"I – " Audrey stepped forward, her arms stuck to her sides. She bowed.
Matthew cringed.
"I apologize if my behavior reflected badly on my father," she enunciated.
"...hm," was all the older man said. A short, blunt thing that made Matthew want to smirk.
"And Mr. Robinson," she said, standing up straight, "I apologize to you, as well."
Mr. Yang turned, eyeing his nanny with curious eyes. "I do say, this is not how I assumed this interaction would go."
Matthew stepped out from under the covered loggia towards Audrey. He stayed planted on the fieldstone steps, his house slippers slapping on the rocks beneath him.
She stared down at him, trying desperately to maintain her composure.
"Why?"
She blinked. "Why what?"
"Why are you sorry?"
Audrey sighed, shifting her weight as she stepped backwards. "Matt – "
"You're not forgiven, for several reasons. You ruined any chance of my having an education career. You made those years of studying and working for nothing, and you have the audacity to waltz up here, with a job you didn't earn, and ask for my forgiveness, thinking what?"
Audrey clenched her jaw. She leaned forward. "Matt, I know – "
Matthew's gray eyes moved to Mr. Culpepper. "I do not accept her apology, sir."
Mr. Culpepper took in a breath. "Mr. Robinson, stop being such a child – "
"Someone who has no logical reason to accept an apology, and refuses to do so, is a child, sir," he clarified, in a tone he wanted the round man to despise. "Your daughter, over one summer, ruined every prospect I could've ever had." He turned his eyes back to Audrey.
Her blue eyes stayed down. She trembled.
"I mean no disrespect when I say this, but I sincerely hope I never have to talk to you again, Ms. Culpepper." Matthew then clasped his hands together. "No, would you like some water before heading off?"
Mr. Culpepper dipped his eyes before closing them in a forced smile. "Thank you for the offer, Mr. Robinson, but I'm afraid we must take our leave."
"Hm," cooed Mr. Yang, who turned on his heels and proceeded back into the house. He said nothing.
Matthew forced a slight smile and nodded. "Thank you for coming today. I'm sorry it didn't work out the way you had hoped."
The round man continued his smirk and turned, heading back to his black car parked just across the way.
Audrey watched him move back for a moment, glanced to Matthew, and trotted after her father.
Matthew slammed the front door closed with his foot. He wiped his slippers on the mat, traded them for some clean ones, and turned towards the ramp upstairs.
"I'm surprised, Mr. Robinson," the older man called from his office.
He poked his head in.
"I would've expected you to accept Ms. Culpepper's apology."
Forcing a smile, his lips parted in a snarled grin, Matthew hissed through his teeth, "Just because she apologized doesn't mean she's forgiven for doing irreparable damage and not fixing it."
Mr. Yang nodded his head. "I suppose that's forgivable. You don't plan on teaching the children this, do you?"
"You're already too late," he told him. "If I gave Lilly permission to be mad at me for swearing, then it's a field day for both of them."
He grimaced. "Mr. Robinson, I do not want my children – "
The sound of metal groaning pierced through his words.
Mr. Yang stood. He buttoned his jacket, simultaneously smoothing it out, and swung into the hallway.
Matthew pushed after him, heading for the ramp upstairs before he saw it.
Lloyd's blue form, slightly dented and crumpled on one side, windows splintered into glassy spiderwebs. A back car rolled backward. Someone screamed.
"Fuck," Matthew whispered, throwing open the loggia doors to the carport. Someone spoke behind him, yet he didn't hear, for the rage and fear of seeing his beloved little car sitting like it had survived a monster truck rally broke his heart.
The black car rolled, stalking backwards for another pound or an escape. Its angled headlights seemingly glaring at the gentle curves of the little Volkswagen, it shot forward.
Matthew screamed. His feet moved.
Someone shouted.
The black car rolled drunkedly from side to side, its trajectory ever forward.
Matthew recalled the sound of the gravel beneath his feet moving, and glass shattering around him.
Then nothing.
YOU ARE READING
It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins
General Fiction[A Slice-Of-Life LGBTQ+ Story about Found Family] Matthew Robinson's career as a teacher seemed to have stalled, yet when the winds in the East suddenly lands him in the employ as a nanny, Matthew realizes he's probably signed up for more than he ba...
