. I’m supposed to be to work in ten minutes. I need to go.”
He takes two steps toward the door, barely brushing past Val, before he halts in place, spinning back around. His jaw tightens, gaze flicking between her and me, something dark flashing behind his gold-flecked eyes. “I’m not leaving.”
The words come out firm, and I feel my stomach twist. “Xed, it’s fine.”
“No, Matty.” His voice sharpens as he crosses his arms. “I’m not fucking leaving you alone with her.”
Val scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Jealous, much?”
He doesn’t even acknowledge her, his gaze locked on mine. “I’ll call in. I’ll say I’m sick or some shit—"
“No.” I shake my head, lifting to my feet. “Go. I’m okay.”
“You’re not,” he snaps, exasperated. “I can see how you’re looking at her, and I don’t trust her not to—"
“Xed.” I cut him off, begging . “Please. Go.”
His fists clench at his sides, his jaw flexing. I can see the war raging in his head—stay and risk a job he loves, or leave and risk me .
I can’t let him make that choice.
“You’re on your last warning,” I remind him, forcing a smile like this is nothing. Like my skin isn’t crawling under Val’s gaze. “And I know you don’t wanna get fired. I’ve got this. I promise.”
His nostrils flare, and for a second, I think he’s going to fight me on this, tell me to fuck off and park his ass on the couch like the stubborn man he is.
But instead, he exhales sharply, defeat sinking into his shoulders. “We’ll talk later?”
Dropping my gaze, I nod, unable to look at him or Valerie as guilt clogs my throat.
I can feel his attention linger on me when he backs toward the door, but when he’s finally gone, a breath gunshots from my lungs. Only to get caught again when I lift my head and see the disgust on Val’s face.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?" She growls, marching toward me as I get to my feet, and I flinch again from the pain in my ass.
Like literal pain, but also this woman in front of me.
“What do you mean, what am I doing?” I glare, folding my arms to shield myself. “We got too drunk last night and fell asleep. It was an accident.”
Her eyes narrow, nostrils flaring like a snake preparing to strike. “Oh, sleeping, Matt? Really? Naked?”
With a shrug, I run a hand through my hair, trying to remain calm. “It’s not a big deal. We’ve been friends forever, it…it means nothing.”
Scoffing, she points a clawed finger at me. “You’re so full of shit. I can’t believe you’d do something like this.”
Following her gaze, I catch sight of the dried cum on my abs and my cheeks scorch in embarrassment. “It…so what? You and I aren’t together, Val. Why does it matter who I fuck?”
She snarls at me, “Because what you do affects our daughter and, in turn, affects me, asshole.”
That response makes me snort. “Says the woman who was so coked out of her mind the day our daughter was born that she can’t even remember it.”
The only warning I receive is her lips thinning before her knuckles crack against my face. “Don’t you ever say shit like that to me again when you’re fucking men on the couch she sits on, Matty.”
Reeling back, I cup my jaw in shock. “Hit me again because violence solves everything. I’m not fucking men , Valerie. ”
Just Xed, and only Xed. Ever.
She sneers, bending down to pick up the lotion bottle before throwing it at my head. “Could have fooled me. Which one of you took it up the ass? I bet it was you.”
Anger simmers in my blood as I duck to avoid getting hit in the face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know, I shouldn’t even be surprised. I’ve always known you two were weirdly obsessed with each other.”
“Valerie, shut up. Please.”
Ignoring the pleading in my tone, she smirks, stepping forward to shove me backward. “Do your teammates know that you like dick? I bet you check them out in the locker room, you sick fuck.”
“ Stop. ”
“No wonder you never made me come.” Her nails scrape my arm when she grabs me, digging into sensitive flesh. “I had to picture half the football team just to get off with you.”
“ I said shut up!" Her condescending words have my patience reaching its boiling point, and suddenly I snap.
I don’t mean to do it. I’m not a violent person. I have never been in my life, yet something about this woman drives me to the brink.
Kicking Hannah’s tricycle, it careens across the room before slamming into the china cabinet, completely shattering it. Glass rains down, followed by our daughter screaming from the bottom of the stairs, and my stomach drops.
Both of us rush toward our three-year-old, but Val gets there first, yanking Hannah off the step. When I reach them, she backs away toward the door, her face twisted in disgust.
“You’re never going to see your daughter again,” she screams while tears stream down Hannah’s face. My heart cracks in two. “Say goodbye, Hannah. ”
No, no, no.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to kick it that hard!” It’s the truth. I’m a big idiot. I don’t know my own strength!
“I should call the police. You attacked me!” Valerie hisses while Hannah reaches for me, sobbing. “Kiss your NFL career goodbye.”
Fear has my knees buckling, and I crash to the floor, my eyes burning when I wrap my arms around Val’s waist.
It wasn’t an attack, but it doesn’t matter. Who would the cops believe? A six foot four, two hundred and fifty-pound linebacker or Val? I’m fucked.
“Please, don’t do this. Don’t take her from me. I’ll do anything. Please, Val!”
God, please. Don’t take my baby girl away from me. Don’t ruin my life.
She scowls down at me as I beg, tears tracking down my cheeks, nausea roiling in my stomach. The thought of losing Hannah forever makes me sick, my hands shaking when I fist Valerie’s shirt and plead with all my strength.
Anything. Anything but that, please.
I won’t survive it.
A slow, cruel smile forms on her lips as she lowers our screaming daughter into my arms. I cling to Hannah’s tiny frame, probably squeezing too tight, but I can’t get my limbs to unlock.
I don’t ever want to let her go.
“You’d do anything for our daughter, wouldn’t you?” Valerie leans against the door, tapping her cheek amusedly, and I already know I’m going to hate myself for this.
Nothing will ever be the same.
“Yes. Anything.”
Even sell my soul to the devil.