“I’m asking you.” He points to me. “You were the one who came to seek me out. So I’m asking you exactly what the fuck happened.”
I look to the side, seeing Jaxon leaning against the door to the locker room, far enough away to give us privacy, but close enough if he has to spring into action he can. “Before I tell you, I want to say she never, ever did anything that would have him talk about her the way he did.” His eyes are on mine. “In no way, shape, or form did she ever let on or do anything that was inappropriate.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” he informs me. “I know my sister would never do that. No matter how much…” He trails off.
“I walked outside to get some air and he was there in the corner of the balcony, head bent with a blonde.” Matty’s head falls back and he looks up to the ceiling. “He saw me and we exchanged words. I asked him how he could disrespect her like that. I just didn’t get it. Man, he had the best woman he could ever have and he was fucking around. I didn’t know she was there; I would never want her to hear what he said.”
“What did he say?” he asks, his jaw clenched and tight. His hands are fisted by his sides.
“That she was a fucking nobody without him,” I relay softly and then look around. “She was a nobody when he met her because”—I take a deep breath—“her father is a fucking drug addict.” The same gasp I heard that night I now hear again, but this time there is a hiss after it. “She should be thankful that he took pity on her.”
“That motherfucking piece of shit,” he growls. “If I ever get my hands on him.”
“You’ll have to get in line,” I tell him and he looks at me, “because I’m first in line. Well, maybe second behind Lexi. She may be your sister, but I hear the stories that she tells me. Stories that would make your blood boil. Stories that have impacted her far more than she lets on and that one day I hope she can heal from as we grow together.”
“Is that so?” He about smirks at me.
“Yeah.” I nod. “So that’s why I wanted to introduce myself to you.” I hold out my hand. “So again, I’m Kirby.” He looks at me and looks at my hand and I don’t know what to expect, to be honest. He could turn around and walk away and ignore everything I just said. Or he could accept I love her and semi-accept that I’m in her life. “I know you mean the world to her, so I wanted to do this for her.” His eyes go to my hand and back to my eyes, and then I see his hand extended.
“Good to meet you, Kirby,” he says, “and it goes without saying that if you hurt her?—”
“Yeah.” I don’t even let him finish. “I know.”
“I don’t think you do,” he starts to explain. “You see, for the past ten years I’ve seen my sister become a shell of the person I know. I’ve seen her retreat more and more as the time went by and I felt helpless. Fuck, we all felt helpless. No one knew what to do.” His words hit me in the middle of my chest.
“I can’t imagine,” I tell him. “I had it in my face for weeks and it felt like an eternity, but I can give you this. I’ll treat her with respect because she deserves it. I’ll treat her with kindness and care, and I’ll take whatever she has to give me. I told her I loved her and I don’t know how she feels, but I’ll wait for her for eternity.” He nods. “It’s that kind of love.”
“Well, good to meet you. Will you be around this weekend?”
“Probably not this time,” I say. “It’s time for her to bond with you all. It’s not the place for me right now.”
“Respect,” he states, “you have my respect.”
We look at each other and nod, not saying anything to each other as we turn and head to our respective locker rooms.
“Well, good news is you can still play tomorrow,” Jaxon teases. “Bad news is he’s going to put you through the wringer.”
thirty-three
Lexi
I pull up to the house and jump out of the car and I can hardly contain myself, I’m so excited. I run up the steps to the big brown door and ring the doorbell. I literally feel like I’m bouncing on the tips of my toes as I hear footsteps coming. It swings open and my cousin Gabriella is there wearing a pair of yoga pants and a matching yoga bra. “Oh my God. You’re here!” she says to me with the biggest smile on her face. When I step in and hug her, I can’t help but feel the stinging in my eyes.
I close them as we rock side to side and I hear more voices coming from the back. “Is it her?” my cousin Zoey yells from somewhere in this mansion, and it is a mansion. Gabriella married one of the up-and-comers from Hollywood when he was just starting out. I mean, his parents are Hollywood royalty, but Romeo wanted to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. The night he won an Oscar, he surprised them with their wedding. It was the last wedding I went to.
“It’s her!” Gabriella shouts over her shoulder and then I hear footsteps running toward me, and I see my sister. I don’t know why but the tears just run down my face.
I hug her as if I’ve never hugged her, as if I’ve been locked away in a tower for the last ten years and I haven’t seen her. It’s a hug I didn’t know I’d been missing. Like someone in the desert wanting to drink that sip of water and then finally getting it. I can’t help the sob that escapes me as I shake in her arms.
“Hey,” she says softly.
“I’m…” I start to say, but I have to stop, the lump in my throat gets bigger. “I’m so happy you’re here.” I let her go and smile through the tears, and when I look around, I see all of them crying. Sofia is holding Jagger while Zoey is side-hugging Ariella. “Well, this is awkward,” I try to make a joke and we laugh, but my hands come up to hold her face. “I missed you.” I roll my lips together and sniffle. “So, so much.” She takes me in another hug as I look at everyone. “I’ve missed everyone so much.”
“But she missed me the most,” Zara gloats when she turns in my arms and my arm is draped around her shoulders.
“Come on, let’s go sit and talk,” Gabriella suggests, coming on the other side of me and slipping her hand in mine. It’s a little extra strength I didn’t know I needed as we walk into the house. The kitchen is filled with people cooking. “Romeo is still trying to make a good impression on you guys, so he’s hired all these people to cook for us. Plus, he called that one over there.” She points to Sofia, who is one of the best event planners in the South, holding Jagger. “And it’s like an event is happening. Wait until you guys see what he did to the backyard. I drew the line at him getting a DJ for the night.” I laugh as we step into the family room, away from the noise of the kitchen.
Jagger’s toys are in the middle of the room, and when I get close enough to him, he lunges for me. “How is my little man?” I take him from Sofia and giving her a side hug. “Thanks for coming.”
