Page 77 of Do It Yourself
“I was infatuated with the idea of Mabel for a long time. She’s nothing like I imagined, she’s so much more complicated. Yes, I was interested in Mabel when I was younger. That Mabel was just a dream, though. The reality of getting the chance to love Mabel, it’s better than anything I could have imagined. As long as she’ll have me, she is my present and my future. Loving her is easier than breathing.”
My sweet girl’s eyes are watery as I talk, I can’t let her cry over this. I lift my hand, cradling her cheek in my hand, rubbing my thumb under her eyes to catch any tears that might slip free.
“I love you, too.” Mabel tilts her face and presses a kiss against the palm of my hand.
There’s a small gasp from the others that alerts us to the storm about to hit us. My gaze flicks to Mabel’s family and I find wide eyes flicking between me and Mabel and directly behind us.
Paul’s voice is like an unexpected thunderstorm.
“You fucking what?”
My poor Mabel, any tension I had been able to remove from her body has comeback tenfold as she looks at her brother. Paul’s face is almost purple in anger, his gaze flicking between all of us before focusing on my hand still on Mabel’s cheek.
“Get your hands off my fucking sister.”
“Paul, you will not use that type of language in my house!” Mama D rose from her seat across from Mabel and I, resting ahand on my shoulder. “This is not how we wanted to start this.” Disappointment was clear in her voice.
Was it a disappointment for us? Or because of us?
Could she already see that nothing we said was going to cure Paul of his hatred towards me.
“Start what?” Paul all but growled, he had taken on a defensive position with his arms crossed and feet spread shoulder width apart.
Did he think we were going to attack him?
I guess in a way, we were.
Mabel’s cold hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling my hand away from her before standing. My poor girl was shaking as she stood to face her brother. “Paul, I need you to calm down so we can talk.”
“Calm down!? How in the world can I calm down when I just heard my big sister say she loves the person whoruined my fucking life?”
Elle scoffed at Paul’s explosion, muttering, “Language.” Patrick slaps a hand over his mouth at his wife’s words
“How did Jude ruin your life, PJ?” The question comes from Lola and I send a silent thanks to my boss and friend, her tone is so calm in this situation.
“Why do I have to explain myself ? You are my family, it shouldn’t matter why!” Paul’s volume increases with each word.
Alright, this was getting out of hand. I stand up, lacing my fingers through Mabel’s trying to offer some support. Of course, Paul catches the movement.
“Paul, I genuinely don’t know how I could have ruined your life.”
“Oh, shut up! You don’t know what you did? How could you, you selfish motherfu?—”
“Enough!” Mama D’s voice silences all of us. “Everyone is going to sit down, take three deep breaths and we are going to have a civil conversation.”
Mama D’s word is law on the Farm, and no matter how much one of her kids might disagree, they do as Mama says.
“Elle, Lola, Patrick. I love all of you but I think this conversation is going to go much smoother without an audience.” I can see the protests on their faces but none of them fight her on this. They file out of the house in a line, the door shutting behind them with a foreboding click.
It was just the four of us now and we were going to lay it all on the table.
Chapter Sixty-Four
MABEL
There was no way this stress was good for the baby. Every muscle in my body was telling me to press a hand against my soft stomach, telling me that that small movement would somehow keep my little stinger in my womb to grow.
Internally, I scoffed at myself.
