Chapter 36 Collette
COLLETTE
Acouple of hours later, Mom surprises us with an urgent family meeting.
She’s swept into Emmett’s apartment like a force of nature, Pierre and Felix trailing behind her like scolded children, Issy and Harper in tow.
She’s taken one look at Emmett’s black eye, told Pierre she’s ashamed of him, and sat us all down for what she’s calling ‘a civil conversation without punching.’
While Mom is laying down the law, I pull out my phone.
Collette: Mom has just turned up for a surprise visit and is laying down the law.
Fish: How bad is it?
Collette: Bad. Mom is handling it. But, Justin, I need you to come over. I think we should tell everyone about us. No more hiding. I’m not watching what happened to Jo and Emmett happen to us.
Fish: You think now is the right time?
Collette: Yes. How much madder can they all get?
Fish: He’s going to kill me.
Collette: He’s too exhausted. Trust me. Now is the time. Plus, Mom is here.
Fish: Are you sure?
Collette: I’ve never been surer of anything. Come now. I’ll be waiting.
I put my phone away and tune back into the meeting.
What follows is the painful, honest conversation that needed to happen months ago.
Jo tells Mom everything from the beginning.
Mom listens without interruption, and when the boys try to cut in, she silences them with a look that could freeze water.
Emmett offers to step down as captain, which makes Jo cry, and makes me want to punch Pierre myself.
Pierre admits he doesn’t deserve the captaincy either after what he did.
Apologies are exchanged. Hard truths are spoken.
The slow, grinding work of a family trying to piece itself back together.
“I accept it, but I’m not ready to forget about what you did today. You scared me. What you did was so out of line, you could have killed him. Not only would you have destroyed my life, but you would have destroyed your own, especially after just getting engaged,” Jo tells Pierre.
Tears fill Pierre’s eyes. “I am so sorry. You’re right. What I did this morning was reckless. I’m ashamed of how I reacted. I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you. Both of you,” Emmett says.
“Can you give us time to get used to this?” Felix says, waving his hand at them.
“Build a bridge, Felix. They are together and probably will be for a long time. They love each other,” Harper tells him.
“I’m sorry that this has overshadowed your engagement,” Jo says to Issy.
“It’s all good. It’s not like it’s the first time Pierre has had controversy about weddings,” Issy jokes.
The joke is enough to break the tension as we all burst out laughing. It’s going to take a while to get over what happened today, but the hostility has been defused.
“I think Emmett and Jo should kiss, rub their love in your faces,” I tease, because someone needs to lighten this room, and it might as well be me.
“Yes.” Issy and Harper clap, while my brothers groan.
“You wanna?” Jo smirks at Emmett.
“Fuck it. I love you.” He grins as he pulls her to him and kisses the ever-loving shit out of her, much to the groans of my brothers and the squeals of the girls.
And that’s when there’s a knock at the door. Everyone looks at each other, nobody is expecting anyone else. The room has just exhaled for the first time in hours, and now there’s someone at the door, and my heart is hammering because I know exactly who it is.
“I’ll get it,” I say, standing.
I walk to the door and open it. Fish is standing in the hallway. Hoodie, jeans, hands in his pockets, looking like a man walking into a firing squad.
“Hey,” he says quietly.
“Hey. It’s going to be okay. Hold on,” I say quickly as I grab my necklace that holds my rings on it, take it off, and slip the rings on my finger. Now everything is right. “Come in.” I step aside, and he walks in.
The room goes still, Pierre straightens, Felix frowns, and Emmett and Jo look confused, all while Mom watches with careful eyes. Harper and Issy exchange a glance.
“What’s he doing here?” Pierre asks.
I close the door behind Fish and walk to the center of the room.
My legs and hands are shaking. But I’m done hiding.
I watched what the secret did to Jo and Emmett today.
I watched my brother punch Emmett. I watched my sister’s love be turned into something ugly and shameful because it was hidden for too long. I’m not doing that to us.
“I thought while we’re all being honest,” I say, and my voice is steadier than I expected. “There’s something else.” I link hands with Justin.
“Fucking don’t,” Pierre warns.
“Collette ...” Jo starts.
“Justin and I are together, and we’re married,” I blurt it out, raising my hand and showing off my rings.
The silence that follows is the loudest thing I’ve ever heard.
Pierre blinks, his mouth is frozen open. Even Jo is shocked.
“You what?” Felix yells as he gets up, grabs Justin, and shoves him into the wall.
“Felix!” I scream.
“Whooo,” Justin yells as he is pushed back.
“Fucking hell,” Harper curses as she gets up to deal with her man.
“You fucking married our sister,” he screams in Justin’s face.
Pierre starts to get up, but Issy tells him to sit his ass back down. He doesn’t argue this time.
“Get off me.” Justin’s voice is calm as he struggles to get free from my brother.
“You married her. You fucking married her without telling us.” Felix is in his face, jaw tight, eyes blazing.
“Yes. I did. And I would do it again,” he spits back at my brother, giving him pause.
“Felix, let him go,” Harper says with her hand on his arm.
“Is she pregnant?” Felix demands, ignoring her.
“Felix!”
“It’s what I would have asked,” Pierre says.
“Hush, you,” Issy tells him.
“Not yet.” Justin throws more gasoline onto the fire.
This sets Felix off as he shakes his teammate. “What do you mean?”
“Felix!” Harper yells, which pulls him out of his anger. “Let go of him.” She does not look happy.
“Babe …” My brother tries to argue, but she silences him with a glare.
“After what has happened today, there will not be any more acts of violence,” she tells him, he goes to argue, but she shuts him down.
I walk over and check on my husband to see if he’s okay. He shakes himself out, but he’s fine. “I’m good,” he reassures me before linking our hands back together again. We walk back to where everyone is seated and take our seats together, we are a united front.
“I understand I’ve just shocked you all,” I tell my family.
“No, shit,” Pierre says.
Both Mom and Issy tell him off.
“I know this is a lot,” I continue. “And I know the timing is terrible. But I couldn’t carry this secret for one more day. Not after what happened this morning.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Jo stands up from the couch. Not Pierre. Not Felix. Jo. My sister. The one person I thought would be on my side.
“Jo …”
“No. You don’t get to Jo me right now.” She’s shaking.
“I just spent the entire morning having my life ripped apart in this room. I told everyone everything. I watched my boyfriend get punched unconscious. I cried in front of our brothers. I begged for their forgiveness. And the whole time, the whole time, you were standing there with a wedding ring hidden under your clothes?”
“I wanted to tell you …”
“When were you going to tell me, Collette? I trusted you with everything. And you couldn’t trust me back?”
“I did trust you. You knew about Fish.”
“I knew you were sleeping with him. I didn’t know you married him!” Jo is crying now. Angry tears. “You let me confess everything to this room. You held my hand while I told them about Emmett. You backed me up. And the entire time you had a secret ten times bigger than mine.”
That hits me in the chest like a physical blow because she’s right. She’s completely right. “I’m sorry.” My voice breaks. “I was going to tell you. I was scared.”
“You knew everything about me and Emmett. Everything. I trusted you with all of it. But you couldn’t do the same for me?”
“It wasn’t like that …”
“Then what was it like? Because from where I’m standing, my sister let me be the one to blow up this family while she sat on an even bigger bomb.”
“It was spontaneous. It happened fast. I didn’t plan it,” I tell her.
“When?” Jo asks.
Tears are falling down my cheeks as I try to compose myself. Justin gives my hand a squeeze, letting me know he is there, right by my side.
“It was the night of the Christmas party. We flew to DC and got married,” Justin answers for me.
“Christmas party.” Jo gasps.
“Christmas party? How did you have time?” Felix mumbles.
“That morning, Emmett and I saw you doing the walk of shame back to our apartment,” Jo states.
“Yes.”
My sister looks at me like I’m a stranger, and it cuts me to the core.
“You flew to DC and got married?” Pierre asks.
“Yes,” I answer my brother.
“Where?” he questions.
“I pulled some favors, and we got married in a government building,” Justin explains.
“A government building.” My mother gasps, looking at me with disappointment.
“It may not have been what any of you would want for a wedding, but in that moment, it was the most magical night of my life,” I tell them, defending my decision.
“Would have been nice if your family was there too,” Jo snaps.
“Jo …”
She folds her arms and shakes her head. She’s done talking to me.
“I know today has been a challenge …” Justin starts speaking.
“You can say that again,” Pierre grumbles.
“But I love your sister. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know I don’t deserve her, and I know what you’re all thinking, she can do a hell of a lot better than me.”
“No shit,” Felix adds.
“Babe,” Harper snaps at him.
“And we are so sorry that the two of you have taken the brunt of all this. If Pierre and Felix weren’t so overprotective, we could have avoided all this,” Justin states, calling my brothers out.
That didn’t go down so well. “Are you serious right now?” Pierre yells at him.
“This is not our fault,” Felix adds.