Chapter 36 Matty #2
Ivy’s face lit up, pride shining through her eyes. She chose the pink sparkly star and held it up like a prize. “Look, Daddy, I get a star,” she whispered, showing me her cast decorated with its first sticker.
“Perfect.” I kissed her cheek again. “Makes it official. I’ll draw whatever you want on it.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Dr. Knight gave me a rundown of dos and don’ts, much of which I already knew, but I listened keenly anyway.
When she was finished, I thanked her, and Ivy waved bye with her good hand.
We walked out into the waiting room, Ivy perched on my hip with her lollipop clutched tight in her little fist. Ozzie was alone in the area, his eyes rimmed red, face blotchy.
“She’s fine, Ozzie,” I said. “Aren’t you, Ivy?”
“Ozzie, look!” She shoved her purple cast under his nose. “I got a sticker.”
Ozzie’s mouth trembled, but he smiled for her sake. “That’s a pretty sticker for a pretty little girl.”
“Will you draw a cat for me?” she asked him.
“Of course.”
I shifted her weight against me and met Ozzie’s eyes. “See. Almost as good as new. The doctor said it’s a buckle fracture. She’ll heal up fine.”
Ozzie’s voice cracked. “I don’t know if I can forgive myself. I should’ve been watching her. One bathroom break—”
I shook my head firmly. “Don’t. Kids slip away. It happens. She’s all right. That’s what matters. You love her, and she knows it. I know it, and so does Hudson. That’s enough.”
His eyes filled again, but he nodded, pressing his lips together.
“Where’s Dad?”
“He went out to ask around for Hudson.”
I frowned, worry gnawing in my stomach. This was unlike him.
We stepped into the reception together, Ivy humming softly around her candy in her mouth. The sliding doors opened, and Dad stepped in, his hat low, and his face grim.
Something was wrong.
Hudson.
My heart clenched with fear.
“Ozzie, why don’t you take Ivy out to the car for a bit?” he said gently. “I need a word with Matty.”
Ozzie frowned but nodded. He kissed Ivy’s hair and took her from me, murmuring about picking out her favorite song for the ride home.
The second they were out of earshot, Dad turned to me. “I found Hudson.”
“Then where is he?”
“In jail.”
The words hit like a kick to the chest. I blinked, stunned. “What?”
Gray’s jaw flexed. “From what I could gather, he caused a scene at the bank. He and Grant got into an argument, and Hudson knocked him out cold.”
I just stood there, stunned, my pulse hammering in my ears. “Jesus Christ,” I muttered. “Hudson… I told him to leave it alone.”
I strode to the entrance but barely made it outside before Dad’s hand on my arm pulled me back. “Leave what alone? What the hell is going on?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s sure as hell not nothing. Hudson wouldn’t put himself in this position except for Ivy.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Or you. Now, am I going to find out what it is from you, or do I need to see Grant?”
I inhaled deeply, a lump in my throat. “I can’t…do this. It was so long ago.”
“Matty, as your father, I am begging you, don’t shut me out. Doesn’t matter how old you get. You’re my kid, and I’m gonna worry about you. What happened? Why did Hudson punch Grant? And from what I heard, if the security hadn’t pulled him off, he would have finished him off right there.”
“Last night I might have told him about something that happened between me and Grant years ago.”
Dad stiffened, his chest rising and falling. There was no mistaking what I meant. His jaw ticked. “How long ago are we talking?” His voice came out hoarse.
I fell silent.
“Matty, tell me now.”
“Dad, Hudson’s in enough trouble already. I don’t want you to do anything stupid either.”
“Fucking hell, Matty. That doesn’t make me feel any better. How old are we talking about?”
“Fourteen,” I whispered.
“Jesus.” Dad released my arm and doubled over, breathing hard.
“Dad, are you okay?”
“Fourteen,” he wheezed out, straightening. His eyes were full of tears. “Why didn’t you tell me? God, Matty, you must have known there was no fucking way I would stand for that.”
“He didn’t force me. Everything that happened between us was consensual.”
“You were fourteen!” He shot back. “You could have begged him a thousand times to be with you, and his answer should have been no. I’m gonna gut the bastard. My fourteen-year-old son. Jesus.”
“Dad, you can’t do anything.” I grabbed his arm, wrestling him back before he went off half-cocked. “I can only deal with one of you being in jail right now. For fuck’s sake, stop.”
He stopped struggling to throw me off him. “Fourteen.” Dad’s voice cracked like a splintering board. He dragged a hand down his face, and when he looked back at me, his eyes were wet. “My God, son. How didn’t I see it? How didn’t I know?”
Tears blurred my vision. “Dad…”
“I thought you knew.” His voice broke fully now, rough and ragged, tears streaming down his face.
“I thought you knew you could come to me with anything. I thought—I thought I taught you that.” He pressed a fist to his chest, shaking his head hard.
“And instead, you carried this alone. You kept it from me. What kind of father does that make me?”
The weight of his guilt crushed me. Before he could turn away, I grabbed his shoulders, clung to him like the boy I once was.
“No, Dad. No. Don’t you say that.” My throat burned as tears spilled free.
“You were the best father. You are the best father. That’s why I didn’t tell you.
Because I know you. You’d have killed him had I said anything.
And I couldn’t—” My voice cracked. “I couldn’t lose you too.
I’d already felt like I lost Mom. I wasn’t gonna lose my dad to a prison cell. ”
His face crumpled, the pain etched in every line. He hauled me into his arms, clutching me so tight my ribs protested. “My beautiful boy,” he rasped against my hair. “You should never have had to make that choice. Never. He needs to pay for what he did to you. He needs to pay.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, sobbing into his shirt. “Okay. But not by your hands. Please, Dad. Let the law handle it. I need you. I need Hudson. I can’t lose either of you.”
His chest heaved against mine, shuddering breaths breaking into low curses.
At last, he pressed a trembling kiss to the side of my head and whispered, “All right. For you. But hear me, Matty, if the law doesn’t do its job, I swear on my life I’ll make damn sure he never touches another child again. ”
I nodded, holding him tighter. “I need to bail Hudson out. Promise me you’ll take Ivy for ice cream like I told her and then bring them both home. That you’ll stay there with them until Hudson and I get back.”
Dad swallowed, his throat working hard as though still struggling with what he’d just learned. Without a word, he nodded. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do for now.