Page 68 of Cruel King
I walk out through the kitchen door grumbling about how much I can’t stand Matthias King and how my world would be better if his father had never forced this executor job on me. I still have no idea why he would have thought I’d be the perfect person to help his son with anything, never mind the distribution of his money and carrying out his final wishes. And why would he have decided I was the right one for this job when I wasn’t even living here that winter when he made the change to his will?
Resigned to the fact that I’ll probably never know, I trudge across the lawn looking left and right to see if he’s anywhere nearby. It’s a beautiful, sunny day, thankfully, so at least I don’t have to search for him as rain drenches me to the bone.
Mick the new groundskeeper looks up from a flower bed he’s planting with beautiful white and pink flowers, the same ones the Kings always have every year because they were Mrs. King’s favorites. “Hi, Ava. Out for a walk on this gorgeous spring day?”
A man in his late forties, I’m guessing, Mick never fails to talk about the weather whenever he sees me. I figure it’s an occupational hazard since so much of his job depends on what it’s doing outside on any particular day. He’s a pleasant soul, so I always make sure to say hi to him whenever we run into one another.
“Hi, Mick! I’m supposed to be in a meeting, but the third member of our trio is AWOL.”
The groundskeeper gives me a blank stare, clearly not understanding what I’m talking about, so I quickly add, “You haven’t seen Matthias this morning, have you?”
That makes his smile return, and he turns to point toward the back of the house. “I saw him walk back there about an hour ago.”
Thank God someone noticed where he went since he didn’t bother to tell a damn soul his plans. “You’re a lifesaver, Mick. Have a good one!”
I trot off toward where he pointed, and as I turn the corner of the house, I see Matthias sitting under a tree in the distance. How nice for him that he’s decided to lounge around enjoying nature while Lucas and I get to sit waiting for him inside on this gorgeous day.
As I get closer, I see he’s not simply sitting under the tree but has his sketchbook with him. He appears engrossed in whatever he’s drawing, and as much as I wish I didn’t have to interrupt him since I know he loves doing this, I can’t forget that the attorney and I have been left to do the job Matthias is supposed to do with us.
“Did you forget our meeting?” I ask as I stop a few feet away from him.
He sits in a pair of black shorts and dark red Cornell T-shirt, and I’m surprised to see he doesn’t have shoes on. Matthias isn’t a barefoot kind of guy. He’s never been that.
Did he just roll out of bed and walk out here to sketch some trees?
“Matthias, did you hear me?”
He ignores me for the second time, not even looking up when I ask that question or the previous one. Has he had some kind of psychotic break? He looks like he belongs back on his old college campus and he’s not even taking the opportunity to be mean to me.
Something is definitely wrong with him.
I watch him continue to draw something in the landscape around us for a few moments before I again attempt to get his attention. “Matthias, can you hear me? We’re waiting for you to have our meeting. You know, the meeting we need to have in order to start handling your father’s affairs the way he wanted?”
Still nothing.
Checking to make sure he doesn’t have earbuds in and actually can’t hear me, I see nothing to indicate why he’s acting utterly oblivious to my standing right in front of him. “Why are you acting like this?”
He doesn’t answer immediately, instead closing his sketchbook and then standing to finally face me. Like always, he looks down at me with such hatred in his eyes that I feel like I want to turn away.
“What do you need me for? You and the lawyer can handle everything. That’s how it was supposed to be, except I was supposed to be the one dealing with what my father wanted.”
Looking up into those dark eyes so full of loathing for me, I try not to let myself feel bad for what he’s going through. “I didn’t ask for this job. I hate it almost as much as you seem to hate me.”
He looks around like he’s searching for something and then returns his attention to me, glaring like always. “Where is your new boyfriend? He always seems to be nearby, so I’m surprised he isn’t trailing right behind you like a puppy.”
“Why would you say something like that about Theo? You two have always been close. Do you hate him now too?”
He doesn’t bother to answer, walking away like I don’t even deserve another word. I follow him, running to catch up to him as he marches away with long strides toward the house.
“So you don’t hate him? Just me? Why? I thought after—”
He cuts me off, spinning around and stepping so close to me that his lips are practically kissing mine when he leans down to get into my face. Oddly enough, his dark eyes don’t look utterly full of hate for once.
“After what, Ava? After we spent a couple days fucking? Why would that mean anything to me?”
His words are cruel, but his voice hitches when he says the word anything. Why does he seem so emotional about this if it meant nothing to him?
I have to wonder if the person he was back then even exists now. I stare up into his eyes wishing I’d see some hint of that Matthias, and for a moment as we look at each other, I think I see something in them that says he’s in there.