Late Night Talk

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

(Timeline: Difficult: A Neighbor from Hell Chronicle)

“They’re evil,” Trevor muttered against her belly, which was immediately followed by pressing a kiss against her belly through the Bradford Construction tee-shirt that she’d helped herself to from his closet before he turned his head and released a heartfelt sigh.

“What did they do now?” Zoe asked, placing her book down next to her on the bed and-

“Exist,” Trevor mumbled, making her lips twitch.

Knowing that he wouldn’t appreciate it if she smile right now, Zoe cleared her throat and wrapped her arms around him and began running her fingers through his hair. “What else did they do?”

Tilting his head back so that he could glare at her, he demanded, “That’s not enough?”

“It usually takes more to piss you off,” Zoe reminded him, watching as his eyes narrowed dangerously on her before he slowly, ever so slowly, went back to using her as a pillow.

“I’m not pissed,” Trevor grumbled, following that up with another kiss.

“Then, what are you?” Zoe asked, staring up at the ceiling as she ran her fingers through his hair, losing herself in the soothing gesture while she went over everything that she had to do in the morning.

“Deeply concerned,” he muttered, making her frown.

“About…” Zoe said, letting the word trail off as she glanced down at him.

“Everything,” Trevor said, making her roll her eyes.

“That really narrowed it down for me. Thanks,” she said dryly only to once again feel her lips twitch when he said, “You’re welcome.”

“Are you going to tell me why you believe our children are evil?” Zoe asked, going back to staring up at the ceiling as she debated the odds of being able to stop by the bank before she went to the Fire & Brimstone in the morning to meet with Lucifer.

If she stopped by Dixon’s Bakery afterward and brought him a box of donuts, he’d probably be willing to overlook the fact that she was twenty minutes late. He’d still glare, but then again, he always glared. This could definitely work, Zoe thought as Trevor released a heartfelt sigh seconds before he climbed off her and dropped down on the bed next to her, which, of course, was immediately followed by manhandling her.

In a matter of seconds, Trevor was hogging the bed and placing her between his legs so that he could wrap his arms around her. That was followed by a kiss against the side of her neck as she shifted to get more comfortable, another heavy sigh, and then…

“Mikey.”

“What happened to Mikey?” Zoe asked, unable to help but frown as she moved to shove her husband’s arms away so that she could stop the boys from doing something they’d regret.

Trying not to think about what happened the last time that Jonathan locked Mikey in a closet or what happened after she got out, Zoe moved to-

“She’s fine,” Trevor assured her as he pulled her back into his arms and pressed another kiss against the back of her neck.

“Then, what’s the issue?” Zoe asked, tilting her head back as she waited for an answer.

“Sebastian and Braxton,” Trevor said with a heavy sigh before adding, “And I’m starting to become concerned about Jonathan’s safety.”

“He does seem to go out of his way to piss her off,” Zoe murmured in agreement.

“He really does,” Trevor said, leaning down so that he could kiss her forehead.

“And the problem with Sebastian and Braxton?” Zoe asked.

“There’s only one Mikey,” Trevor said, sighing against her forehead before he pressed one last kiss against her skin and dropped his head back against the headboard.

“That is a problem,” Zoe murmured absently, wondering how they were going to handle it when Mikey made a choice. “It’s going to destroy Sebastian,” Zoe said with a heartfelt sigh as she felt her husband go still behind her.

“Why would it destroy Sebastian?” Trevor asked as he glared down at her.

With a helpless shrug, Zoe said, “He’s a Bradford,” since there really was no other way to put it.

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Trevor demanded.

“I mean…” Zoe said, letting her words trail off, knowing that he would take the bait.

“I’m a Bradford,” Trevor bit out.

“And yet, you somehow managed to land me,” Zoe said, glancing back at him so that she could send him a pitying look.

“You were overcome with joy when I made you the happiest woman on earth,” Trevor bit out with a look that dared her to argue.

“Was I, though?” Zoe asked, squishing her face up and-

“I want a divorce,” Trevor bit out, making her lips twitch.

“You would never survive without me,” she said, watching as his expression softened.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Trevor murmured as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “It could have been worse,” he said, brushing his lips against hers one more time before he pulled back.

“How so?” Zoe asked, following his lips as she climbed off his lap and turned around.

“You could have ended up with one of my cousins,” Trevor said as he placed his hands on her hips and helped her settle on his lap as he moved his legs together, making it easier for her to straddle his lap.

“True,” Zoe murmured in agreement as she wrapped her arms around him.

“You could have ended up with Garrett, but…” Trevor began, only to let his words trail off so that he could brush his lips against hers again.

“I don’t know if I would have been able to forgive him for what he did at that book signing,” Zoe admitted as she thought about just how close he came to losing everything.

“Then, there’s Arik,” Trevor said, brushing her lips against his before he kissed her chin.

“True, but I’m not sure that I would have survived that trip,” Zoe admitted, dropping her head back to make it easier for him to kiss his way down her throat.

“What about Theo?” 

“Is lucky to be alive,” she said, loving the way that his whiskers felt brushing against her skin when his lips pulled up into a smile against her skin.

Chuckling, Trevor said, “Also true,” as he slid his hands down her thighs. “What about Roger?”

“He’s not a Bradford,” Zoe pointed out on a soft moan as his lips teased her throat. “But I think getting locked in a cellar for a week would have been a deal breaker for me.”

“Worse things have happened,” Trevor said, running his hands back up her thighs as he kissed his way back up to her chin.

“True,” Zoe said, shifting to get more comfortable when she felt his hands grab hold of her tee-shirt.

“I guess it’s a good thing that you ended up with me,” Trevor said, slowly pulling her shirt off.

“I guess it is,” Zoe said, raising her arms so that he could pull her shirt off the rest of the way before she wrapped her arms back around him and forgot all about the Bradford men and the terrifying stories of how they were brought to their knees.  

Excerpt from Difficult: A Neighbor from Hell Chronicle

“Don’t say anything,” came the harsh whisper that had Sebastian biting back a sigh as he opened his eyes and-

“What are you doing here?” Sebastian asked the girl who was apparently put on this earth to drive him crazy.

Eyes narrowing, Mikey said, “I told you not to say anything!”

“So, I’m just supposed to ignore the fact that you’re in my room at two in the morning, crouching down next to my bed and pointing a flashlight at your face and…are you wearing my new sweatshirt?” 

“Yes!” Mikey hissed as she gestured with the flashlight for him to move over.

With a sigh, he did, only to grunt when the little brat quickly climbed into his bed, shoved him over, shifted to get more comfortable and-

Glared down at him. 

“Why are you lying down?” she demanded.

“Because that’s how I sleep?” Sebastian said, unable to help but frown.

With a grumble, Mikey gestured for him to sit up. Biting back a sigh, Sebastian moved to sit up, only to find himself pulled up, pushed back against the headboard, and his arm yanked around Mikey’s small shoulders when he heard his bedroom door open.

There was a heavy sigh and then, “Really?” his father asked as he took in the scene before him.

“Really,” Mikey said with a firm nod.

“What’s going on?” Jonathan asked from the other side of the room around a yawn.

“We were making out,” Mikey said, making Sebastian forget how to breathe only to add, “Heavily.”

Panicking, Sebastian glanced at his father, who looked amused for some reason.

“Really?” his father drawled, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the wall.

“Really,” Mikey said with a firm nod. “There was nonstop kissing-action going on in here.”

“Is that why he looks like he wants to kill you?” his father asked, sounding bored as he gestured lazily towards Sebastian.

Narrowing his eyes on the little brat, Sebastian watched as Mikey glanced at him, opened her mouth, closed it, sighed, shoved his arm away and climbed off the bed. Seconds later, she made her way across the room, moved to sit down next to Jonathan, who was smiling hugely, seemed to rethink it, and dropped down on the end of his bed.

Clearing her throat, Mikey gestured to Jonathan. “Fine. Then, we were having a heavy makeout session.”

“I don’t remember all that heavy kissing action that you speak of, but I’m willing to allow you to refresh my memory,” Jonathan said smoothly as he sat up and-

“Oooomph.”

-forgot to duck when Mikey reached for his pillow. 

Once she was done beating the crap out of his brother with a pillow, Mikey got up, sighed heavily, made her way back across the room and dropped down on the bed next to Sebastian.

“Fine. There was no making out,” she admitted, ignoring his glare.

“You don’t say,” his father drawled as Sebastian considered shoving her off his bed.

“That was just a ruse. I didn’t want to admit what we were really doing in here, afraid that it would enrage you enough to call my parents and tell them that I was up to no good and shouldn’t be allowed to go to school tomorrow,” Mikey said with a heartfelt sigh and a sad shake of her head.

“And I suppose you’re going to tell me what you were up to?”

“I really am,” Mikey said as her shoulders dropped in defeat. “I don’t have any choice…not when you caught us red-handed.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Sebastian bit out, only to glare when the little brat reached over and patted his face with an absently murmured, “Shhhh, that’s Plan B.”

“I can’t wait to hear it,” his father said, making Sebastian wonder why he wasn’t pissed to find Mikey in his bed on a school night. Not that his father would be okay with finding Mikey in his bed any night, but tomorrow was the first day of high school and they all had to be up early.

“We were discussing our plans for world domination,” Mikey said with a firm nod.

“Well, two o’clock in the morning is the best time for that,” his father drawled with a shrug that had Mikey’s eyes narrowing dangerously.

“It really is,” she murmured in agreement, starting to look a bit frustrated.

“What else?”

“We pulled the tags off the mattress, ignoring the dire warnings not to remove them,” Mikey said, sounding hopeful.

“Had to be done,” his father said with a nod.

“We took the lord’s name in vain,” Mikey said with a shuddering sigh.

“I can see why that would be a problem,” his father said, matching her sigh with one of his own.

“It really is,” Mikey assured him, nodding in agreement as she gestured towards the door. “You should probably go tell my parents.”

“I would,” his father said, pushing away from the wall, “I really would, but there’s just one slight problem with that.”

“What’s that?”

“They already warned me that you would try to pull something like this.”

“But-”

“You’re not getting out of going to school,” his father said as he reached down and plucked Mikey off the bed.

“But I’m a bad influence and a miscreant! I don’t deserve to go to high school!” Mikey rushed to explain, almost desperately as his father threw her over his shoulder. “Think of all the young, innocent minds that I could corrupt!”

“I would, but your mother offered to make me a chocolate cake if I destroyed your plans to get out of going to school in the morning,” his father explained as he carried her out of their room.

There was a gasp of outrage and then, “You traitor!” as Mikey was carried downstairs.

“You know…” Jonathan said, drawing Sebastian’s attention as he shoved his blankets aside. “I always knew she’d have a mental breakdown. I just never thought it would be this soon.”

“I think she finally had a look at her new school uniform,” Sebastian said, chuckling as he grabbed his shoes and headed for the window.

He’d been wondering how long it would take before she finally had a look at the boxes the school sent last week. He’d been waiting for the moment that Mikey realized that she had to wear a skirt to school every day, but she’d simply shrugged it off, shoved the boxes in the corner of her bedroom, and went back to watching the game. He’d considered telling her, but…

He wanted to savor the moment.

“I wonder what she looks like in a dress,” Jonathan murmured, sounding thoughtful as Sebastian pulled on his shoes and since he’d been wondering the same thing, he didn’t say anything.

Mikey hated anything and everything that she considered “girly,” and she would definitely consider wearing a skirt girly. Although he was curious to see what she looked like in a dress, he honestly didn’t care what she wore. He-

“You should have kissed her,” Jonathan said, making Sebastian sigh as he searched for his new sweatshirt, only to remember that the little brat helped herself to it a few minutes ago. 

“It’s not like that,” Sebastian said as he stood there, debating trying to carry his iPad under his arm, but…

He didn’t want to risk dropping it.

Decision made, he walked over to their closet, grabbed the sweatshirt that was at least two sizes too small for him and…once again found himself sighing heavily when Jonathan said, “No, but you want it to be, right?”

“Leave it alone,” Sebastian said because he wasn’t having this conversation, especially knowing that it would only encourage his brother. Jonathan had enough to torment him with, he wasn’t about to admit just how badly he wished things were different with Mikey. 

“You should just kiss her,” Jonathan said as Sebastian gave up trying to pull on the sweatshirt that was too small for him and stole Jonathan’s sweatshirt instead.

“And you should just let it go,” Sebastian told him as he pulled on his brother’s sweatshirt and grabbed his iPad.

“I would, I really would, but then, how else would I torment you?” 

“By just being you?” Sebastian suggested, shoving the iPad in his pocket and once again found himself heading for the window.

“She likes you,” Jonathan said, sighing heavily as he turned over onto his stomach.

“Yeah, like a brother,” Sebastian muttered as he glanced out the window and watched their father make his way back from dropping Mikey off across the street.

“Then, you should move on and ask someone else out,” Jonathan suggested, and even though Sebastian knew that was probably the only way that he would be able to get over whatever this hold that Mikey had on him, he couldn’t.

He didn’t want anyone else.

He wanted Mikey, but the problem was, she didn’t want him.

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