The Madonna, The Virgin, and The Whore

Chapter Eleven

ERIN

As soon as we got home I threw on some spandex running shorts, my light blue sports bra, and grabbed my sneakers, before tearing out the door. It was too much. Everything had gotten to be too much-- dealing with the lawyers today, making preparations for the funeral tomorrow, and then Mary dropping that bombshell about Matt.

I shook my head while starting down the overgrown path in our backyard that led to the beach. I still couldn't believe it. Matt had been in Mary's life since I was thirteen years old. He was practically part of the family, although a dysfunctional one. I turned up the volume on my iPod right when my sneakers hit the sand, and picked up the pace.

With stride through the sand, I thought about a different memory involving Matt, like the night he picked Mary up for their first formal dance and brought her one single lily, or the time he surprised all of us with a real tree one Christmas and spent half the night cursing as he tried to work it into the stand. And then there was the time he picked me up from my track meet because Mary was sick with the flu and took me out for ice cream to celebrate my 1st place win. Matt had become like a big brother to me over the years, making the news of his betrayal all the more shocking.

What was even more shocking was Mary's reaction. I would've expected her to be a mess, her whole life was essentially tangled up in Matt's, but she wasn't. Christ, she didn't even tell us about it right away.

"I didn't know they made lawyers like that," Lexi commented appreciatively as we all climbed back into dad's car. Mary was driving and I was sitting next to her up front, with Lexi in the back, just like always. The whole car smelled like dad and it was almost painful being inside it.

"You went to high school with that guy?" I asked Mary as I buckled myself in. She started the car and pulled out of the lot, nodding but not adding anything else.

"Did he have a crush on you or something?" Lexi teased, leaning forward and wedging her body between our seats. "He really looked like he had a crush on you back in the day."

Mary shook her head and a small 'v' appeared between her brows. "He didn't have a crush on me, now put your seatbelt on," she grumbled, making a right turn. "We barely even knew each other back then."

"Too bad," Lexi said, dropping back against the seat and buckling herself in, "because that was one good looking guy."

I whipped around and faced her. "Ugh Lexi! Mary's engaged!"

"So?" she bit back. "She's engaged Erin, not dead! She can appreciate a good looking man when she sees one!"

"Really? And would you say that if Matt were sitting here?"

Lexi smirked and nodded. "Yep, but he's not, so talking about other men is fair game."

"Where is he anyway?" I asked Mary. "I thought he'd be here for the meeting with the lawyers."

"He's not coming," Mary replied, sliding her dark sunglasses down over her eyes and concentrating on the road.

"What do you mean not coming? Like today? Or at all?" Lexi questioned.

"Did he have to go back?" I asked, even though I couldn't in any way see how the team could need him more than Mary did right then, but it was obvious that something was going on and I needed to tread lightly. Lexi, of course, didn't approach things in the same tactful way.

"That's bullshit! He wouldn't have just left! What happened? Did you guys have a fight or something?"

It was a weird question. Matt and Mary didn't fight, like ever. Lexi knew that as well as I did.