Chapter Ryan #2
“Us?” Rebel echoed, wondering why CJ stiffened and narrowed his eyes. “We aren’t against you, Aunt Bailey. We’re all family.”
Ignoring Rebel, Aunt Bailey hiccupped. “You’ve turned me into the stereotypical angry black woman, and yourself into a statistic.”
Us? Did she mean…?
Rebel gasped as the meaning dawned on her.
“Mommie—” Harley cried.
“My daughter is held to a higher fucking standard,” Aunt Bailey said, sobbing. “And what does she do? Behave the fucking worst.”
“Really, Aunt Bailey?” CJ demanded. “We’re going there now? We’re supposed to be helping Harley. Instead, you’re humiliating her, yourself, and Uncle Mort.”
“You’re blind, CJ. But what can I expect when you have the fucking world at your feet?
We aren’t you. She isn’t one of you. If a girl like Molly or Rebel or Mattie had done the exact same thing as Harley and you claimed to love her for her entire fucking life, you would’ve still seen a future with her.
But Harley’s hair is different. Her skin is different. You couldn’t look beyond that.”
Rebel really wanted her mother. She didn’t even know how to respond to Aunt Bailey’s hate and vitriol.
Harley was a few months older than Rebel, but she’d seen Harley as a member of her family her entire life.
Once Mattie was born, it had been the three of them.
They hadn’t overlooked their differences; it was right there in their faces and they didn’t shy away from it.
Lolly and Uncle Mort had always been proud of who they were. Rebel and Mattie knew as much about how to care for Harley’s hair as Harley knew how to care for theirs. For Aunt Bailey to feel differently…yeah, fuck her because the same hurt she’d noticed on CJ, Rebel now felt.
“You wouldn’t have left Harley if she was someone else.”
“The fuck I wouldn’t have, Aunt Bailey. What the fuck happened to you because you’ve lost your fucking mind?
What happened to Harley and me had nothing to do with her fucking hair or anything about how she looks.
It had to do with the fact that she was trying to fucking control me when the situation she flipped out over was out of my control.
I would tell any girl to kick fucking rocks if they don’t trust me, don’t believe what I say, or tell me who I can and can’t be friends with. ”
“I don’t believe you,” Aunt Bailey bit out. “You used her and Ryan just saw her as an easy lay.”
“No, Aunt Bailey,” Rebel snapped, compelled to speak on behalf of that miserable motherfucker, which made her even angrier.
“As much as I hate defending Ryan at any time, Harley was one of the reasons he started to change. She was a good influence on that miserable fuckhead. He really cares about her.”
“And you know that little fuckhead so good that you can defend him?” Aunt Bailey responded evilly.
“Yes!” Rebel cried. “As a matter of fact I do. He’s my fucking cousin, as much as I wish that wasn’t the case most of the time. But family first. And family includes you and Harley.”
“Don’t play with me, little girl. I know you talk about Harley behind her back.”
“Sure do, and I say the same fucking thing to her fucking face, Aunt Bailey. I don’t fucking hide behind soft words and a pretty smile.”
“Are you implying I do, young lady?”
Where the fuck was Axel when they needed him?
“I understand Harley might have it a little rougher because…” Rebel waved her hand between herself and Harley, distinctly uncomfortable because this had never mattered before so why did it now?
“She doesn’t look like me. But she’s our family.
So are you, Uncle Mort, Kaleb, and Lou. Why won’t you believe us?
We don’t care about any of the stuff you’re talking about. ”
“Then we can never overcome our differences,” she said coldly. “You don’t want to hear how it is for me and Harley in this life.”
“You don’t even look Black, Mommie,” Harley blurted.
“Well, I am, and proud of it. I believe in disciplining my children. I believe in children respecting adults. I believe in chores and allowances. I believe in going the extra mile to compete with everyone. That’s what I thought I taught you, Harley.”
“Aunt Bailey, please don’t do this,” Rebel said, even more confused because she wasn’t sure the beliefs Aunt Bailey mentioned related to what they were discussing.
“I don’t know why you’re so upset, but in here when it’s just us, we’re insulated from the world.
We all love each other. We don’t always like each other.
We get angry and say mean things, but we have each other’s back.
I hope and pray, Harley and Ryan get together.
I hate the idea of her with CJ because she hurt him so bad.
I’ll support my brother even if I don’t support your daughter.
In a relationship. She already exhibited your qualities and CJ deserves better than that fucking fate.
But Harley will always be one of us. You, too.
We will always click up to protect you and her.
She had more to worry about with Molly and Ryan than she ever did with CJ.
The only one who cares about all that stuff you mentioned is you.
I’m not apologizing for my blonde hair and blue eyes or the fact that I’m Outlaw’s daughter.
My looks and status aren’t my fault, so I don’t care about how anyone else feels. ”
“Outlaw taught you well then,” Aunt Bailey said with a sniff.
“No, Momma taught me well. Lolly. Aunt Kendall. Aunt Zoann. You.”
“Me? What could I ever teach you when you had Little Miss Sunshine?”
“Mommie—”
“Shut up! You don’t know anything, Harley. Lucas took Kendall on a day trip two fucking days ago. He doesn’t want us to have another baby because I don’t fucking have red hair like Kendall or blonde hair like Meggie.”
“What?” Harley and Rebel cried.
“He fucked her! Because…because…” Aunt Bailey couldn’t even get the words out.
Rebel blinked at Aunt Bailey and then cackled at her lunacy until she saw Harley slide down in her seat.
“Even if I would do a happy dance if you and Uncle Johnnie fell off the face of the fucking earth and Aunt Kendall and Uncle Mort got together, where in the world did you get such an insane idea?”
“Uncle Johnnie strikes again,” CJ said bitterly.
Aunt Bailey lifted a brow but didn’t deny the accusation.
“That motherfucker either tracked Aunt Kendall in real time or pulled the data and then called you, Aunt Bailey. He thinks Dad and Uncle Mort are after Aunt Kendall because he’s such a motherfucking raving fucking fuckhead.”
Well. That made sense. Maybe Aunt Bailey had turned into a lunatic because that asshole got to her.
“Is CJ right?” Rebel asked.
“He is,” Aunt Bailey said crisply.
CJ looked at Rebel.
Huffing, she folded her arms, wishing she could stomp away. All she’d do was thump and that didn’t have the same effect.
“Is there a reason we have to continually protect fuckheads, CJ?”
“You know there is.”
“Can we find Momma’s fucking list and rip it to pieces? I’m ready to start blowing motherfuckers away,” Rebel said.
“I’m not bound by a stupid list,” Aunt Bailey said with a smirk.
“Then I’ll tell Mom to remove your name,” CJ drawled.
Rebel didn’t know exactly who Aunt Bailey was threatening, but the words sent chills down her spine.
“Let’s see what happens to you then,” CJ finished.
Aunt Bailey stiffened. “I didn’t mean anything by it, boy. Can one of you tell me why Harley couldn’t speak to me on her own?”
“I asked them to be in here with me, Mommie,” Harley answered.
“I assume Meggie is talking to Kendall and Mattie?”
“She is,” Rebel confirmed. “Like we said Daddy called Uncle Mort back to talk to him…you probably saw them and—”
“Potter said they were in the greenhouse.”
Also known as Daddy’s hydrogrow lab.
“As much as I appreciate your support of my daughter, or whatever this is supposed to be, please take a cue from the adults and stay out of my fucking business.”
CJ hurried to Rebel and clapped his hand over her mouth. If Harley hadn’t spoken, Rebel would’ve bitten CJ and ripped Aunt Bailey’s head off.
“We’re each other’s business, Mommie.”
“No! You’ve shamed me,” Aunt Bailey said, returning to that bit of fuckery. “I’m the only Black mama here and look what you’ve done to me.”
CJ tightened his hand and grunted when Rebel caught some of his skin between her teeth.
“Behave,” he gritted, low.
“Lolly’s your mama and she’s Black,” Harley said, sniffling.
“You don’t understand how it is for me, sweet girl.” Aunt Bailey pounded her fist on her chest. “Me! It’s just like Johnnie said.”
“Mommie—”
“But this isn’t about me. It’s about you and Lucas and…and…what a liability I am because I’m not one or the other—”
“I don’t understand what that means, Mommie.”
Rebel shoved CJ’s hand down since it had gone slack. “Neither do I, Aunt Bailey.”
“What Johnnie said a-about me. Why Lucas doesn’t love me anymore. I’m not beautiful like Kendall and M-Meggie. I’m just mid-tier.”
“Uncle Johnnie said that to you?” Rebel asked, too shocked to feel anything but…hurt.
She nodded.
“That fuckhead had no fucking right to fuck with you, Aunt,” CJ gritted. “And I know you’re hurt and hurting because he got into your head. Unfortunately, this can’t be about you right now. Harley needs you.”
“Johnnie talked to me for about an hour,” Aunt Bailey said around an alcohol-fumed belch. “We drank Scotch and he h-hugged me and then he left. He was so k-kind and understanding. He made me understand why Lucas doesn’t want another baby with me.”
“Yeah, well, that motherfucker needs to understand the power of Lolly’s fucking broom,” Rebel said crossly, annoyed she had to feel sorry for Aunt Bailey when she’d been such a raving bitch.
She hiccupped again. “I was just about to get another drink when I was summoned here.”
“How much have you had to drink?” CJ asked.
“A lot.”