I was afraid that if I let go, my father would go ballistic on him and I couldn’t let that happen. The man beside me had risked a lot to come to my house and tell my parents we were in love. I’d fully planned to drop the bomb alone but Matt showed up and took the burden off of me. He was amazing.
It wasn’t the time to be in awe of how amazing he was though. It was time to do damage control.
“Bella, is this the man you’ve been seeing?” My mother asked, her lips drawn together. I gave her a quiet nod before looking down at my shoes.
“What man? Do I even live in this fucking house anymore?” Dad exploded. I tucked myself beside Matt, getting as close as humanly possible without climbing in his lap. That would have been a horrible idea but it would have made me feel so much better.
“Kristabella Lucas, you better tell me every-fucking-thing right now. Because I’m about one minute away from bashing this asshole’s face in.” Daddy’s thick Mexican accent rolled over his words. It was something I rarely heard but when it made an appearance, I knew it meant trouble.
“Daddy, please don’t. Matt is an amazing person and he didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong.” I said, placing my hand over my heart. “I’m in love with him.” My voice wobbled and my lips trembled but I still spoke my truth and I wouldn’t let anyone stop me.
“He is your teacher! We sent you to school to learn, not to fall in love with a man responsible for your safety and well-being during the day.” Daddy stepped toward Matt and me on the couch and I pushed out a breath.
“Joel, sit down,” my mother commanded. He frowned at her over his shoulder and stared Matt down for a few more seconds before retreating to his chair across the room. My stomach refused to settle down. It kept tying in knots, threatening to make me vomit.
“How long has this been going on?” My father asked. My mother looked at me, knowing for sure that I’d been seeing Matt since before I turned eighteen.
“After my birthday,” I answered.
“Krissy don’t fucking treat me like I’m stupid. You think I believe this shit magically happened after you turned eighteen? You were screwing my best friend and you were underage and now all of a sudden I’m supposed to believe you developed morals and common sense and waited until you were eighteen before you banged your math teacher?”
“Joel!” My mother gasped. “You’re talking to her like she’s not your child.”
“Dad, I didn’t love Colton. I was just sleeping with him. I love Matt. I know it’s wrong because he’s my teacher but nothing else about this is wrong.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Lucas, I accept responsibility for being with Krissy when she was a student and underage. I knew better. I can’t paint you a pretty picture about love knowing no boundaries because the truth isn’t always pretty.
I knew it was wrong and I still did it. I just think it’s time that the truth is out there. We can’t and shouldn’t hide it from you anymore.” I had no idea how the fuck he was so calm and respectful. I was a fucking mess.
“Mr. Wilmore…um…Matt, you’ll have to excuse us but this isn’t something we can absorb right now. It’s going to take some time,” Mom said, shaking her head.
“Time where you’re not sitting in my fucking living room,” Dad barked.
“I understand,” Matt nodded then looked at me. “You want me to leave, Krissy?” I knew it pissed my parents off that he was asking me but right then, he was the only person considering my feelings completely. My parents were understandably pissed and probably reeling from the news but Matt’s main concern was me.
“Not yet. Please don’t go,” I begged in a small voice that sounded unfamiliar to my ears. He nodded earnestly and my father looked on in shock.
“This is fucking ridiculous. You’re aware that my daughter is eighteen, right? How old are you?” Even though he was seated, my father leaned forward, ready to pounce.
“I’m twenty-six,” Matt answered with a nod.
“You’re too goddamn old. Krissy, why the fuck can’t you be with someone your own age? I will never condone this shit.”
“Joel, we need to at least listen to them,” Mom said quietly. “I’m not happy about this either but if we’re treating Bella like an adult then…”
“She’s not an adult because she turned eighteen. She’s my daughter and she lives in my house and what I say goes. I say she will not ever see this sick bastard again.”
Fire licked at my neck and tears of fury sprang to my eyes. I respected my parents above all else, even when I was pissed but my father was stepping over a line. He could have put Matt out. He could have even thrown a punch. I would have been upset but I would have understood. Angry people do irrational shit.
What I couldn’t handle was my father making it seem like Matt was some kind of predator that took advantage of me. He was the farthest thing from being sick. He was the most level-headed and kind person I knew. He was honest and logical and he admitted his shortcomings.
I pushed to my feet and stared my father down. “He is not sick!” I shouted without regard to respecting him. “He didn’t force me to do anything. I love him. I don’t care if I sound like a broken record. I’ll say it over and over until you understand me. There is nobody else for me but him. It’s going to be true no matter how long it takes for that to sink in.”
“Everyone needs to calm down!” My mother’s voice cracked through the air making everything cease. “Joel, you and Bella need some time apart. This is getting ready to get out of hand.” She turned to Matt and tried her best to smile politely but it fell flat on her lips. “Matt, thank you for sticking by Bella’s side but I think we need some time as a family to process this.”
“Okay, sure.” He stood up and my father let out a bitter chuckle that made the air around us shift with unease.
“I meant what I said. I don’t need any fucking time to cool down. This man is a pervert. He preys on little girls and he will never see my child again. Fucking never,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I’m eighteen! I’m going to graduate in three months,” I shouted.
“I don’t care,” he shouted right back.
“Fine, you said I can’t see Matt while I’m living under your roof then I guess I don’t live here anymore.” I stormed upstairs and grabbed a bag from my room that I already had packed for spending the night with Matt in our house.
“Kristabella Lucas!” Dad boomed through the house. I heard him growing closer but I didn’t care. There was nothing he could do to stop me. I stopped to stare him down in the hallway then I pushed past him, clipping his shoulder on the way down the steps.
“Bella, don’t do this,” my mother begged.
“I can’t stay here with him! He wants to cut me off from someone I told him I’m in love with. Like that’s the right way to go about things. This is his house though and I’m not going to break his rules. So, since there’s no rule about me leaving, that’s what I’m going to do.” Matt stood at the front door and I could see the confusion in his jade eyes.
“Krissy, maybe you should try to talk things out with your parents,” he said in my ear.
“No. There’s no talking to my father. Matt, please take me home with you.” I looked up at him and he gave me sure nod.
“If that’s what you want, baby girl.”
“That’s what I want,” I said. I looked at my mother and hugged her tightly while she cried.
“Bella, please stay. I know things look crazy right now but you know how your father is.”
“I can’t sit there and listen to him say those things about Matt. I can handle just about anything else but not ugly lies about the man I love so much,” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and pulled in a breath to steady my nerves. “I love you, Mom. I love Dad too but right now, I’m choosing happiness and peace over respect to my parents.”
“Oh, Bella…” Mom sighed and stroked my hair. “I wish it weren’t like this.”
“If you leave m
y house with that fucking pervert Krissy, so help me I will have him fired and banned from working in this city.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Lucas…do your worst.” Matt gripped my hand in his and we walked out.
**
MATTHEW
The ride back to my house was quiet but Krissy’s energy spoke volumes. She was hurt, angry, and confused. I wanted to ease all of that for her.
I pulled into my driveway, got out and opened Krissy’s door. I took her bag inside and showed her to my living room. It was small in comparison to her family’s den but it was cozy.
She immediately curled up on the couch pulling her knees up to her chest. “Talk to me, baby girl,” I said, sitting beside her.
“He called you a pervert. He called you sick. You’re not any of that shit, Matt. You know that, right?” Her tired brown eyes pierced me down to the soul. I would do anything she asked of me. Anything.
“I know, Krissy. Your father was pissed. I wouldn’t expect anything less. He was trying to hurt you and piss me off. I’m not holding it against him. I’m sure I’d do the same thing if I had a daughter.” Thoughts of having a little girl with Krissy ran through my mind like a song stuck in my head.
“That doesn’t make it okay though. He was disrespectful. I get being mad and hurt but he was disrespectful.” She shook her head like she was replaying the entire thing over in her mind.
“Let’s get some food and finish binge-watching Boy Meets World. I’ll help you with your homework later and throw in some extra credit if you’re a good girl.” My attempt to make her smile worked. I would do anything to keep that smile on her face.
“Shut up, Matt,” she chuckled.
“There’s that beautiful smile,” I said, touching her cheek. She nuzzled against my hand and sighed.
“I can’t believe I walked out of my parents’ house,” Krissy marveled with a short laugh.
“You were a brave badass. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”
“It became easy once I heard my father spewing all those insults about you that weren’t true. At first, I was scared out of my mind and I didn’t know what was going to happen but once he started acting like that? I didn’t care. I’m eighteen. I can walk out of my parents’ house and nothing will happen.”
“That’s true. Now, let’s talk about school tomorrow,” I said, pushing a hand through my hair. Krissy toyed with the bottom of my shirt, winding it around and around her pointer finger.
“I’m not going to school tomorrow. One: I didn’t grab any uniforms. Two: I’m almost certain my father will come up to the school. I don’t want to see him right now.” I slid my fingers along her forearm and listened to her. She had at least an hour’s worth of venting to do.
Once she finally stopped talking, she looked around my place and smiled a little. “You want the tour? Or we can sit here and keep griping. I think you need to get your mind off of things though,” I said.
“Give me the tour, Papi.” Hearing her nickname for me made my hands tingle and my dick stiffen in my pants. That girl drove me crazy.
I showed her the kitchen, the dining room, and the basement then I took her upstairs and showed her the guest rooms and my bedroom. She hopped up on the bed and grabbed the remote like she’d lived there forever. Realization washed over me in the most sobering way.
Krissy felt at home because of me. I was her home base the same way she was mine. It didn’t matter if we were at my house, or if we were tucked away inside the Moreau Estates.
“God, everything smells like you,” she groaned, burying her face in my pillow. It only drove home what I was thinking even more. I made her feel secure.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you live somewhere for a year,” I laughed, sitting beside her. My hands went right to her thighs, sliding up and down and watching as goosebumps popped up beneath my touch.
The need to fuck her in my bed was making me blind with desire. “I have one stipulation for you staying here,” I commented in between kisses to her neck. She squirmed and wriggled beneath me, trying to position herself so that I was right between her legs.
“What is it?” She asked once she had me where she wanted me.
“No panties. Ever. I told you, I want to be able to fuck you when and wherever I see fit. Understand?”
“Yes, Papi. No panties.”
“Good girl.” I ripped the ones she did have off and massaged her clit in torturous slow circles. Krissy whined and shut her eyes but I wanted to see them. I loved drowning in her light brown pools. “Open those pretty eyes, baby girl.” I stared into a sea of pale brown and my dick got even harder. I didn’t think that was possible.
I licked her juices from my fingers then sank deep into her cunt while she called my name. “Papi!” She clawed at my back while I delivered unrelenting thrust after thrust. Krissy was so fucking wet it was driving me crazy and I knew I wouldn’t last much longer inside of her.
My mouth fell to her neck and I let my lips and tongue suck on her while my teeth marked her sweet flesh. She was mine. I didn’t care who knew it anymore.
“Fuck, I’m about to cum,” she moaned. Her breathy words made me lose my control and I came deep inside of her pussy. My dick throbbed as ropes of my seed filled her up.
“We’re definitely waiting to have kids right?” Krissy asked with a laugh. I laid flat on my back and looked over at her draped in my blankets in my bed and smiled.
“Yeah. Let’s get you started on your path first. Although coming inside of you is my favorite past time. We’ll talk about getting rid of your birth control after you graduate.”
“By talk you mean you’re going to start putting babies in me immediately, right?” She asked with a hopeful hint to her voice.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” I laughed.
**
I watched Krissy sleep in my bed knowing that her parents knew about us. We weren’t hiding anymore. Our closest friends knew about us. Liam knew about us. Hell, even Eve and Colton knew about us.
I realized I didn’t care who routed for us and who didn’t. I would always route for us. Krissy made me feel at home. She made me forget the world could be a cold and fucked up place. Her smile warmed up the coldest thoughts in my mind.
I was yanked from my thoughts by my phone ringing. I slid my arm from beneath Krissy’s head and pressed the green button, moving into the hallway.
“Liam, what’s up?” I asked in hushed tones
“Open the door, dickface. I’ve got amazing news and you know if I have amazing news then so do you.” Excitement overtook the need to tell Liam that Krissy was sound asleep and we couldn’t celebrate but fuck that shit.
I let my little brother in and he waved an expensive bottle of champagne at me with a happy grin plastered on his face. “Liam, I have to hear you say this shit after the day I’ve had,” I implored him with serious eyes. Jade on jade in an epic stare-down.
“I got the fucking job, bro! You know exactly what that means.” He walked into the kitchen and popped the cork on the champagne. I’d never been more excited to check my computer.
I read over the email over and over again until the words in front of me sank in, then I told my brother to hand over the bottle of champagne.
Fuck the glasses.
**
KRISSY
I woke up with a start. A loud ass pop rang in my ears. I searched in the darkness for Matt but found his side of the bed empty. When I walked into the hallway, I could hear him and Liam laughing and talking. I was about to fuss at him for waking me up then climb on his back like a monkey but I heard something that made me uneasy.
Liam said, “So you know what this means, right? We both have a lot of growing up to do and you need to let Krissy know. Did you even tell her what was going on, Matt?”
My heart thumped in my chest, threatening to shatter my breastbone. What the hell did he have to tell me that he was keeping? We didn’t keep secrets. Secrets destroyed relationships and I cou
ldn’t handle having my relationship with Matt destroyed.
“Nah, I haven’t told her yet. The time isn’t right. She just walked out of her parents’ house today after we told them about us. Now isn’t the time. I need to figure out the right way to do this. It’s not exactly an easy topic to broach.” Matt replied.
“There’s never a right time to tell people anything. This is important though. Things are gonna start to change, Matt. She needs to know why you two aren’t going to see each other anymore. You owe her that at least,” Liam exhaled.
The gravity of his words nearly broke me down. I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop the involuntary sobs fighting their way out. He was going to break things off with me. Whatever he had going on in his life meant that he had to grow up and that meant leaving me behind.
I was just a stupid fucking fling. Just like Eve. My stomach roiled with the epiphany and I thought I would be sick.
I’d walked out on my family for this man and he could just leave me so easily My world was crushed. I couldn’t show face in my house after the blow up I had with my parents. I couldn’t stay with Matt anymore either though. Fuck that shit.
If he wanted to break things off with me, then I’d make it easy for him. I couldn’t stand to hear him tell me we were over. Even thinking about agreeing to never see him again made my own tongue bitter in my mouth. I wiped away the hot tears streaking my cheeks and sent Zuri a text.
Me: SOS.
Riri: You need me to come to you?
Me: Yes. In the morning.
My heart felt like it was melting. People say it feels like your heart gets ripped in two or shattered but not me. I was a flame. Flames with hearts didn’t get them broken. Instead, their hearts melted like mine was doing each time I thought of leaving Matt.
I slid in bed and laid on my side, pretending to be asleep when he came back in. I would die having to hear him let me down gently. He rubbed my back and let his hands slip down the small of my back to my ass and I hated my stupid body for reacting to him.
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