matilda / j.avery

seventeen - mother

Catherine's jaw drops and she goes to respond as the door opens. "Hey! Sorry I'm la- mom!" Jackson drops his bag in shock.

"Hi my baby!" She stands and hugs him as he stares over her shoulder at his girlfriend with confused wide eyes.

"What are you doing here? Not that it isn't nice to see you." He quickly defends.

"Can't I come see my boy?" She asks as she brushes fluff off his shoulder.

"It's almost 9." He reasons and looks at Mae. "How you doing?"

"All good." She smiles in a half force half sarcastic way.

This just seems to irk Catherine a little more. "Can we talk? You and I, alone." She emphasised 'alone' very unsubtly.

Jackson goes to protest but Mae leaps up. "I'm gonna shower." She kisses his cheek and rushes to the shower. She turns it on and sits on the toilet lid as she texts Teddy and MJ.

'SOS, CFox 🦊 hates me' - M
'HAHAHAHAHAHA' - MJ
'Doesnt CFox hate everyone?' - T
'True... but I realllllly poked the wasp nest' - M
'Good, she deserves to be pissed the bitch' - MJ
'She does own the hospital, maybe don't call her than when she probably hacks our messages' - T
'HOLY FUCK YOU THINK SHE DOES THAT!? I BET SHE TOTALLY DOES!' - M

Mae puts her phone down and climbs in the shower, relaxing in the heat of the water. She washes her hair and just about manages to wash her body before the tiredness really sets in. She slips her joggers and a tee on before making her way to the bedroom, Jackson and Catherine's voices still floating down from the living room.

Mae goes to reply to the girls when she sees an unsaved number has messaged her. She frowns and clicks on it, her heart falling through her ass as she does.

'Tilly, its dad. We're having a family bbq August 6th, heard you're back in the country and figured I'd be the grown up and message. Thanks for letting us know by the way, Pete said you're in seattle'

Mae takes a slow deep breath and exhales, shoving her phone under her pillow instead. There are many MANY MANY MANY many reasons why she doesn't talk to her family. She has a dad, step mom who came around when she was 6 (literally months after her mom died) and 3 brothers. She's got a step sister and step brother, too, as well as 3 half siblings - possibly more since she really stopped paying attention. She was the baby of her family for a while. They never left her live it down, always taunted and teased her for it. More so than the average family.

And the cherry on it all was they liked Peter. They only met him once but he was the star of the show to them. Little Matilda had actually done a thing right for once and now she fucked that up. She can't bring herself to travel home just so they can use her as the jester.

"Hey baby."

She jumps and inhales sharply in surprise as Jackson makes the bed dip. "Holy fuck." She sets a hand on her heart and elbows him as he laughs. "Not funny."

"Tiny bit." He reasons and climbs under the covers with her. She cuddles into him. "You were like in another universe just then, you okay? Wasn't my mom was it?"

"I can handle your mom." She tuts. "No. Unfortunately this is my family being a pain in the ass now."

"Oh?" His brows shoot up. She doesn't talk about her family. Ever. Never ever. And he's never pushed because why does he need to know? If she doesn't wish to share he won't push.

She sighs and plays with his fingers. "My dad messaged me. I don't know how he got my number but he has it now. And Peter told him in back so he sent a really shitty invite to the family bbq they hold every year."

"Damn. Why do they talk to Peter?" He frowns.

"Coz they like him more than they like me."

He only frowns more. "That's..."

"Fucked. I know. I... I think it's time I tell you about them."

"Only if you're ready." He reasons as he plays with her hair.

Mae sighs and sinks down to lay her head in his lap looking up at him. "So I have 3 brothers that are fully mine. One is almost 10 years older, one is 8 years older and the other is 4 years older. I was the baby of the family and the only girl. I was mom's favourite - easily." She smiles a little and he smiles back encouragingly.

"I always had the happiest memories of my mom. She would do my hair, paint my nails, tell me stories. When I was about 5, that's when they turn a little... nasty. Mom had an accident and-and got painkillers. That started her quick spiral into addiction. And the once loving mom I had turned nasty." She takes a shaky breath and closes her eyes, pausing.

"It's okay." Jackson whisper and massages her head gently with his left hand as his right is gripped by both of hers.

She smiles small. "Just after I turned 6, it reached the apex of nasty. My mom was arrested and while on bail, she was stabbed to death. On our doorstep. No one stopped me seeing it and no one comforted me after. Once the funeral was done, there became this taboo in the house - her. I no longer had my hair done nice or clothes that fit right. I was the after thought, the family joke. They all laughed one dinner time because I bit my cheek and cried. 'Man the fuck up Matilda!' That's when the name started."

"I don't understand where it came from." Jackson reasons.

Mae smiles a little as she looks up at him. "I was smart. Hella smart. And they weren't. I was bringing home As and Bs, they couldn't even say ABC. The highest grade one of them got was a D. If it didn't involve sport, it wasn't worth it. Any good grade only came to enable the sport to happen. I was smart, witty and dad always cut my hair short so he didn't have to deal with it. And I was hopelessly optimistic. To them, that made me Matilda.

"I never got to do prom or formals. I had to do at least one sports club to please my dad and 'live up to the Wigan legacy!' as dad out it." She rolls her eyes. "When I joined the army, I was hounded for being in the boys club. Basically said I couldn't live up to them so I had to be better than them."

"But you joined the army to help people, no?"

"I did. And to get away - a small part, but important part. And in all honesty, yes I did want to be better than them. I wanted to go further than they could. What's greater than being a soldier? Fighting a war and shooting guns and blowing shit up. I've flown a freaking helicopter." She giggles at the memory and sighs happily. "Your mom... she kind of threatened the mom card over me. I don't know why, it's not the worst childhood ever to have occurred. Lots of people are addicts. But maybe she thinks I'll be one. Drag you down." Sge shrugs small.

"How does my mom know...?" He frowns deeply.

"No idea. I don't care. I'm sorry I dampened the mood. People have shitty childhoods."

Jackson leans down and kisses her, brushing her hair back gently. "Never apologise. Trauma comes in all shapes and sizes." He says gently. "Thank you for telling me."

She smiles a little as she looks into his blue eyes. "S'okay. My brother Ty sort of got an idea what it was like, Karma perhaps. He came out to them a few years ago and has become the ridicule lately. I feel so bad for him, there's nothing wrong with being gay and I'm so happy for him but he was often the relentless one. He apologised to me so profusely after but I told him it was too late."

"No I get that." Jackson smiles gently. "I love you even more for your honesty."

"You fucking dweeb."

"Wow okay, get out." He laughs and shoves her off as she laughs too.