Page 170 of Rebellious

“Don’t you? And yet you love Bailey.”

“It’s different for me,” Mort said after a moment. “Kendall…fuck, man.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “She tried to kill herself once. I want to jump into a fucking hole and never come out, but I won’t fuck my own self up.”

“I tried to change Kendall’s mind about leaving last night but couldn’t. I hope the child comes back.”

If Johnnie did what Diesel advised and didn’t fuck it up, Kendall would return and kick that motherfucker to the curb.

“I don’t think she should be out there on her own, Mortician.”

“Me, neither,” he admitted. “Even with her kids. She love them, but Johnnie, as fucked up as he is, always kept her going. Either so she could spite him or stand at his side.”

“When she first told me, I was so fucking happy and proud of her. She’s leaving now because of what happened between you and her.”

Mort winced. “When Kendall was pregnant with Rory and walked away after that motherfucker forced Meggie to plan their wedding, Johnnie fucked two strippers that same fucking night. It was as if he was waiting for an opportunity to be with another woman. She hadn’t been gone a half a fucking day before he went to the strip club.”

“That’s a shitty defense, motherfucker. She was still gone. Yeah, he could’ve waited an entire fucking day. A week. But the moment she walked out that fucking day, he became single.”

“Prez said I’m functionally single. So’s Kendall.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“That we’re both all but divorced anyway.”

Her outrage fell away and her despair returned. “Kendall still wasn’t sober when we found her under that fucking tree. How much had you drunk when she got here?”

“A lot. And smoked blunts.”

“Did you take her to your fucking bedroom?”

“What? No! That’s me and Bailey’s sacred space. Belonging to us.”

Anger crossed her face and she stood and slapped the shit out his cheek. “This entire fucking house is your sacred space. This is the house you had built for Bailey.” Huffing, she sat down again. “I’m so fucking angry with you.”

“Why is it all on me?” he growled, hurt and upset and just fucking tired. “Kendall share the fucking responsibility, too.”

She glared at him.

“Fuck, man, it’s true!” he grouched.

Her eyes narrowed. “Kendall isn’t married to that bitch I birthed, motherfucker.”

He wouldn’t press his luck, so he dropped the subject, still not appreciating his mama-in-law calling Bailey out of her name. Roxanne didn’t have her purse, so she probably wasn’t strapped, but there were more than enough knives in the kitchen to “cut a bitch”. “What do you want me to do, man?” he asked, resting his elbows on the table and cradling his head in his hands. “If I could undo it, I would. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t let her in.”

“Tell yourself that fucking lie, but if her or Meggie need you, you drop everything and go.”

“Bailey said the same thing,” Mortician said miserably.

“Bailey needed to shut the fuck up and count her blessings. Yeah, you were a solid presence in Meggie and Kendall’s lives, but you were Bailey’s foundation. If she wasn’t my daughter, I’d advise you to tell that bitch to kick rocks. I’d accept that I understand why you did what you did. And Kendall is too fucking fragile for me to confront her. Besides, it was your motherfucking dick. It was up to you to keep it to yourself.”

“Fuck, I fucked up. I was drunk and miserable. My heart still fucking broken. I want to do right by Bailey and divorce her. You’re telling me not to. So, fuck, hate me. Join Bailey’s club. I don’t give a fuck.”

“Bailey’s been withholding sex?”

He’d made love to Bailey several times on their doomed getaway. “I haven’t even been living at this motherfucker,” he said, dodging the question.

“That’s a fucking non-answer meant to evade what the fuck I asked you.”

“Yes, goddamn it. No. Yes. Kind of. Because of me. I didn’t want to touch her because I didn’t think bringing a baby into the world right now was the thing to do. Not when she hated CJ and refused to apologize to him or Meggie. Not when she didn’t understand her bullshit would’ve gotten me and Digger killed. No, fuck that. Not when she recently wanted me fucked up because she planned to have CJ and Ryan arrested for watching those fucking videos of Harley.”