Chapter 34 – Christopher
“Dad?”
Ryder’s call stopped Christopher’s pacing in the foyer.
After he returned from his meeting with the contractor, he’d gone to his bedroom and removed his socks and boots, then came back to the foyer, admiring its high ceiling and marble floors, the multiple entryways that led to various parts of the house—the big archway that led to the central hallway and opposite the double entrance doors and the two smaller doorways that led to the east and west hallways.
Megan had made the foyer both elegant and welcoming.
“Dad!”
“What, boy?”
Ransom and Ryder could’ve gone the fuck to school today, but he’d allowed them to stay home and greet Axel when he arrived.
“You know I’ve been very good about my chores since Mom’s been gone.”
He had been. Christopher nodded.
“All this waiting and expecting Ax has left me unable to concentrate and focus on what I need to do.”
“You just got to make your motherfuckin’ bed and bring your plates to the kitchen after every meal.”
“I also have to do homework.”
“That’s whether your ma here or not. Oh, yeah, how the fuck your presentation with the bees and the ants went? Don’t tell your ma I forgot to ask.”
“What…oh! Yeah, it’s okay, Dad. We got very high marks.”
“Good fucking job.”
“That’s another thing that was added to my long list of work. Gathering the supplies we needed to bring to school.”
“What the fuck’s your point, Ryder?”
“That I’ve had to do schoolwork, make up my bed, bring stuff to the kitchen after meals, pick up my clothes from the floor, bring wet towels to the laundry room, and help Aunt Bunny and Bishop with whatever they need. I need a break today.”
“I know it sounds like a lot.”
“I’ve done a lot. I do a lot. Mom makes me straighten up my room weekly and even that’s a lot. You had me doing it every day.”
“You did it today?”
“I just said I need a break.” Ryder folded his arms. “You’re telling me to do something else when I just finished helping Aunt Bunny change a light bulb and then loaded the dishwasher for Bishop.
You’re ignoring everything I’ve already done to focus on what I don’t feel like doing today.
You don’t appreciate all the hard work I’ve put in. ”
“Listen up, boy. I ain’t in the fucking mood for dumb motherfuckers, even my own kid. What the fuck you did yesterday or the day before has to do with what the fuck you need to do today?”
“I’m tired and unappreciated.”
“Ain’t no skin off my fuckin’ nuts how the fuck you feel because that’s the stupidest fuckin’ shit I ever heard. You sound fuckin’ spoiled and entitled. I tell you good fuckin’ job every fuckin’ time you do shit.”
“Yeah, well, Mom gives me extra money.”
“When you grown, you think you’re gonna get paid just to do daily shit?
I don’t like takin’ out the motherfuckin’ garbage but it has to be done.
Sometimes, I don’t feel like checkin’ the locks on the doors or openin’ them in the mornin’ because four of those motherfuckers are offline and can’t be done through the app. ”
“You’re missing my point and at the same time proving it to me.”
“Ain’t no fuckin’ point I’m interested in,” Christopher snapped.
“Shit need to be done every fuckin’ day whether you fuckin’ like it or not.
That don’t mean I don’t think you did a good fuckin’ job yesterday.
It just mean life goes the fuck on, yesterday is gone, today is here, and you do what the fuck needs to be done. ”
Ryder huffed.
“I ain’t got time for this fuckin’ bullshit. You came and ate breakfast, brought shit to the kitchen, then went the fuck back to bed. You ain’t woke up until an hour ago and you complainin’ about what you did yesterday?”
“I wish Ax was here. He’d make you see what I mean.”
“If he tried in this situation, I’d beat his fuckin’ ass. Don’t fuckin’ twist what the fuck he did to me over your ma into thinkin’ you or him got the upper hand.”
“I vacuumed and I helped Aunt Bunny. I’m done for the day. I’m not doing anything else.”
Allowing Axel to get away with so fucking much was wreaking havoc.
Christopher folded his arms. “That’s your final answer?”
Mimicking him, Ryder folded his arms too and nodded.
“As proud and as appreciative as I was of your hard fuckin’ work yesterday, that’s how fuckin’ disappointed I am in you today.”
Ryder’s eyes widened.
“Even if a motherfucker never thank you or say good job, if you know what the fuck you have to do and decide not to do it because you did that motherfucker yesterday, then you’re the fuckin’ irresponsible and undisciplined one.
You can work from sunup to sundown, if it’s what the fuck you need to do for whatever fuckin’ reason, you get the fuck up and do it.
Cuz not a motherfucker around got to be proud of you.
If you face your responsibilities and accomplish whatever for that day, that’s the best fuckin’ feelin’ in the world. ”
“You’re disappointed in me?”
Christopher nodded.
“Even though I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to? It’s only today, Dad. You must not have been that appreciative of my work if you can berate me for taking a break for one day to rest.”
“I ain’t playin’ this game with you, son.
If you think that, then that’s on you. I don’t give a good fuck.
I understand you’re tired. I get tired. Your ma do, too.
And, yeah, we drag our asses through the day.
But your stance a cop-out and a motherfuckin’ disappointment.
I expect better from you. I’m dealin’ with you not doin’ what the fuck you supposed to do.
You fuckin’ deal with my disappointment. ”
“But I want to play a game while I’m listening to this new CD from my favorite band. It’s only one day.”
“One day becomes two days and two days turn into three. What I do at the club? I consider it self-employment. It’s a whole lotta work with a lil’ bit of thanks.
But it’s my responsibility. As for your favorite fucking band, those motherfuckers made their money.
Learnin’ discipline and meetin’ your responsibilities now as a kid set the stage for the rest of your life. ”
Ryder didn’t say anything.
The click of the doorhandle being pressed grabbed Christopher’s attention and he turned.
“Ryder!” Axel screamed, barreling toward him. “I missed you.”
“Hey, Daddy,” Rebel greeted, gave him a quick hug and waved. “I’m tired. I’m going rest since we have the DNA thing tonight.”
“Okay, baby,” Christopher said, barely able to focus on his daughter as he awaited his wife.
Kaia walked in, a motherfucker that left with a fucking headful of hair and eyebrows. That same motherfucker was now bald and eyebrowless.
Christopher squinted, looked at Kaia, then at the back of Axel, who was still talking to Ryder.
“C’mere,” he said, crooking his finger at Kaia.
Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Kaia walked to Christopher.
“What the fuck you did to Axel?” he whispered, not wanting Ax in the conversation because the little motherfucker wouldn’t shut up.
“Nothing,” Kaia responded. “He did this because of Rebel. He overheard what happened between me and Fia when I was talking to Meggie. He said he hates me and will never like me.”
A slow smile curved Christopher’s mouth and he stuck out his chest.
“Hey, you,” Megan said, walking in, dressed in sneakers and an oversized shirt dress with a very short hemline, her hair a golden cascade that fanned around her.
They moved simultaneously. She came toward him as he started for her. He took her in his arms and hugged her tightly, savoring the feel of her a moment before he dipped his head and kissed her.
“Close the door and let’s go upstairs.”
“Torrin, Huck, Narci, and Potter are bringing our suitcases.”
“Yeah, Dad,” Axel said. “You should see all the stuffs Mom and Reb bought.”
“What took you so long, baby? I thought the flight was this mornin’.”
“Boarding was mid-morning. We had a lot of luggage to get on the plane. That delayed us a little. Then, the airport was so backed up, it took forever for the pilot to pushback. And, we had to get all our luggage from the airport to here.”
Bishop came into the foyer from the west hallway and smiled. “Hey, Meggie.”
“Hey, Bishop,” she said sweetly.
“Kaia and me can deal with the suitcases,” he said, looking at Kaia and frowning.
“Axel,” Megan said with a dismissive wave. “Kaia insulted Rebel.”
“Okay,” Bishop said. “Uh, you let him cut your hair off? And shave your eyebrows?”
“I cut my hair off. He shaved it away straight down the middle.”
“Legend,” Ryder crowed, tuning into the conversation.
A range of expressions crossed Bishop’s face, many of them calling Kaia a stupid motherfucker. “You, uh, you didn’t feel him?”
“I was asleep,” Kaia admitted. “Knocked out cold.”
Christopher considered those words, watching Megan snap her brows together.
Either Axel had drugged Kaia or conked him in his fucking head. But the little motherfucker showed zero fucking remorse and clamped his mouth shut. Howfuckinever, questions, answers, and discipline could wait. He needed in Megan’s pussy now.