Page 27 of Trust In Me

Hallie’s responding shriek tells me everything I need to know, and I ignore the bits of soggy biscuit that flies out of her mouth. She is too sweet, and I can clean up afterwards. Besides, right now I have to find a fucking teapot…and no, I have no idea if we even own one.

I take this opportunity to pull my phone out of my pocket and quickly send a text to Kellan. I can’t exactly ring him with his mother right there, and I don’t want to freak him out if he’s working.

Mia: Hey, do you know what time you will be home?

His response is almost immediate, and I let out the breath I didn’t realise I was holding.

Kellan: We are less than five mins away. Everything okay?

Oh, thank fuck for that. I’m about to text him back when the kettle starts making that whistling noise indicating it’s nearly boiled, and I still have no idea where the fucking teapot is. I don’t even know if we have a posh cup I can give her. All our mugs are proper mugs, with funny sayings or our favourite characters on. Somehow I don’t think this woman will appreciate that. I realise I don’t have time to mess about, so I just start opening all the cupboards in the kitchen, even ones I’ve never bothered to look in before. I can hear her tutting, and can feel her eyes roll from the other side of the room, but I don’t care.

Jackpot! There, at the very back of the cupboard, is a full china tea set. It’s obvious Bree was either given this as a gift that she’s never used, or it was left over from when her grandfather used this house for his holidays. The pretty pastel flower design doesn’t exactly scream Bree’s or Liam’s tastes. Besides, the amount of dust scattered over the surface tells me this has most definitely not been used in a long time. So, I waste no time in getting it clean. Placing the teabags in, I pour in the streaming hot water, and while the tea is brewing I pour some sugar into the matching sugar bowl, and milk into the milk jug. I even dust off the matching tray and place the now clean teacups and saucers on it. I have no idea if this tea service is going to win me any points with Kellan’s mum—shit, I didn’t even ask her name—but I really hope so. This woman makes me so nervous, I can feel myself sweating in areas I didn’t even know were capable of sweating.

Carrying the tray over to the coffee table, I place it down and look over at the woman who I can feel glaring at me. I’m guessing she isn’t the sort of woman who pours her own tea, not when there’s help like me around to do it for her. Stuck up bitch!

“How do you take your tea, Mrs. Burke…?” I ask, deciding to call her by Kellan’s last name, since that's all I know about her. Given the way her eyes glare and her nostrils flare, I really shouldn’t have bothered.

“My name is Mrs. Mattherson. I haven’t been Mrs. Burke for over twenty years, since Kellan’s father was murdered. So, thank you for bringing up that horrific memory. I take my tea with just a dash of milk and two sugars. Are you capable of that?” Her voice is nasally and ripples down my spine, prickling at my nerves. This woman is quite literally driving me mad.

“Erm…I-I didn’t know t-that. Sorry. I mean, I knew Kellan’s dad had passed away, but I didn’t know what your new name was. I didn’t know what to call you. Sorry.” Fuck, could I sound any more like a bumbling idiot than I do right now?

I distract myself by pouring the tea for her, to her exact specifications, and try to ignore the way my hand shakes as I pick up the teapot. If I don’t get control, the tea is going to go all over the place. I take deep breaths, managing to pour the drink successfully, and I hand it over to her. I pour one for myself, and although I would much prefer a coffee, anything to keep my hands busy will do right now.

Placing my cup on the table nearest the free end of the sofa, I run and grab Hallie from her high chair. She has biscuit all over her face and hands, but she looks happy. I don’t even think she realised I’d left the room, she’s too busy chomping on her biscuits. I grab some wet wipes off the side and start wiping down her face and hands, much to her annoyance. Her squeals are really not helping this whole situation. But, she will have to put up with it for a second because I can’t bring her to her snobby grandmother with chewed-up biscuits in her jet-black ringlet hair.

As soon as I’ve managed to get the majority off her, and she stops shrieking like a banshee, I pick her up and take her through into the living room. I know Mrs. Mattherson has been taking this time to glare at me, and take in the general mess that is the house. But I don’t give a shit.

I stare at this woman, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to say to her, and I can see she’s doing the same. I pray to whatever deity is listening that she keeps her acid tongue to herself and we can just sit in companionable silence until Kellan gets here. Didn’t he say he was only five minutes away? This is the longest fucking five minutes in the history of the world. I take a mouthful of my tea, careful not to get it anywhere near the handsy baby on my lap. Naturally, she tries to reach for it, and I tell her not to because it’s hot.

“You do realise she’s a baby and has absolutely no concept of what hot or cold is, nor does she understand what is right or wrong? They learn through doing. So, if she were to burn herself, she would know that was bad. Or if you smacked her bum every time she did something wrong, she would learn a lot quicker than this namby-pamby approach you appear to be using.” I sit there with my jaw open wide. Did this woman really just advise me that the best way to teach a child is to harm them?

“I’m very aware how old she is, she isn’t even one years old yet. But studies have shown that if you talk to them, they can take in your tone and your body language. The kind of punishment you’re talking about isn’t encouraged, and it’s certainly not a method Kellan wishes to adopt. If he did, there’s no way I would be working for him,” I state firmly, holding Hallie a little closer, my protective nature towards her kicking in at just the thought of her being harmed by someone else.

Her gaze narrows and her glare turns evil. She doesn’t like me talking back to her. It’s probably not something that people do around her. I can tell she’s about to shout at me when the front door bursts open. Kellan and Liam come through the door, into the open-plan room. They are both on edge, looking around for the danger, and that’s when I realise I never texted Kellan back. I got so caught up in the teapot crisis. Oops.

“Mia, is everything okay? Is Hallie okay?” Kellan yells before he’s fully through the door.

Once they’re both standing in the living area, taking in the sight before them, I see them both physically deflate. They obviously built the situation up in their heads and thought we were in danger. When they see Mrs. Matterson, Kellan looks on edge and Liam looks repulsed.

“Mother, what are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?” Kellan asks, before striding towards me, completely ignoring his mother while he speaks.

As soon as he reaches my side, he crouches down and leans forward to give Hallie a kiss on the cheek, before whispering in my ear. “Are you okay? Did she do anything to you?”

I shake my head saying no, letting him know we’re both okay, and the last bit of tension leaves his body. Hallie reaches for him, grasping onto his jet-black hair that matches her own and giggles when she manages to get a few strands in her fist. I prise open her hands to free his hair, as his mother answers his question.

“I hired a professional to find you. I needed to know your address for the legal paperwork. Kellan, Hallie is my granddaughter and I wanted to see her,” she states, and both Kellan and I look at each other at the mention of a legal document. I can tell by the pain in his eyes, he knows what she’s talking about, and I hate the dejected look on his face. How this woman is able to have power over a guy like Kellan truly pisses me off.

Liam is clearly not happy with her, and he snaps at her, anger vibrating from him. “Well, now you’ve seen her, maybe you could kindly fuck off and we can get on with burning the couch you are sat on. It’s hard to get the stench of bitch out of the fabric.” Bree comes through to stand by his side. She has her phone in her hand, no doubt letting Kian or security know there’s no real danger.

Kellan and I both look at each other and let out small chuckles at Liam’s blatant hatred for the woman sitting next to us. Her face ripples in disgust as she glares at Liam, the feeling clearly mutual. “I have always hated you, Liam. You are just like your father, he’s a menace too.”

“I’m nothing like my father,” Liam grinds out, both him and Bree wearing matching angry expressions, though her hand on his seems to calm them both down.

“Mother, you can’t come into my house and start insulting my friends…actually, they are my family. So, why don’t you say what you came here to say, and then you can be on your way,” Kellan states firmly. Although he sounds confident, I can see the hand he’s holding on to Hallie’s with is shaking slightly. Without thinking, I press my hand over both Kellan’s and Hallie’s, hoping my touch will be enough to soothe his nerves.

His desperate, lost eyes meet mine, and he looks like a sad little boy being told off by his mother. I want to hold him, to make his pain disappear. His small smile lets me know my touch is helping. I’m hardly an expert when it comes to dealing with shit family members, all I’ve ever done is run from mine, but I’m happy to help Kellan take a stand.

“Fine, have it your way. I told you before you moved to London how I felt. I don’t believe you are capable of looking after this girl on your own. I can give her a much better life than you can ever dream of. I submitted papers to the courts this morning, I’m here to give you your copy. I’m petitioning for full custody, and my case will be heard. Jasper’s hired the best family solicitor in the country and we will win. So, save yourself some money and sign the papers now. You can voluntarily hand her over and we won’t drag you through a messy court case.” With each word that comes out of this evil witch’s mouth, the silence in the room becomes heavier. Kellan becomes heavier.

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