To Have It All(75)

He stopped bouncing and stared at her, unblinking. “You drunk dialed me?”

The room was silent as he waited for her to answer.

“I left my fiancée in Europe, spent a fortune on a plane ride to rush back home to you because I thought you were in danger, and you’re telling me you drunk dialed me?”

When he put it like that, it did sound shitty. Then her head popped up, her eyes wide. “You and Alice got engaged?” Waverly squealed as she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him and Pim. “That’s so great, Matt!”

Taking a step back from her, he leered at her like she was nuts. “What in the hell is going on, Waverly?” Then he darted his eyes to me. “What did you do this time, asshole?”

“Okay, I think we need to all sit down and ta—”

“I don’t need to sit down,” Matt snapped, interrupting me. “Why the hell are you even here?” He turned to Waverly.

“Matt, please calm down,” Waverly requested timidly as Pim began to whine, sensing Matt’s anger. When he slanted his eyes at her, and his mouth flattened, I knew he was doing anything but calming down.

Waverly summarized as best she could about how she hurt her ankle and didn’t have anyone to help. When she was done, Matt looked her up and down, shaking his head in clear disappointment.

“Well your ankle looks better now,” he noted, his tone lower and calmer. “Why are you still here?”

Her head dropped. She didn’t know how to answer that.

When she didn’t answer right away, Matt snorted to himself. He thought she’d just run back to Max, the guy who had treated her like shit, and from where he stood, that’s exactly what it looked like.

“I gotta get home,” he finally muttered. “I need some sleep, but I’d like to come back tomorrow and get Pim.”

“Of course,” Waverly squeaked as he handed Pimberly to her.

“Just maybe after ten,” I blurted, immediately regretting it when Matt turned his lethal glare at me. I shouldn’t have said anything. I wasn’t thinking, really, but I knew the following day could very likely be my last day, and I wanted time with Pimberly.

“Excuse me?” His brows were drawn together as he crossed his arms. “Since when do you decide Pim’s schedule?”

I opened my mouth to explain . . . entirely unsure of how to do that when Waverly intervened.

“Helen, will you please take Pim into the bedroom?” Waverly requested calmly as she kept her eyes fixed on Matt. Helen didn’t hesitate—she simply scooped Pim in her arms and disappeared into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

“So what is it, Max?” Matt continued, taking a step toward me, his shoulders drawn back. “Have you changed your mind?” he asked. “Have you all of a sudden decided you actually want to be a father?”

“Matt.” Waverly grabbed his arm, trying to draw his attention back to her, but Matt jerked it away and took another step toward me. Keeping my hands at my sides, I widened my stance slightly, preparing for Matt to swing at me. If anyone deserved a punch in the face, Max Porter certainly did. I couldn’t blame Matt for his anger. He’d just ruined his trip to come home and find his sister with the man that abandoned her.

When Matt was a few inches from me, his glare intense with every bit of disdain he felt for Max, he gritted, “Do you know what you did to her when you threw her aside like she was nothing?”

“Matt,” Waverly pleaded.

“She couldn’t get out of bed. She had to drop out of school and move in with me. It took me two months to get her to leave the house she was so fucking depressed.” I pressed my lips together as sadness hit me, hard. I knew Max had done a number on Waverly, but hearing it from her brother’s perspective was brutal.

“Stop, Matt. Please,” she begged, her eyes tearing up as she grabbed his arm again. Matt took her hand and pulled it off. Not even bothering to look at her.

“She was pregnant with your baby,” he growled through gritted teeth as he delivered a hard jab to my chest, “and you acted like she didn’t even exist. She had to see a therapist twice a week for over a year because of the mind fuck you did to her.”

“That’s enough Matt,” Waverly stated loudly on a hitched breath as her body wracked gently. My chest tightened when I looked at her, tears streaming down her face. I wanted nothing more at that moment than to take her in my arms and hold her; let her feel my love, my understanding.

“No, it’s not enough!” Matt boomed as he snapped his attention to her. His face red with anger, as he pointed at me. “Do you remember what this asshole did to you? And you’re just coming back to him like some pathetic, desperate woman.”

The words were like a bullet, hitting her in the most vulnerable of places. The hurt she felt was palpable as her body seemed to cave, her shoulders slouching. Anger stirred inside of me, and before I could stop myself, I grabbed him and pushed him away from her. “That’s enough, damn it!” I boomed.

It was no surprise when Matt swung, my jaw cracking when his fist made contact just right. I grunted, but recovered quickly as I grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him. Losing his balance, he stumbled back, and we both fell to the floor with a hard thud where we proceeded to struggle with each other.

“You motherfucker,” he grunted as we battled.