Welcome to the Family

When we got out of the car, both of them were already standing next to the driver’s side. “Matthew Sanders, you are under arrest for the battery of Valary Sanders. Since she is your wife, we ought to consider it domestic violence.” I was gobsmacked. That bitch really had the nerve to press charges? My mouth dropped open as they put Matt in handcuffs and read him his rights. Of course he offered no resistance.

“Excuse me, officers, I am a witness. The only witness, if I recall it correctly,” I interrupted them. “And you are?” one of them asked. “Victoria Harper,” I said hopefully. “Never heard of. Mrs. Sanders never mentioned any witnesses.” Bitch.
“She was there,” Matt declared. The police officers nodded and one of them took a note. “Can you take me with you, so I can testify?” I asked. “Sorry Mam, we can’t give you a ride while we got a suspect in the back of the vehicle unless you’re related.”

Before I could say anything, Matt stated, “She’s my girlfriend.” WAIT WHAT? His words danced around in my head. Girlfriend? Me? Matt’s girlfriend? Why would he say that? Why on earth did he lie to the police officers now? They won't believe a word he says if they know... “Mister, I meant related by blood or marriage. We’re sorry, but we can’t take your girlfriend.” He spat the last word out.

“Matt, don’t say anything. I’m bringing my mom, she’s a defense attorney. He nodded resignedly. “We gotta go. You two lovebirds say your goodbyes,” one of them ordered. How was I supposed to say goodbye? He told them we were dating, I thought, I'm not going to ruin his credibility right now. Matt seemed to feel the same confusion.

As one of the police officers already started to give us a questioning look, I quickly wrapped my arms around him and said “bye baby, see you soon” loudly. He leaned down and gently pecked my lips. Before I even knew what he did, it was over already, but my guts twisted anyway and I started smiling like an idiot, although the situation wasn’t really funny.
I quickly returned to the porch where Johnny and I watched in disbelief as the officers put Matt in the car and drove off.


“Calm down, Mom… No, I’m not dating Matt… No, I don’t know why he said it… Mom!” We’d been on the phone for almost ten minutes now and I hadn’t been able to really tell her what I needed to tell her yet, simply, because she’d shot me a thousand questions per sentence up until now.

“Mom, we need to go to the Huntington Beach police department. I’m picking you up in Lakewood in about an hour, okay?” I screamed into the phone, then hurriedly ended the call and rushed to the car. About two hours and one speeding ticket – thankfully on the way to my mom, not with my mom – later, we pulled up in the parking lot of the police station. In the car, I had expained her the whole situation. I had only left out that one tiny detail that I did like him that way.

“Matt Sanders’ girlfriend and her mother. I’m his defense attorney,” Mom stated coldly instead of greeting the officers. I stared at her admiringly. There she was, the loveliest mother someone could wish for but also one of the best defense lawyers in the whole state of California. I eyed her closely.
She’d always worn her dark brown hair in a middle length with bangs. Also, she didn’t look like 55 at all. Her skin was barely wrinkled and the way she dressed made her seem younger, too. That day, for instance, she was wearing a red blazer with a fancy flowered blouse and a red skirt. She appeared so calm and soothing.

If there was anything she taught me about law it was that if you lied to a police officer once, he wouldn’t believe your whole story. That was basically why I was supposed to keep pretending to be Matt’s worried girlfriend. Also, my Mom had said on the ride here, Valary hurting me and then threatening me as Matt’s girlfriend was a more legitimate reason why Matt had attacked her, and he was most likely to win acquittal that way.

She’d explained to me that there most definitely was going to be a trial and that she’d tell Matt to keep pretending to be my boyfriend when talking to him. “Mrs. Harper, you may now talk to the suspect,” a young uniformed guy, probably around eighteen, informed my mother. He turned toward me. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” I smiled and agreed.

In that moment, Brian entered through the door. “BRIAN!” I screamed, then ran to hug him. I really needed that now, I thought as I buried my face in his chest, smelling his cologne. He patted my head. “Hey, don’t worry, it’s going to be fine,” he murmured absentmindedly and let his fingers run through my hair. “Listen, if they ask you, I’m Matt’s girlfriend. I’ll explain everything later,” I whispered. Only then did I let go of him. He smirked, but still wore a questioning expression on his face.

Brian and I just sat there and talked for an hour before my mother and Matt finally returned. He looked at me sheepishly. I was feeling so embarrassed, too. I mean, I had to pretend to be his girlfriend while hoping not to catch feelings for him or at least that they didn’t increase. And of course, another major goal was not letting him know about my little crush on him either. Wow. I was in a wicked situation that could as well be imagined by some bored 18-year-old fangirl publishing her story on some kind of fanfiction site on the internet.

“Mattybear,” I screamed in delight and ran toward him with a broad smile. “Babydoll,” he replied, also grinning broadly. I jumped into his opened arms and he hugged me tightly. He then kissed my forehead. “Aw come on Shadows, give your honey pie a proper kiss,” Brian mocked. That ass clown really thought it was funny! Matt looked irritated, then threw him a dark glare. “He’s right, Big Guy,” I saved him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Thanks,” he mouthed before gently pressing his lips on mine, making me shiver. I laid my hands on his chest, ready to pull away instantly, but Brian screamed, “I wanna see the real thing, come on guuuuuuys!” He then started to hum the wedding waltz and although my eyes were closed I pictured him playing air guitar and grinning like an idiot. Matt hesitatingly started moving his lips on mine and I let escape a quiet moan, but then pulled away anyway. I made sure no-one was looking and then shot Brian a death glare. That guy was such an idiot. A lovely one, though.

My mom explained that there was going to be a trial in about a month or later where both Matt and Valary would be defendants. Brian paid the bail and made Matt promise he would love him forever. Outside, my mom advised Matt and me yet again to keep up the relationship until then. If we “broke up” before the trial started, there would surely be questions as to why it didn’t work out and no matter what it would make Matt appear even worse.

The three of us drove home in our two separate cars, Matt riding with me, and my mom took a cab back to Lakewood. She promised to come over sometime during the coming week

.
“Totally worth it!” Brian screamed as Matt chased him around the house with a pillow, playing angry and threatening to smother his guitarist. “Guys, the hell happened?” Zacky asked, seeming curious. “Vicca and Matt are dating!” Brian grinned, still breathing heavily from running away from Matt.

“What?” Zacky’s eyeballs almost fell out of his head. “Not really dating,” I explained, “We’re just in a very stupid situation…” In that moment, Johnny and Mike, who was visiting, came out of the kitchen, too. After I’d explained everything, the guys were almost rolling on the floor laughing. Sure, there wasn’t much to fear for Matt anyway.

He was very likely to win acquittal or pay a fine, considering he’d only protected me and that there was a witness. At about 9, there was a knock on my door. It was Larry. He brought me my contract and I didn’t have to think for one second before putting my name under it in large, elegantly curved letters.

To celebrate that I was officially joining the A-Team as they liked to call it, the guys wanted to play me a song. It was most likely even going to be on their new album, Nightmare. They started playing and Matt sang “Welcome to the Family” in his incredibly sexy voice, and for the first time since the beginning of my stay I really felt at home.

Notes

hey guys, here's a quick update.

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