Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas: O'Reilly Fight Club Book Four, page 24
“You’ve improved in the last week,” Sean laughs as he leans on the ropes. I spit out my gum shield and head over to stand in front of him next to Maximus.
“It’s so good to be training with someone in my weight category. It makes such a difference when they also know how to fight.”
“I think that may be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Donavon,” Maximus laughs beside me as he pulls off his gloves.
“I was talking about Sean.” I jump out of his reach as he swings his fist at me; Sean laughs from the ringside as Maximus starts cursing me under his breath.
“You thought any more about my offer?” Sean asks as I start removing my own gloves.
“I have; there are a few things I need to work out first. I’ll need to talk to my brothers as well. There is a lot up in the air with Verity and stuff at the moment.”
“What’s going on?” Maximus asks, handing me my water bottle.
“We just need to work out living arrangements and stuff. I don’t want to agree to anything until I know where I will be living first.” I take a deep drink of cold water from my bottle as I finally catch my breath.
“If I can give you a piece of advice, it’s this. It’s so much easier if you are all in one house. That way, there is no schedule or pressure on anyone. Let Verity choose who she is with and when; you will all find it’s the easiest option.” Sean holds open the ropes for us as we climb through and head for the showers.
“Seans right; I don’t think we could have the life we do if it were determined by where and when we had Jaz with each of us. She is almost in complete control unless she has done something to piss Christian off. Then he tells her she is sleeping in his bedroom after she has been punished,” Maximus laughs as Sean shakes his head.
“You are just as bad. How many times have you carried her off like a caveman? Shouting you are going to teach her a lesson.”
“She is more of a brat for me than any of you; it’s not my fault I have to discipline her more,” he replies, winking at me as I laugh aloud.
“She’s a brat because your punishments are fun. She’s your brat, and you love her for it,” Sean points out.
“Yeah, I do. She’s perfect for me, and I wouldn’t have her any other way,” Maximus agrees, as his mind obviously drifts to Jasmine, and I can see how much he really does love her.
Verity is yet to be a real brat for us. She has started playing up a few times, and I know she has that side to her; I can’t wait to explore it. But at the moment, things are so up in the air that whenever she starts to relax, and we see the true version of herself that’s been repressed over the years, something happens to remind her that she isn’t free of those who have controlled her for so long.
Last night was a prime example of that. She’d had such a good day and had a perfect evening with us. But then Dawn turned up and ruined it for her. Since then, she has been waiting for her father to be in touch, as I’ve been waiting for our mother to contact one or all of us. It’s bound to happen sooner than later, and I dread to think what damage it will do to all the progress we are making with Verity when it does.
“What are you guys going to do regarding your parents?”
I look at Maximus as we reach the lockers in the VIP changing rooms.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, how do you think they will take it when they find out about you all? It’ll be hard for Verity as she is close to her dad, isn’t she?” he asks, looking surprised when I shake my head.
“Not as close as you may think. He is a manipulative arsehole. I don’t give a shit what he thinks, and I think Verity is starting to see how toxic he has been as well.”
I quickly fill them in on the stuff that Christian hadn’t. I know Travis told him a lot, except for the self-harming and stuff, which I also leave out. By the time I finish, I can see how shocked and appalled they are by Henry’s behaviour.
“Fuck what he thinks, take her away and never let him near her again! I wish we’d done it with Jaz and her mother long before we did. Then maybe she wouldn’t have suffered the way she did, thanks to Carol.” I stare at Sean for a moment. He is the calm one of the twins. Maximus is more likely to fly off the handle and start swinging his fists, whereas Sean tends to talk him down and deal with the situations in a nonviolent and calm manner. But from the venom in his voice, I can only begin to imagine how Jaz was treated by her mother.
“What is it with sweet girls being mistreated by their parents? Neither of them deserved what they have been through,” I sigh as I retrieve my bag and pull out my phone to check for any messages.
My heart freezes when I see two missed calls from my mother, two from Verity and one from Travis and Ethan.
“Shit,” I mutter as I open the voicemail which Ethan has left. It's short and straight to the point. “Fuck.” I grab my bag and throw my stuff into it, not bothering to shower or change.
“Everything okay?” I hear Sean ask.
“Funny you should ask how our parents will take it. The shit has just well and truly hit the fan. I have to go.” I throw my bag over my shoulder as Maximus tells me to call if there is anything they can do to help. I shout thanks as I run for my car and rush towards the house.
Thankfully, the gym is only a ten-minute drive from home, giving me time to calm down and think rationally. I have no doubt Travis has gone into protective mode, especially if Verity is upset. But one of us needs to be the voice of reason, and I have no doubt that responsibility will land on my shoulders. Fucking great.
From what I could gather from the angry voicemail, Henry had called Verity to demand to know why we were still here and why Dawn was so upset. Knowing him, the arsehole probably wanted her to spend Christmas alone; it wouldn’t have even crossed his mind that we might have decided to stay to spend time with her. But why wouldn’t we? Even if things weren’t progressing the way they are with us, we would still want to be there for her if she was sad or alone. No one should spend Christmas alone in a big house like that.
My phone rings through the dashboard, and I connect the call.
“I got your message as soon as I was out of the ring. I’ll be there in two minutes,” I call out as I make the turning that leads to the tiny village where Verity’s family home is.
“Good, because it’s all going to hell here. Have you heard from Mother dearest?” Ethan asks.
“She called but didn’t leave a message. Fill me in when I get there. Is Verity okay?”
“No, not at all. Travis is with her.” I can hear the frustration in Ethan's voice. He will hate not being able to do anything. Ethans is the type who deals with everything head-on, face-to-face.
“I’m less than a minute away. See you in a sec.” I end the call and put my foot down as I speed towards the house. Of all the times not to have my phone on me, it’s when she needs me the most. I only started being her daddy two days ago, and I’ve let her down already.
Pulling in front of the house, I find Ethan waiting for me. If I didn’t think it was bad before, I do now.
“What the fuck happened?” I snap, jumping from the car and striding towards the front porch.
“I’ll tell you before you go in,” Ethan says quietly as we move away from the front door.
“Everything was fine; Verity was a little hung over but laughing and joking with us. Her mobile rang, and she went off to answer it. Before she had a chance to come back, Travis got a call from Mum demanding that he apologise for upsetting Dawn and wanting to know why we were still here. When he said it was none of her business, she started shouting, ‘If I find out any of you are fucking Henry’s daughter, I will disown you. You will ruin everything.’ Travis lost his shit and demanded to know what she meant by that, and there was nothing she could do about it if he were. Mum lost her shit, screaming so loud that I could hear her even though the phone wasn’t on loudspeaker.”
“Where was Verity when all this was going on?” I ask, looking towards the house, wondering where she is and how she’s doing.
“Turns out she was on the phone to Henry and heard Mum screaming; when Henry heard what was going on, he started screaming at Verity, which Travis heard and lost his shit further.”
“So, they know everything then?” I ask, but to my surprise, Ethan shakes his head.
“They only know about Verity and Travis. He managed to stay calm enough to realise that throwing the fact we were all with her was bad timing for Verity. He didn’t give a shit about upsetting the parents, just her. He ended the call and found her standing on the stairs holding her doll in floods of tears. She’s been a mess since.”
“Fuck,” I curse as I rub my face. There was never going to be a good time for them to find out, as they were never going to take it well. But why now? After we have been working so hard to pick Verity up from the damage they did in the twelve hours, they were here.
“I’m going in. Whatever happens, we face it together, and don’t let her think for one moment that we give a shit about what they think.”
Ethan nods as I take a deep breath and walk into the house, gearing myself up for whatever is happening inside.
From the moment I open the door, I can feel the tension in the air. The warm, happy feeling that enveloped this house when I left two hours ago has gone, and all I can hear is the soft whispering coming from the lounge.
I find Verity curled up on Travis’s lap, her doll in her arms, as he holds her and whispers into her hair.
“Hey, Little Kitten. I hear you’ve had a rough afternoon.”
Verity looks at me as I sit beside her and Travis on the sofa. Her eyes are bloodshot again, and she looks as if she’s about to cry. I hold out my arms, and she leaves Travis to come and sit on my lap. She curls up so small as if protecting herself from everything out to hurt her.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Verity shakes her head as she leans it against my chest.
“Dad said that if any of you are still here when he gets back in the new year, he will kick you out and stop me from seeing any of you again,” she says quietly as I run a hand over her head.
“Well, good luck with that. We won’t be going anywhere without you,” I reassure her.
“We won’t be here when he comes back anyway. There’s no way I plan on seeing either of them, especially when they are going out of their way to make you miserable, Sweetheart.” Travis stands from the sofa and walks from the room to try and calm down.
“He’s angry about the way they both called me a slut and a whore,” Verity says, looking up at me.
“They did what?” I yell, quickly reminding myself to keep my cool. The last thing my girl needs is for me to lose my shit. “You know they are out of order, don’t you, Kitten? You are far from either of those things.”
“That’s what the others keep telling me, too. But it’s hard to ignore when your own father calls you one.”
What I wouldn’t give to have five minutes with that man so I could tell him a few home truths. But it just feels like we are constantly going over old ground when it comes to him.
“Baby Girl, how do you fancy getting out for a few hours? We could go for a walk while Ryan gets washed up, and then all go out for dinner somewhere.” I turn to Ethan and nod.
“A change of scenery might do you a world of good,” I agree, smiling at Verity, who looks a little brighter at the idea of getting out of the house.
“I would like that,” she answers, sitting up. “And you do need a shower. You stink,” she smirks at me.
“What do you expect when I spent the morning beating up Maximus,” I laugh as I start to tickle her, glad to see a smile on her face.
“Bear, stop!” she squeals as I continue. “Help!” she screams as Ethan pulls her away from me.
“Go and get sorted; we will leave as soon as you are ready,” he laughs, pinching her ass as she passes him.
“I’m going, jeez, keep your hat on,” she sighs, grabbing his baseball cap from his head and rushing towards the stairs, laughing at the top of her lungs.
“Oh, little girl, you better run because me and you are about to fall out,” he yells, chasing after her. He throws a wink my way as he takes the stairs three at a time. I know he may be the best one for her at the moment. Travis is in protective mode and unable to look past her upset; I need to know more about what was said so I can help come up with a plan. But Ethan is there with his humour and ability to make her smile when she needs it the most.
I laugh, watching them disappear from view. Heading towards the kitchen, I hear rustling coming from the office. I head in there wondering what Travis could be up to.
“She sounds happier,” he says as I walk into the room.
“Ethan is taking her out for a couple of hours. We figured a change of scenery would help, and it seems we were right.”
Travis nods, not looking up from the papers he is flicking through.
“You looking for anything in particular? Or just being a nosey bastard?” I ask as I look at the papers lying all over the desk.
“Did you know that Henry pays out over ten thousand pounds a month to companies and people that don’t even exist?”
“No. But you’re his accountant, not me. Surely you would know if he was doing something illegal,” I point out.
“I do, but he has always denied it. I didn’t bother pushing it as I didn’t see it affecting Verity. Her school is paid for each month, as is her allowance. I didn’t see the point in pushing anything.”
“But now?” I ask as he leans back in the chair and rubs his face.
“Now, I know he is going to try and make her life a living hell, and I refuse to let him. I think he is hiding money so that she isn’t entitled to it, and I plan on finding it all to ensure she gets a decent cut.”
“Will she need money? We all make more than enough to keep her dancing and living the life she deserves. If we all move into one large house, we can split the bills and save money that way,” I point out. But the more I look at Travis, the more I think he’s hiding something. “What aren’t you telling me?” I ask as we hear Verity scream. We both turn to the door, ready to bolt when her laughter fills the air, and we visibly relax.
“What the fuck is he doing to her now?” Travis growls.
“Whatever it is, he’s cheering her up; that’s all that matters,” I point out. It’s been a while since I saw him this worked up.
“I know, you’re right,” Travis sighs but quickly smiles when Verity rushes into the room and heads in his direction.
“Save me!” she laughs, jumping onto his lap.
“What did you do?” Travis asks as he rolls his eyes at her. Ethan walks in, putting his cap back on backwards.
“If you think he’s going to save your ass, you are greatly mistaken. You need to leave the safety of his arms at some point, and I’m more than happy to wait,” Ethan smirks as Verity grins at him.
“What if I say I’m sorry and will never touch your hat again?” she asks, grinning. We all know she’s lying; she’s never been able to resist annoying Ethan by stealing his hat. But we also know she could be in a worse mood than she is right now.
“Fine, now come on. We need to go to the shop and get some milk before they close,” he says, holding out his arm, signalling for her to leave the office. Verity kisses Travis` before rushing up to me and doing the same.
“See you when we get back,” she calls, rushing towards the door.
“Just quickly, Sweetheart. Do you have your passport?” Travis calls.
“No, why?” she asks, frowning.
“Nothing, I was just thinking of maybe booking a holiday for when you graduate in a few months,” he shrugs, but I know he’s lying.
“I’ve never needed one, as Dad doesn’t let me travel with him.”
“You’ve never been abroad?” Ethan asks, amazed. Verity shakes her head. We should have realised this, especially with Henry being so against her going to the States with him.
“What about your birth certificate? Do you know where that is?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Dad deals with things like that. He sorted my driving licence and stuff for the school.”
“Okay, Sweetheart, I’ll see if I can find everything. Have a good afternoon.”
Verity waves as she joins Ethan. I listen as they leave the house with her talking at a million miles per hour as she does whenever she gets one of us to herself.
“Okay, what you up to?” I ask as soon as the front door closes.
“I’m going to get her stuff together so when they get back, she isn’t here, and there is nothing they can hold over her head.” He pushes himself away from the desk and stands, heading to the large filing cabinet. “We are taking her home. She can live in whichever house she wants as long as it’s not here.”
I quickly tell him what Sean said about the living arrangements, and he agrees it’s the best plan.
“My place has three rooms, but I would prefer it if she had her own space. When we discussed it over breakfast, Verity said that Jasmine likes having her own room, even if she hardly ever sleeps there alone. It’s somewhere she can go if she needs to breathe or to relax without any of them bothering her. I want Verity to have that, too.”
“We can all discuss it later, but I think looking for a new house would be best. One that’s not too far from the school, as Verity will still be dancing for the company when she graduates.”
He nods in agreement before rubbing his face and sighing deeply.
“Mum got to you?” I ask, taking a seat on one of the other chairs.
“More than she should have. She kept saying I would ruin everything and that Verity was not for me. She meant something by that, and I plan on finding out. I also don’t like that she and Henry made Verity feel so guilty about following her heart. They know nothing about her. Yet they called her a slut and whore, simply for falling for someone.”
I can tell there is more, and I don’t like that he’s hiding it from me.
“There’s something else. Spill it.”
Travis looks around him for a moment and starts pacing.
