Title: Affection Multiplier App: The Boyfriend
By: BreaktheBar
Chapter 264
I let Cattie pull me into the Singles Boat, but I scooped her up in my arms once we were inside and I stepped sideways over to the beat-up couch in the living area and sat down, hugging her to me.
“You OK?” I asked her.
She nodded and closed her eyes, raising her eyebrows to stop from crying. “I am, Tiger. Thank you.”
“You did so good, Cattie,” Cassidy said, going to her knees in front of the two of us and taking one of Cattie’s hands in hers. “You’re kind of my hero.”
Cattie smiled sadly and squeezed Cassidy’s hands, then turned and pecked me on the lips. “Thanks for believing in me,” she said. “But I’m not done yet.” She shifted, and I moved to help her stand up. “Just stay here, OK? And keep any of the others from coming to the back for a couple of minutes.”
“OK,” I promised.
Cattie closed her eyes again, taking in a deep breath, then let go of both mine and Cassidy’s hands and walked down towards the cabins.
“Sherry,” Cassidy murmured.
I didn’t have time to contemplate before there was noise coming from outside, and the sliding door opened. I had to stand and motion for the girls to be quiet, and soon Wanda and Zenya at the front of the group were turning and shushing the others behind them. Wanda whispered something outside, then stepped in and shut the door. She came over and hugged Cassidy and I.
“That must have been hard,” Wanda whispered to us.
“But worth it,” I said. “For her.”
“Totally,” Cassidy agreed.
Wanda hugged us harder, and I knew she was thinking of the conflict looming on the horizon for her and all the big questions she needed to answer. But now was a time to be there for Cattie, not to pivot to Wanda.
Cattie’s knock was loud and firm. “Sherry,” she called from down the hall. “Open it.”
Cassidy, Wanda and I all looked at each other and then shifted closer to the kitchen area, though we didn’t enter it. We wanted to listen, but not the press.
The sound of the cabin door opening was soft.
“Hey,” Sherry said. “Come in?”
“No,” Cattie said sternly, disgust in her voice. “After what you did in here?”
“Then why are you here?”
“I don’t want to know why,” Cattie said. “It doesn’t really matter. You broke my heart, Sherry. You did, not Heather. You stabbed me in the back.”
“It’s not like that,” Sherry said petulantly.
“No? It isn’t?” Cattie asked harshly. “Because you just fucked my girlfriend. Or let her fuck you. Whatever. You’re as bad as Dad.”
It was a little comment, but it was sharp and I immediately recognized it was a scalpel insult designed to cut deeply into both of their shared traumas.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Sherry demanded. “You’re going to say that to me after you acted like a complete slut and fucked that big asshole? You fucked him, Cattie. It doesn’t matter why you did it. If anyone is like Dad, it’s you. The first chance you got, you spread your legs for that dickhead. I was just trying to help Heather feel better about you being an absolute cunt.”
“You know that’s not how that happened, or why,” Cattie said. “But you’re just too- Ugh!” There was a moment of quiet. “I tried my best, kid. I really did. I tried to be the best sister I could be for you even with our messed up parents. I tried to help you grow up. But now you’re on your own. I can’t be there for you anymore after this, Sherry.”
“Fuck you,” Sherry said. “I never needed you for anything. You don’t want to be sisters? Fine. You chose those fucking whores to be your new ‘sisters’ already. A cheating cunt, a married slut, a know-it-all bitch? They all act like a guy with a vague amount of abs is new or something. Go be sisters with a bunch of open, saggy cunts then, Cattie. Go be in love with a guy who’s never going to pick you first.”
“I hope, when you finally get the wake-up call that’s coming to you, that it doesn’t hurt too much,” Cattie said.
The cabin door slammed, and Cattie came out from the hallway. This time the tears were streaming down her cheeks, and I wanted to pick her up and cuddle her to me and carry her back to our room but Cassidy and Wanda were there first, hugging her tightly.
“I’m so sorry,” Cattie sobbed into her hugs. “I’m sorry she said those things.”
Wanda and Cassidy were shushing her and both talking quickly, assuring her that they didn’t care and it was OK. Finally, I’d had enough of waiting and I slipped around them so I was behind Cattie and I pulled all three into a hug. Cattie turned in my grip and hugged me back, and once the girls gave me a little room I did pick her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist and clung to me, and I moved towards the sliding door.
Leia had been waiting outside and she opened it for me, rubbing Cattie’s arm reassuringly as we passed. I didn’t even get over to the other boat, however, before Becca was coming out of the opposite door. She took one look at us and frowned, then nodded up towards the top deck. I nodded and hopped the little gap between the porches, then set Cattie down at the stairs since they were too tight to carry her around. We went up, followed by Cassidy, Becca and Wanda.
“Sorry,” Becca said once we were all up the stairs. “I gave Heather a minute to cool down, then figured it was best to get logistics done ASAP. She’s going to move into the Singles Boat with Sherry. Zenya will move in with me, and Ami is going to take the empty bed over her. That should get you two some separation, but you should try and stay out of her way while she’s moving.”
“We can’t just kick them off the trip now?” Cassidy asked, a little frustrated.
“They paid for the trip,” Becca sighed. “Unless they get violent or break one of the rules, I can’t or they could sue me as the organizer.”
“It’s OK,” Cattie said, taking Becca’s hand and squeezing it. “I understand. Thank you for taking care of that.”
“Of course,” Becca said, pulling Cattie into a hard hug. “Anything for another of Robbie’s girls, hon.”
Wanda and Cassidy joined the little group hug, and I gave the girls a moment of commiseration until Cattie broke away and came back to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing her cheek to my chest. “Can we just sit?” she asked.
“Of course we can, Catherine,” I said.
“I’ll make sure Lunch is in the works again,” Becca said, then glanced at Wanda. “Come with me?”
Wanda nodded. “We’ll get you guys plates.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Soon it was just me, Cassidy and Cattie, and I ended up with both of them crammed onto my lap as I sat in a deck chair. Cattie cried, but not as much as I might have thought, while we just held her.
* * *