World Domination: Bradford Style

An R.L. Mathewson Newsletter

Inspired by the Characters from Finally: A Neighbor from Hell

“You have to let this go,” Charlie muttered weakly against her pillow while Devin continued pacing their bedroom floor, still trying to wrap his head around how this happened.

He just…

God, he didn’t know where to start.

Last year, when he found out that his six-year-old son had not only come up with plans for world domination but had also decided that he needed to be placed in a mansion to keep him “out of the way,” he’d been understandably pissed and beyond fucking insulted, but now…

“I would have been an invaluable resource to have,” Devin bit out, angrily pacing the room as he glared straight ahead only to pause in his justified anger to lean down and press baby kisses against his baby boy’s forehead as he sleepily finished off his bottle.

“Which is why Dustin put you in a mansion out of harm’s way,” Charlie pointed out with a heartfelt sigh as she rolled over onto her side.

“He only put you in charge of communications because he’s a mama’s boy,” Devin muttered, not really caring that he was pouting. He’d raised his son for six years on his own, gave him extra kisses at bedtime, made sure to use extra bubbles during bathtime and this was how he repaid him?

“Is that what you tell yourself at night so that you can sleep?” Charlie asked around a yawn, earning a glare.

“Yes!” Devin hissed, wondering why his wife, the same woman who was supposed to love and adore him, wasn’t outraged on his behalf.

“He put Izzy in charge of snack time,” Devin said, beyond fucking outraged that Dustin entrusted his baby sister with snacks when he wasn’t allowed to do anything more than sit on his ass and twiddle his thumbs under his son’s rule.

“He felt that was too much for you,” his wife said with a pitying look that he really didn’t appreciate at the moment.

“I would have picked out amazing snacks,” Devin bit out, pressing baby kisses to their baby boy’s forehead.

“He felt otherwise,” Charlie murmured absently as her lips pulled up into a warm smile as the little boy, who clearly didn’t know a valuable fucking resource when he saw it, walked past him carrying a notebook and a box of crayons. Devin narrowed his eyes as he watched his little boy climb onto the bed and settle back against the pillows before he opened his notebook and set to work with a satisfied sigh.

“I’m gonna draw pictures for the babies,” Dustin announced in that adorable way of his, making Devin grumble to himself as he kissed Andrew’s tiny little forehead one last time before he carried him back to the crib they’d set up in their room and put him down next to his brother.

After checking on Tyler, he shifted his attention to Izzy, the best surprise of his life and felt his lips pull up into a smile. When they found out that they were having twin boys, he was excited, but he had to admit that he’d been hoping for one more of each, another little girl to wrap him around her little finger and another little boy to drive him crazy.

And then, his incredibly beautiful wife went into labor on Easter and took them all by surprise by giving him another precious baby girl…

“Is Daddy still pouting?” Dustin asked, drawing his attention to find his son coloring and-

“Charlie?” Devin said, trying not to panic, but it was a quickly fucking losing battle when his son winked at him!

“Hmmm?” Charlie murmured sleepily while Devin stood there, watching as his son’s devious smile suddenly morphed into that damn sweet smile that was solely reserved for his mother.

“Do you like my teddy bear, Mommy?” Dustin asked Charlie as he kept his gaze locked on him.

“I love it,” Charlie murmured sleepily as she obediently opened her eyes just enough to take a look at Dustin’s drawing before she closed them again with a sleepy little murmur, leaving Devin standing there wondering if he was losing his fucking mind.

“I can draw something for you too, Mommy,” Dustin drawled, keeping that deeply fucking disturbing gaze locked on him. “What about a mansion…maybe one on an island?” his son suggested with a taunting smile that had Devin’s jaw grinding as he glared at his son.

“I would have made an invaluable asset!”

An Excerpt from Playtime’s Over

“I’m an asshole,” Garrett said, slowly exhaling as he followed her.

“You said that already,” Kristen pointed out as she took her time making her way down the hallway, running her fingertips along the warped wainscotting lining the hallway wall.

“I felt that it needed to be repeated,” he said, watching as she paused by the hallway closet.

“What else?” Kristen asked as she opened the closet door and peeked inside.

“I’m still working on it,” Garrett said, slowly exhaling while he stood there, wracking his brain for something, anything, that would fix this.

“I have a few suggestions,” Kristen murmured absently as she tilted her head to the side to get a better look at the shelf above her head.

“I’m listening,” Garrett said, watching as she reached up and gently pushed against the shelf only to grumble when nothing happened.

“You could always explain why you decided to destroy more than fifteen years of friendship over a simple misunderstanding?” Kristen said, sighing heavily as she dropped her hand and stepped away, closing the door before she made her way down the small hallway and stepped into the gutted kitchen and moved past the folding table covered in takeout boxes that he’d borrowed from his cousin Reed.

“Did I mention that I was an asshole?” Garrett asked, swallowing hard as he watched her make her way to the backdoor and-

“I figured that out six years ago when you told me to go to hell.”