“Now,” I snap. He runs off into the distance. I glare at the blonde little bitch. “Why, exactly, is Willow in trouble?”
“She’s been picking on her teammates.” Julian growls. “She’s grounded indefinitely.”
“No, she hasn’t. That’s a blatant lie and false accusation.” I narrow my eyes. “The bullying is the other way around.”
“Miss Brielle, I demand you go and get Willow, bring her to me, and I will make her apologize this minute.” His fury is palpable.
Something snaps again, and I step forward
“I will do nothing of the sort.” I point to the mother. “But I’ll tell you what I will do. If your evil daughter comes near Willow again, I will have her charged by the police for harassment and assault.”
The mother gasps, and the other parents all stop to listen to what’s going on.
“Why, that’s ridiculous,” she cries.
I turn to the blonde bully. “Go near Willow again, sweetie, I dare you.” I sneer.
Her eyes widen in fear.
“Miss Brielle!” Mr. Masters snaps.
“Who the hell is this?” the mother asks snootily.
“I’m your worst nightmare. Now get a leash on your girl before I involve the police.”
She puts her arm around her daughter. “Come on, dear, let’s go home. It’s been a traumatic day. This woman is a hooligan.” She glares at me and storms off.
I turn to Mr. Masters. “Are you kidding me?”
“Are you kidding me?” He growls.
“How dare you!” I snap, and I storm my way back to the car.
“How dare I?” he calls as he follows me. “How dare you?”
“Oh. I dare, all right,” I shout as I arrive at the car.
Willow and Sammy are standing wide-eyed at the car, waiting for it to be unlocked. I don’t think they’ve ever seen someone as angry as I am at this moment.
Mr. Masters drops the chairs on the ground and pops the trunk of his car, and the kids dive into the back seat to escape the fury. I get in the front and slam the door hard.
He opens my door. “Don’t slam my car door!” he yells.
I open it and slam it again… harder.
The kids are sitting frozen in the back, afraid to speak or move in case we turn on them.
Their father gets in his precious car and revs the engine before he pulls out in a rush.
Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
I have to say it.
“How dare you?” I cry out.
“How dare I what?” His angry eyes flicker between the road and me.
“How dare you blame Willow for that horrible piece of work.” I shake my head. “You need to apologize to her this very minute.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Unfucking believable. You have the emotional intelligence of a fish. It’s blatantly obvious that those girls were and have been picking on your daughter for a while, but you’re far too busy chatting up their mothers to fucking notice.”
“What?” he cries with incredulity.
“You heard me,” I shout back
“Do not raise your voice at me, and do not curse in front of my children.”
“Your children are not robots. Raised voices are perfectly normal everyday occurrences in families. Stop being so damn safe all the time.”
“I would rather be safe than a complete lunatic.”
I narrow my eyes. “Listen, you big baboon, I’m not afraid of your little high society sluts, and will not tolerate them bullying Willow under any circumstance. I don’t care how much money they have.”
He glares at me.
“And I am not about to buy their fucking coffee! How dare you not pull her into line about that? Do I look like a servant?”
He clenches his jaw as he drives. “Unlike you, I don’t like causing a scene.”
“Because you’re a wimp!” I yell. “Too scared of what everyone will think to defend your own daughter or your nanny.”
He glares at the road and grips the steering wheel with white-knuckle force.
The whole sky feels like it’s a shade of red. I can’t remember ever being this angry.
Fifteen silent minutes later, we arrive home.
I get out of the car. “Go and get changed, kids. We’re going out,” I announce.
The kids waste no time and quickly take off in the direction of the house.
Mr. Masters gets out of the car and slams the door. “I hope you’re happy with the dramatics you have caused.” He brushes past me.
“Do you know what that bully said?” I call. “I heard her. I heard her say it with my own ears.”
He turns to face me.
My eyes fill with tears at the sheer memory of it. Poor Willow. “She said that Willow’s mum probably killed herself just to get away from her. Do you have any idea what it would be like to hear that being said to you?”
He scowls, clearly torn between disbelief and hurt.
“You’re her father, for fuck’s sake.”
His face falls.
“You were going to ground her without a second thought,” I whisper in disgust.
His haunted eyes hold mine as he processes what has happened.
“They are picking on her, and you didn’t even bother to ask for her side of the story. You just believed them without question. What kind of a father does that to his daughter?”
He drops his head in shame.
The kids come bounding back to the car, all changed and ready to go.
“Get in the car, kids. We’re going to McDonald’s.” I sigh.
Mr. Masters looks between Willow and me. “Can I come?” he asks softly.
I shake my head. “You’re not invited.”
The kids get in the car and we drive away. I watch him disappear in the rear-view mirror, standing still, watching us leave without him.
Mr. Masters disappointed me today.
I don’t think I like him anymore.
I wait on the porch for my Uber driver to pick me up. It’s 8:00 p. m. on Saturday night, and I’m going out with Emerson. I’m wearing a pale pink dress and I have my cardigan slung over my folded arms.
I haven’t spoken to Mr. Masters since our fight at football this morning, but the kids have spent the afternoon laying on my bed, watching movies.
It seems they’re both giving him the silent treatment as well. Good.
The door opens and Mr. Masters comes out to stand beside me. He puts his hands into his pockets and the two of us stare forward, out into the darkness.
“I didn’t know,” he says quietly.
I inhale sharply, but I don’t answer.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” I tell him dryly.
We stay silent for a little while longer.
“When will you be back?” he asks quietly.
“Tomorrow afternoon for Willow’s dinner party.”
He nods and rolls his lips, unsure whether to speak or walk away.
We stand in silence, once again, and I just want him to go back inside the house. I honestly have nothing to say to him.
“I could have driven you.”
“No, thank you,” I whisper. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.”
The headlights appear at the end of the driveway, and I watch as the car pulls up to the front of the house.
“Goodbye, Mr. Masters,” I say flatly.
He stays silent.
I get into the car and look at him through the car window. He’s unmoving, still, with both of his hands in his pockets as he watches the car drive me away.
He looks so lost.
I roll my eyes, because he should.
He is.
Julian
“Brelly’s home!” Samuel yells from his position at the window.
I pretend to continue reading my book on the sofa, but no matter how many times I read a line on the page, I only see the words Brielle repeated to me: your mother killed herself to get away from you.
I’m failing miserably at this parenting thing, and I feel as though the weight of the world sits heavily on my shoulders. Willow hasn’t uttered a single word to me since Brielle left last night.
Willow comes bounding down the stairs and rushes out the front door with Samuel to meet their nanny.
I clench my jaw and turn the page.
I hate that they prefer her company to mine when she’s only been here for all of ten days. I know that says a lot about me.
My fingers flick the page in annoyance. I can hear all three of them coming up the stairs onto the landing.
“Oops, have you got it?” Brielle laughs.
I hear the rustling of plastic bags, and then I hear something bang.
“Ouch, watch it,” Willow snaps.
“Oh, that was close to your toe.” Brielle giggles.
“I know, just missed it,” Samuel answers in his enthusiastic voice.
“Be careful, will you? I don’t want to have to take you to A&E,” Brielle tells them.
The three of them laugh, and I can’t help but roll my eyes as I listen.
They come through the door, ladened with shopping bags.
I sit up. “What on Earth?”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Masters.” Brielle smiles warmly as she struggles. “How is the man of the house today?”