Chapter 23 – Mattie
Rory’s boxers were in a twist because he blamed Daddy’s absence on Mama’s sudden departure for an out-of-town meeting. Although Mattie couldn’t believe her brother was that stupid and she missed her mother, she was happy Daddy left, too.
It would’ve been very awkward to have him there because he would’ve forced her to go to school, made her sit in the dining room for dinner, and attempted to be nice. He wouldn’t have understood that Mattie wanted to stay in her room, hiding under the covers, never to be heard from again.
Wishing she’d never seen those stupid videos made her feel horrible and selfish.
That meant Harley’s abuse would’ve continued as would Rebel’s invasion of privacy.
But seeing herself strut out of her bathroom and prance around her room without clothes, knowing those videos had been viewed after what happened to her with Wally, Jr., and Bash, and Billy and Eric, and Wally III left Mattie cold inside.
It made her wonder if perhaps Daddy hadn’t been right and girls who acted a certain way were seen as whores and attracted the type of attention they deserved.
She didn’t want to be that girl with a bad reputation. Exactly what Daddy always warned her she’d become if she didn’t act as he demanded.
The bells of Westminster Abbey serenaded Mattie, and she turned on her side. Someone was at the door. She couldn’t care less. Ella or whoever was home would answer. Mattie didn’t know if Rory or JJ had gone to school.
Once Mama left, JJ went to his room and moped the entirety of yesterday.
Once Daddy left, Rory lost his shit and called Mama a name, which Mattie took extreme exception to.
They got into a bad argument, the type Rebel usually had with her brothers, but Mattie had always been spared because Rory had been so loving and protective.
Until he wasn’t.
So, yes, her room was perfectly fine.
“Mattie?” Grant called as he knocked on her door.
Sliding the covers to her neck, Mattie blinked at her closed door, white like her bedroom set, desk, and the molding. Everything else—walls, carpeting, curtain, desk chair, and the padded bench at the foot of her bed—were pink.
She really hated the color pink.
“Mattie?”
“Uh, come in,” she called, not bothering to sit up because she didn’t have the energy.
Grant walked in, carrying a bouquet of red roses. He was Mattie’s first crush, back when she’d believed in nice guys. Blond and strapping, he was just beautiful to her with his honey colored hair and amber eyes. Seeing her in bed, he halted and frowned. “You were sleeping?”
“Nope. I’m wide awake.” She still didn’t move the covers or sit up. “Are those for me?”
Nodding, he walked to her dresser and set the vase down.
“I’ve never gotten flowers before.”
Grant craned his neck in all directions, taking in her four walls, her floor, her ceiling, and her furniture.
“Thank you.”
“Huh? Uh, oh, yeah. You’re welcome,” he said, still distracted.
“My room is quite pink,” she said.
He met her gaze, amusement dancing in his eyes. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“Daddy’s idea.”
“That explains it then.”
“Not really. He isn’t the one living inside of a Pepto Bismal bottle.”
Grant laughed.
Her insides unclenching slightly, Mattie shoved her covers down a little more. Her long, Victorian-era nightgown wouldn’t show anything, not even her throat, so she was safe. “How’d you know I was home?”
“I didn’t. I was just dropping the flowers off, but Ella said you were here and your dad is out of town, so I asked if I could bring them to you.”
“You know my birthday is months away.”
“They aren’t a gift. They’re a pick-me-up and a reminder that there’s always beauty to be found.”
“In spite of the ugliness. You know they’re going to die, right? They’ll become ugly.”
“They’re eternal, Mattie.”
Eternal roses eventually died too, but she appreciated his effort. She lifted her head from her pillow and gave him a small smile.
“Thank you. I appreciate the roses. I will cherish them, but I’m fine.”
“It’s okay not to be.”
“Says you. I say everything’s okay, especially me.”
Shoving his hands into the pocket of his jeans, he swept his gaze over her. “How long have you been awake?”
“What time is it?”
“Noon.”
“Six hours.” Her alarm went off at its normal 6 a.m.
“Have you eaten?”
“I didn’t feel like getting dressed and going downstairs.”
“You don’t have breakfast in your bedclothes?”
“Only if I’m sick and in bed. We aren’t allowed to go to the table in nightclothes.”
Grant gave her an incredulous look.
“That’s how it’s been my entire life. Now, when I sleep at Reb’s house, yeah, it’s awesome. We can go to the table in our bedclothes if we choose.”
“That’s the way it is in a lot of households.”
Mattie shoved the covers down to her waist. “Not in John Donovan’s.”
“If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?” Grant asked, ignoring her last comment.
“It depends on if I want to be healthy or not.”
“Give me both options.”
“Cage-free egg salad with vegan mayo and cauliflower crackers.”
Most guys would’ve been horrified but Grant remained expressionless. “Or?”
“Sweet potato fries with filet mignon in mushroom sauce and a chef’s salad.”
“Definitely the better option. While you get dressed, I’ll call the restaurant so Jimmy knows to expect us.”
Jimmy was one of the chefs at J’s, Grant’s grandmother’s establishment.
Mattie wasn’t opposed to the idea, but Grant had never made it a point to visit her before. Usually, they saw each other at family events. Yet she knew what he’d seen when he rescued her from Wally, Jr.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
“We’re friends.”
An assertion Billy and Eric made, too, until they became her enemies.
The only boys who hadn’t let her down were CJ and JJ. Just yesterday, she would’ve included Rory in that number, but he was firmly on Daddy’s side. Maybe she was a bad person for being suspicious of Grant. Her skirt was raised and her panties torn when he’d found her, though.
At the memory, Mattie blushed and yanked the covers over her head again.
“Go away. I’m not hungry.”
“Fuck.”
Frustration filled that one word and fear slid into Mattie. Her pulse pounded through her and her heartrate skyrocketed.
“I don’t want anything from you but to take you to eat.
I’m here because…fuck, Mattie, I just wanted to check on you.
Harley has Roxy and Aunt Zoann. Rebel has Aunt Meggie and Aunt Bunny.
I know you have Aunt Kendall. Unfortunately, you also have your dad.
I’m too young to be a father figure, but I can be a brother to you.
I can reassure you that you did nothing wrong.
Make sure you aren’t lost in the cracks while your dad focuses on Rory and motherfuckery and your mom juggles her career, her new responsibilities to the club, and being married to Uncle Johnnie. ”
“But you saw me,” Mattie said dully, processing his words, almost afraid to believe him.
“You should never have been exposed like that,” Grant told her. “You were fucking attacked. Even for that motherfucker it wasn’t sexual. It was just fucking control and violence.”
Mattie nodded, still hidden under her covers.
“What do you say? Do you want the unhealthy option or are you really not hungry?”
“Call and order the food for us,” she told him, giving trust one more shot.
Whenever Mattie went to J’s, she always dressed with her father in mind. Thanks to Mama, she had a very extensive wardrobe, so she chose an ankle length tartan print knit dress with kitten heels, a black mini bag, and Imperial topaz ring and earrings that she got for her last birthday.
She dressed as quickly as possible, since J’s closed every day at two, but she hadn’t showered, so she ended up eating up thirty minutes despite her best efforts.
Afraid Grant was irritated with her, Mattie hesitated to leave her room, but Mama always faced problems head on, so she would too. Heaving in a breath, she ran down the hallway to the staircase, then paused, reminding herself that proper ladies were always composed.
She walked down the staircase with the regalness Mama taught her and the decorum Daddy expected. Her heels clipping on the hardwood drew Grant to the doorway of the den.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” she blurted nervously. “Will they still seat us?”
He grinned. “Thirty minutes is record time for a girl,” he told her.
Snorting, she rolled her eyes, his comment easing her. “You’re such a guy,” she complained.
“So I’ve been told,” he drawled.
“We should go, right?” she asked, shifting her weight. “Or did I take too long. Suppose we run into a traffic jam?”
“My grandmother owns the restaurant, sweetheart,” he told her. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“Right.”
Walking to her, he held out his arm. “Are you ready, my lady?”
Mattie had known Grant for most of her life. He was older than the boys, but much younger than Diesel and his crew. However, Grant really adored CJ, so that’s who he hung around. Mattie knew that much. He’d also been her first crush.
As he handed her into his car and then jumped into the driver’s seat, she cataloged what else she knew about him.
He was Lolly’s stepson, a chill guy, too handsome for words, heir to the Harrington fortune, and wealthy beyond reason.
He’d followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps and chose to go to Harvard.
His mother had been murdered when he was a child and he thought the world of Lolly.
But there was so much more to him than met the eye.
For instance, he drove a Mercedes AMG GT and liked HipHop and Rap music, football, and gumbo.
His favorite place to vacation was either New Orleans or Amsterdam.
He loved skiing and flying, volunteered at an animal rescue shelter, and he would get the first payout of a very large trust fund in just over two years.