Chapter Thirty-One—Matilda
Mattie sat in the hospital cafeteria, drinking a cappuccino, munching on biscotti, and scrolling through her phone. She’d brought CJ a note from Ms. LeBan and a stack of homework, since Uncle Christopher insisted she go to school today.
Aside from the younger kids, she and Harley were the only ones from their family in attendance at the Upper School. At lunch, Mattie went to watch Harley’s rehearsal, and the hour just reaffirmed how much she disliked Nardo.
He was so mean to Harley when Ms. Mendez wasn’t around, so Mattie suggested Harley tell Uncle Mort as they walked back to class.
Unfortunately, her cousin thought her father wouldn’t care. Mattie disagreed, but Harley made her promise not to interfere, so she wouldn’t.
“Mattie, right?”
“Yep,” she said, not glancing up. She didn’t have to. She knew how Kaia Riggs sounded.
Like a cheating asshole, but whatever.
“Hey, Matt,” his brother, Kayce, greeted.
She took a delicate bite of her biscotti and kept her focus on her phone. “CJ’s upstairs.”
“We just saw Rebel in the elevator,” Kaia volunteered. “She was on her way back to her room after a test. We told her we’d give her a minute to get settled.”
“Ballyhoo for you,” she retorted.
Kayce snickered. “She don’t like you, bro.”
“I haven’t done her anything, so it must be you who she doesn’t like.”
She couldn’t unsee those stupid videos. “Nope, it’s totally you.”
Setting her phone down, Mattie picked up her cup and tasted the cappuccino, glad it cooled enough not to burn her mouth.
“What did I do?” Kaia asked.
She wagged a finger at him. “Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. While my cousin’s laid up in bed no less.”
“You can’t prove it.”
“Joke’s on you, dummy. You underestimate the ferocity of Diesel’s fuckery.”
Tickled at Kaia’s paling face, Mattie smiled merrily and went back to her phone. “I trusted him!”
Diesel needed to behave and wait until Rebel was legal if he really wanted her. He definitely didn’t need to sleep with other girls, marry other chicks, and play mind games, like a juvenile delinquent instead of a grown ass guy.
Even if Mattie thought the idea of a relationship between Diesel and Rebel was fucking gross, it no longer seemed out of reach.
Mainly because of Diesel’s actions. Everyone was noticing.
His recklessness would get him gelded and garroted, and Rebel’s heart broken.
If he had sense, he’d risk his life once Rebel turned eighteen and not a day before.
Mattie supported Rebel, but not the relationship.
Though Kaia gave court jester vibes, he was close in age to her cousin and much better for Rebel than Diesel would ever be.
But what did Mattie know?
“Diesel sometimes helped coach the team,” Kaia told her. “I never had a problem with him and I don’t now. It’s all a misunderstanding.”
“You really don’t know how low Diesel will go to have his way,” she said with disapproval.
Uninvited, Kaia dropped into a seat. She hated his handsomeness and how much she liked his spicy cologne. Sighing, Mattie threw her phone down, saw Kaia’s gaping and rolled her eyes.
“There are pictures and videos,” she told him, having zero pity.
“You saw those?”
“Did you consent to them?” One never knew with Diesel.
“Yeah, but Diesel told me they would be for me…” At Mattie’s glower, Kaia’s voice trailed off and he raised his hands. “I didn’t think—”
“You’d need a brain for that ability.”
“Diesel said Rebel…he said the guys would get a good laugh if they saw it and—”
“And you believed him? Ha. You’re stupid.
Maybe, if you didn’t claim to like Rebel so much, it would be funny.
But no one’s laughing, least of all CJ. It’s why he is so pissed.
Even more pissed. When you came with the flowers, he’d only heard a rumor.
Until he was shown proof and discovered the entire story. Diesel paid Fia a grand to fuck you.”
Tears rushed to Kaia’s eyes, and Mattie lifted a brow.
“Bro, if you cry, I’ll live in shame for the rest of my fucking life,” Kayce grunted.
Kaia moved restlessly, the panic in his watery gray eyes hinting that he truly cared about Rebel.
“I didn’t mean to, Mattie.”
“You were definitely a willing participant, so I call bullshit on that claim.” She wrinkled her nose. “You didn’t even wear a condom, jackass.”
“Mattie—”
“I’m not interested in fucking talking to you.
I understand what’s going on. Rebel won’t.
She believes in romance and faithfulness.
She thinks the luxurious treehouse that we all grew up enjoying is the standard.
She doesn’t have my father. She has Uncle Christopher.
I understand you have the brain of a five-year-old and the attention span of a turtle, so if she isn’t in front of you, you don’t care—”
“That isn’t true!”
“It must be. You have her all starry-eyed over that stupid poetry, telling her you want to kiss her while watching SpongeBob—not even Twilight with the hottest werewolf known to man—then the minute Diesel brings Fia over—”
“Don’t tell Rebel. Please. I really do care about her—”
“I’m not telling her,” Mattie snapped. “She doesn’t need to know you’re a bad poet and a cheater.”
Kayce bit into an apple and began crunching, his eyes lit with amusement. Kaia was tall and rangy, while Kayce was tall and muscular. The Riggs brothers were hawt, although, in her opinion, Kayce beat Kaia by leagues.
“Hey, Matt,” Grant Harrington greeted, walking to the table with Ryan, Bishop, Torrin, Narci, and Diesel following behind, and nodding to Kaia and Kayce.
“Oh my god, my asshole alarm malfunctioned,” she chirped.
Chuckling, Grant leaned down and kissed her cheek. Blond and good-looking, he was always filled with humor. He’d secretly been Mattie’s first crush. “Good to see you, too.” He clapped Kaia’s back. “Don’t let her get into your head. She will rip you to pieces, bro.”
“Deservedly,” she retorted, glaring from Kaia to Bishop and Diesel.
At least Bishop and Kaia looked ashamed. Whether it was performative was irrelevant. Diesel lifted a brow.
Unintimidated, she flipped him off. He might’ve been a dickhead, but he’d never hurt her. As it went, she trusted Diesel more than she trusted her father. “You’re wrong and you know it.”
“Little Red has a bone to pick with you,” Torrin said, clapping Diesel’s back in the same show of manfection that Grant offered Kaia.
“To what do you refer, Matt?” Diesel asked, not giving anything away. “You shouldn’t accuse anyone without evidence.”
“And you should never share evidence with juvenile dickheads,” she retorted. “That video should’ve been sealed, Diesel. Your compadres might claim the 5th Amendment, but CJ saw it. Bro, if Uncle Christopher sees that, you’re so cooked.”
Hesitancy flickered across his face, but he shrugged, arrogant as ever. “I’ll tell him that I did it to show how unworthy Kaia is of Rebel.”
Playing Uncle Christopher was never a good idea. Leaving Diesel to his own fate, Mattie looked at Kaia. “And you’re just as cooked.”
“A sustainable argument, Mattie,” Diesel drawled. “Regarding Kaia.”
“You don’t wear arrogance well, Diesel,” Mattie snapped.
“I wear it excellently.”
Rolling her eyes and ignoring the chuckles, Mattie threw Diesel a dark look. “You want to go into attorney mode? Here’s my closing argument. I’m telling not only you, Diesel, but everyone to stop fucking with Rebel. She isn’t made of clay. Her life isn’t clay, to be molded at your whims.”
“I’m Rebel’s big brother. I know her needs better than she does. Emo boy isn’t for her.”
“Apparently, living isn’t for you,” Mattie pointed out. “You hurt her by cutting her off when you married Tabitha. Now, instead of easing up on your fuckery, you add to it. Shame on you. And shame on you, Kaia. Shame on you for acting as if you haven’t been sleeping with Fia.”
“It was one fucking time, Mattie,” Kaia bit out. “Six days ago, so back off. I won’t do it again, but you’re a little late to the game. Fia–
“Is one of Rebel’s biggest haters,” Mattie screeched.
“I didn’t know—”
“You didn’t have to know. There’s such a thing as integrity, idiot. Loyalty.”
“Girls don’t understand,” Ryan said. “If Kaia likes Rebel and if even thinking about kissing her might get him killed, what’s he supposed to do? He’s not a monk. It’ll be bad enough when she’s eighteen. He definitely can’t touch her now.”
“Then don’t pretend you want a relationship with her,” Mattie told Kaia. “Tell her the truth: she’s too young and you’ll date other girls.”
“Rebel will never forgive me.” Kaia shoved his hands into his pockets and sniffled. Emotional motherfucker. “She’ll never give me another chance.”
Both Diesel and Kaia wanted what they thought would make themselves happy and damn the toll it took on Rebel.
“I’m sorry, Mattie,” Kaia finally croaked. “Please, don’t tell Rebel.”
“I won’t. Just consider her.” Mattie glanced between Diesel to Kaia. “Both of you. Rebel doesn’t deserve such betrayal. Even if her trust in you is shaky, she loves you, Diesel, and she trusts you, Kaia. She’s the Moon to your Sokka. She believes that. Don’t hurt her,” she reiterated.
“I won’t,” Kaia swore. “I promise.”
“Do you believe in that type of great romance and love, Matt?” Grant asked quietly.
She swallowed, regretting her rebellion and her trust of Wally Byrd—and Eric and Billy. “I don’t,” she said softly. “But this isn’t about me. I don’t really matter, especially to Daddy. Uh, forget I said that.” She snatched her now-cold coffee and gulped.
“Mattie?” Diesel said.
“That’s me,” she quipped.
He bent and kissed her cheek. “You matter to me. You matter to your mother and brother. You matter to Mortician, Roxanne, Uncle Christopher, Aunt Meggie, CJ, and Rory.”
She nodded.
Grant kissed her other cheek. “You matter to me.”
Ryan tweaked her nose and she shoved his hand away. He laughed. “I used to think I didn’t matter, Mattie. Especially to Pops and Mom, and CJ and Devon. But I do. You do, too. And your dad…he loves you.”