I sighed from my soul when I stopped in the doorway of my bedroom and watched my wife."Kat." She was moving around the room folding shit and putting it away. I know that look."Did you kill them?" She didn't look up at me."No.""This is all your fault Colton Lyon." Here we go. "How the fuck do you figure? Mengele, I'm not gonna tell you again." I saw her shadow move along the wall. With any luck that nut will do me in soon with one of her concoctions. Just then the three little ones came barreling into the room on their hands and knees making a racket. They'd just learned to crawl and my house was now hell central. I reached down and grabbed the first two and headed over to the bed with the third wrapped around my ankle chortling like a lunatic. "Where's Cody?""Caitlin has him in her room, don't change the subject." She folded the same shirt for the third or fourth time and I knew what kind of mood she was in. A houseful of kids meant I coul
Another year has gone by and I'm closer to being able to leave for college, fingers crossed. The school sent another letter and my teachers and even the principal is willing to fight for me this time. I'm not going to let the fear of what happened last time hinder me, I'm a year older now so of course he's going to let me go. He doesn't have any more excuses. My heart has been beating erratically ever since I got home because mom's going to talk to daddy soon. I'm dying to call Todd to share the big news, but I don't want to get his hopes up before everything has been squared away. Just thinking about him made the little tear in my heart open wider. It's been hell being without him this long after getting use to seeing him everyday. He'd become such a huge part of my life in the couple of years we had together before he moved away, that I still have a hard time doing the things we once shared by myself or with anyone else. Like having lunch together or
But then I got the news that my hard work had paid off and I could graduate early. I thought all my troubles were at an end. I could be with Todd again, and away from daddy's prying eyes and stern looks. But of course that was a short lived dream and my poor heart was thrown into turmoil once again when daddy said no way. Mom understood my pain. She'd come into my room and lay with me some nights, trying to get me to understand where daddy was coming from. I didn't get it and still don't truth be told, but it doesn't matter because there's no getting around Colton Lyon's dictates. What he says goes and there's no point in trying to get mom to side with me because that would only put her in the line of fire as well. When daddy refused to bend even for her I knew it was a lost cause. Daddy never denies mommy anything, so for him to stick to his guns like that said a lot. Sometimes I want to scream my head off and throw a wild hair-raising tantrum, but the thought
I stood in the doorway watching my eldest pat her baby brother's back while he slept and she read a book for a homework assignment. Even from the shadow of the doorway I could see the look of excitement on her face. I'd promised to talk to her dad about letting her graduate early again this year. We'd tried the year before and I have yet to get over my disappointment, so I can only imagine how she feels, but if he denies her again I'm not sure what's going to happen. I think sometimes Colton forgets that she's his kid, with just as much attitude as he has. I know she holds back a lot because of her love for him, but one of these days he's going to go too far and she's going to rebel. Serves him right, the dummy. Oh boy, no sense in me getting ahead of the game. Just please let things go well this time because I'm pretty sure that the little bit of me in her won't stand for that kind of disappointment again. I'd asked Jared for help; even my parents and
The fuck is she up to now? Sneaky fuck is about to zing my ass with something I'm sure. I know all her looks by now and the one she's wearing does not bode well for my ass. All through dinner she kept giving me looks, when she wasn't turning red as a cherry each time she looked at her nasty ass sons. I tried to remember what she had going on but couldn't come up with anything that would put that look on her face. I was just grateful that she'd let the Caitiebear thing drop for now, but I wasn't fooling myself that I'd heard the end of it. She's worse than Mengele's dog when she gets something between her teeth. I waited for the room to clear and it was just her and I at the table while her kids went off to the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher and clean up. They're pretty good at that shit, even the little one who usually gripes with her miserable ass before doing anything that doesn't involve her blowing up some shit. I tapped my fingers on the table
I made the rounds, making sure my kids were all where they were supposed to be, hit the lights, checked the alarms and headed up to her. I came up short in the bedroom when I didn't see her and not because of the low light setting she'd left on, she wasn't there. I heard the faint sound of music coming from the bathroom and mourned the fact that I wasn't going to get to peel her out of those hot as fuck shorts. I got over it fast though when I stepped into the bathroom and saw what she was up to. There was a nice scent coming from the mountain of bubbles in the tub, a nice slow jam was coming from the stereo, and my girl was moving around the room in a short silk robe lighting scented candles. She stopped and looked around and it took me a second to realize she was making sure the place was, as she wanted it. The fuck she want now? She turned and saw me and damn near jumped out of her skin. "Oh, you're here, I was just about to come get you." She walked
"Caitlin, do you know what it does to me when you cry and I'm not there to hold you?" I sniffled and tried to pull myself together. Acting like a baby is a sure way to lose him, but sometimes I can't help myself. Life is so unfair. "There's nothing in this world that should make you cry. You're beautiful, smart, and you're loved. I love you, your family loves you and I know you're well taken care of even if I'm not there and you know I'll be with you soon." I nodded at all his points and acknowledged that he was right because I wasn't willing to bring up my fears again for the one-hundredth time. See, right there, that way he looked at me right then, it's like the boy is disappearing more and more and this 'man' whom I've never met in the flesh has taken his place. He's still my Todd, we haven't missed a day talking to each other in all the time he's been gone. His attitude towards me hasn't changed any that I can tell, but I know my Todd. When I saw the pained
The rest of breakfast was quite uneventful and I barely had a second of privacy to ask mom if she'd asked dad about school before we were heading out the door for the bus that could be heard pulling onto the street. I saw the car with the security team waiting, as they are every morning to follow the bus. I've grown accustomed to seeing them there and no longer question their presence since daddy had never given an explanation for them being here. I'd say it has something to do with what happened to Catalina a few months ago, but they were around long before that. In the beginning they were usually just around the house and wherever mom took us on her own, but these days they're everywhere. I ignored them and my peers on the bus because my mind was too preoccupied with my own problems. If mom still hadn't talked daddy into letting me go I'm gonna have to come up with something. I only have a few days before I have to send in my acceptance and I'm tempted to go a