Bad Boy (Invertary 5)

He’d used the same tone each time Flynn had screwed up as a kid. It set off all sorts of alarm bells in Flynn’s head. He suddenly worried he wasn’t just an attendee at the meeting, but the subject of it.

Jena looked up from her phone and spoke to Matt. “That was Abby. She’s running late and isn’t sure when she’ll get here.”

“Should we wait for her?” Matt frowned and Jena shook her head.

“Why does Abby need to be at a family meeting?” Flynn asked.

“Because, dirt-for-brains,” Matt said, “this involves her too.”

Yeah, Flynn was right. This wasn’t a run-of-the-mill family get-together. He was about to get roasted. His dad confirmed his suspicion when he looked right at Flynn and said, “Let’s get this over with.”

As if everyone knew something Flynn didn’t, all eyes turned to Matt, who sat beside Flynn. Matt glared at Flynn as he spoke.

“Abby’s sister is here to assess whether or not she’s a fit mother. She’s got one week to prove Katy lives in a good environment. A stable, quiet and civilised environment.”

Right, now Flynn knew why he was there. He was obviously the unstable, noisy and uncivilised element that needed to be fixed. Excellent. And all of this without a cup of coffee. He opened his mouth to tell them he already knew about Abby’s problem and was working on it, when Matt’s glare dared him to speak. Guess he wasn’t allowed to talk. Fine. He folded his arms and waited for the rest of it.

“If,” Matt continued, “at the end of the week, her sister decides Abby isn’t a fit mother, or the living environment isn’t healthy, the family is going to bring legal action and try to take Katy away from Abby.”

Everyone in the room stared at Flynn. The air of disapproval was palpable. He stared back. They wanted him silent. They were bloody well going to get silent. There were groans of frustration.

“You’re the reason her family is here, dirt-for-brains,” Matt said. “They saw Abby losing her mind on the ten o’clock news. They think living next to you is going to warp the kid. You need to clean up your act and behave like a civilised person.”

Aye, Flynn was done being quiet. “Look who’s talking. You wouldn’t recognise civilised if it bit you on the backside. Don’t forget, I was by your side for most of your delinquent behaviour. I know exactly how uncivilised you can be. You might want to shove the superior attitude before you say anything else.” Flynn sure as hell wasn’t going to share about his intent to help Abby now.

“This isn’t about Matt,” his dad said. “It’s about you.”

“We’ve had enough, son,” his mum said. “We’re worried about you. And now we’re worried about Abby and Katy.”

“It’s time to grow up,” Matt said, making Flynn’s fists clench with the need to pummel him. “We’re sick of cleaning up after you and dealing with the fallout from your life. People are really beginning to suffer, and it’s pissing us all off that you don’t seem to give a flying fart about the damage you cause. This situation with Abby and her daughter is serious, and you influence the outcome of it. We’re all worried about it. We’re not sure you won’t blow it for her. You’re a mess. You’re out of control and it’s time that changed. It’s time you changed. We’re here today to make sure you get the message.”

Flynn stared at his cousin’s angry face. “Seriously?” To hell with coffee. There wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to deal with this. “You’ve staged an intervention? For me?”

“Call it what you like.” Matt crossed his arms. “We’ve all had enough of you. You’ve been back home two month

s and you’re driving everyone insane. Especially Abby. It’s time you quit behaving like a teenager.”

“My behaviour isn’t any of your business. I don’t go around telling you how to live.”

Matt let out a cold bark of laughter. “You don’t have the right to tell anyone how to live.”

Flynn clenched a fist. It’d been a good few years since he’d gone head to head with his older cousin. Maybe it was time to rectify that.

“Your behaviour affects everyone around you,” his mum said. Her pixie-shaped face, which had very few lines considering her age, radiated distress. “You might think it’s only about you, but it isn’t. I thought I taught you better than this. I thought I raised you to understand that your actions have consequences, for you and for those around you. I don’t know where I went wrong.”

Great. Mother guilt. Just what he needed. The woman had been taking lessons from Aunty Heather. Again. He cast a glance at Heather and watched as she nodded her approval at his mum. Yeah, they’d definitely teamed up.

“We had the tabloids camped on our doorstep for days when the paternity story broke,” his dad said. “Your mum couldn’t even go to the local shop without getting harassed about your love child.”

“I didn’t father that woman’s kid. The claim was bogus.” Great. Now he was being blamed for things outside his control.

“That’s not the point,” Harry chimed in. “The point is there wouldn’t have been any paternity case if you weren’t living like Hugh freaking Hefner.”

Flynn rolled his eyes. Hef wished he could live like Flynn. There was no comparison.

“People keep calling me.” Matt scowled. “Every time you get into trouble, they want my reaction. As though your cop cousin would step in and sort it out. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. You know, life isn’t all about you. You aren’t the only one in town the paparazzi find fascinating. Josh, Kirsty and Harry here are trying to live quietly. You’re screwing it up for them.”

This little attack on his character was getting out of hand pretty damn fast. “You want me to leave town?”