Chapter 11 #2
“You’ve missed the point yet again,” Battle growled.
“What I have, or don’t, with Vivienne or anyone is none of your fucking business.
And since I’m making myself clear, you earned this by taking a nice night, where people were enjoying themselves, and forcing Vivi to remember she’d recently lost her mother, some time ago lost her father and only has three grandparents and a sister left in her family, and she’s only thirty-two years old.
Did you apologize for reminding Vivi of her grief?
Fuck no. You stood your ground. Now I’m sharing, that’s the hill you’re going to die on because we’ve been done, but I can make it so that we’re so done, you’ll wish you never heard my name. ”
With that, he pushed his chair back, stood and looked down at Rally.
“I’m sorry, mate. I need to speak with Fitzy about a taxi and a hotel booking. However, please know, you and Court are very welcome to stay.” He turned to Chelsea. “Go and pack. Tonight, you’re leaving.”
She pushed up too, shouting, “You can’t possibly—!”
Battle cut her off. “You can pack and walk out my front door to a taxi, or the police can escort you. Your choice.”
“Fuck you, Battle!” she shrieked. “You made no promises? What was I supposed to think when you were eating my pussy?”
Oh man, I needed to vamoose and pronto.
We all did.
“That I wondered how I could get you off so splendidly, and you never figured out, when the favor was returned, you were supposed to do the same fucking thing,” he retorted.
Eek!
Well, she asked.
“You liked my mouth on you,” she asserted.
“One more thing I’ll give to you,” he drawled. “When a man enjoys your mouth on him, he either wants to come in it, or can’t wait to come in you. He doesn’t make an excuse to go to the bathroom to finish himself off so he can get some sleep.”
Dang.
Chelsea tried tears now, snuffling, “I was a lunatic for ever falling in love with you.”
“Go, mate,” Rally urged. “Court and I’ll get her upstairs.”
Battle glanced at Tempie, who gave him a nod, then he stalked out, without looking at anyone else, including me.
Fair play to him.
Because that was insane.
Boy, when Tempie told me if Chelsea stepped over his line, he’d eviscerate her, she wasn’t joking.
“I already wish I never knew your name!” Chelsea shrieked after him.
“Let’s go, Chels. We’ll get you sorted and somewhere…else,” Rally said.
Chelsea turned on me.
“Just so you know,” she was still sniffling, “you’re the flavor of the month. He collects promising young things. But he won’t make you a duchess.” She glared Prue and Chastity’s way. “Not while he has so much weight hanging on him. He’ll never make anyone his duchess.”
My head was about to explode.
I mean…
How dare she?
Though, one thing good about that, Battle didn’t witness it. If he had, I feared he’d strangle the life out of her.
But cool as a cucumber, Tempie sat back in her seat and said, “Bitch, get the fuck out of my sight then get out of my fucking house.”
Chelsea opened her mouth, but Rally bit, “Not another word. Let’s go.”
Chelsea shot him a glare before she rolled her shoulders and stormed out.
Rally followed her, his body so stiff with anger, I worried he’d sprain something.
Courtney popped up and started out but turned to us.
“I’m so, so sorry. I had no idea all of that was happening. She told me—”
“We know it isn’t you, dear,” Tempie said in her warm/cool way that only Tempie could manage. “I’m sorry she made you feel like it was. But I do ask you to make sure she gets in the taxi. I don’t trust myself to do it. And once she’s gone, we’ll all much prefer our Sunday.”
Courtney nodded and took off.
I turned back to Tempie to see her lifting her hand palm out Prue and Chassie’s way.
“But, Tempie,” Prue said.
And when Tempie spoke next, the cool was gone entirely.
In fact, her voice was vibrating with anger.
“He can love his sisters, and find a woman to love,” she stated.
“There are one hundred and two rooms in this house. We vowed, all four of us, this was it. Family. The Downs. Forever. Whoever joins that has to work. And since that woman is Mum, but younger, Battle took what he wanted, didn’t like it, and threw the rest back.
She never had a chance. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t think a second on it.”
Prue nor Chassie seemed to let these words soak in.
Especially Chassie.
Of course, Tempie didn’t miss it.
“Chastity, did you hear me?” Tempie called.
Chassie’s eyes moved meaningfully through me before she whisper-said to her eldest sister. “I want Battie to be happy.”
“What makes you think he’s not?” Tempie asked.
She flicked a glance at me and mumbled, “That was just…awful. Poor Battie.”
“I have a feeling on some level he enjoyed that,” Tempie declared.
“I know I did. She needed to hear it, and he very much needed to say it. Her lashing out even more in the end is all about her shallowness of character. We just witnessed a thirty-something throwing a toddler’s tantrum.
More fool her, she has no idea this is precisely why no man alive will keep her.
She’ll just continue doing this until she has to accept some bottom-of-the-barrel weakling who lets her walk all over him.
But I’ll lay odds she’ll be supporting them, because a man like that won’t be making the kind of living she thinks she deserves.
She will end up miserable and wondering what went wrong, when Battie, and probably many others, already told her.
People like that don’t deserve our time.
So let’s put her out of mind, shall we?”
She stood and walked to the built-in at the wall that held a variety of manly beverages in heavy, fancy, cut crystal decanters, all of the liquid brown.
And she muttered, “I’m having a fucking whiskey.”
“Me too!” Prue cried.
“I hate whiskey, but I’m drinking one,” Chassie loud-whisper-said.
Tempie peered over her shoulder at me. “Vivienne?”
“I think maybe I should let you Talyns—”
“Oh, for God’s sake, the cats sleep with you at night,” Tempie drawled. “I can assure you, they don’t visit her, nor I suspect, even looked in on Rally and Court, who are good people.”
I wasn’t certain about this cat thing.
Though Tempie sure did seem committed to whatever it meant.
“Pour one for Vivi too,” Prue called.
“Come over here,” Chassie loud-whisper-invited. “It’s warm and we don’t have to shout at each other to be heard.”
“I’ll just help Tempie first,” I told them, got up and went to Tempie.
“You okay?” I asked under my breath.
“Respectfully,” she turned to me and peeled her lips back in a terrifying smile, “that woman is a cunt.”
I almost burst out laughing.
“Of course. Respectfully,” I replied.
She rolled her eyes.
Then she poured four neat whiskies.