Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 89535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“Asher!” A blonde teen girl storms into the kitchen. “Rhys has been in my room, again. He went on my laptop. You told me he’d stop. You told me he’d be grounded if he did it again.” She’s practically shaking with anger, and a moment later, a boy around the same age walks in and leans casually against the doorframe.
“Zoe has a boyfriend.”
“Fuck off, Rhys.”
“He messaged her—”
“I said fuck off!”
I didn’t realize a voice could go so loud.
Asher finally raises his head from his hands. “Zoe, go back upstairs.”
“Asher—”
“I’ll talk to him.”
She huffs and storms off. Asher turns to Rhys.
“Could you save annoying her for when West is here? Please.”
Rhys scowls. “I was bored.”
“You can’t go into your sister’s computer. It’s not right.”
The kid scowls, and holy shit he looks like a blond Asher when he does that.
“Rhys—”
“Whatever. When is West home?”
Asher’s expression grows tight. “I have no idea.”
Rhys walks to the fridge, grabs a Coke, and pretends to sniff the air. “Dinner smells delicious, by the way.”
Asher’s hands fist at his sides before he takes a long breath. “Can you please go away? Is Charlotte home? Can you annoy her parents?”
“Why? I’m having fun.”
There’s another crash from the front room that makes Asher cringe. “Just go upstairs and stay out of Zoe’s room.”
When Rhys leaves, Asher slumps.
“When will West be home?” I ask.
“Who knows? He says he’s doing something for the team, but I’m pretty sure he’s getting his dick wet. Not like he’s much help when he’s here anyway. He can’t even tell the twins apart.”
In his defense, it’s hard. “Kind of goes with the whole being identical thing, right?”
“I can tell them apart. Emmett is the quiet one.”
There’s a quiet one?
“Okay, so what do we have to do before West gets home?” I point to the pasta. “I take it spaghetti is off the menu tonight, so what are we going to cook?”
“We?”
“Sure. Though, I can’t actually cook, so you’re going to have to direct me, but an extra pair of hands is never a bad thing, right?”
He looks conflicted for a moment, like he’s going to tell me to get out of his house.
“You know I’m good with my hands …” I taunt, wiggling my fingers at him.
“Fine.” He walks to the fridge and starts grabbing vegetables and throwing them my way. “We’ll do the Asher special. Everything in the pan with a jar of sauce on top. Start chopping.”
We both jump as a door slams upstairs. “Stay out of my room,” Zoe screeches.
“Want to go deal with them?” I ask.
“You’ll be okay here?”
“I’m sure I’ll manage.”
He leaves, and I duck into the front room to find the twins throwing batteries at each other. Wonderful.
“Hey, do you two have a tennis ball?”
“Yes, why?”
“Hades loves to play fetch.”
One of the twins jumps up, looking excited, while the other stares at me blankly.
“Can I go play with him?” the excited one asks.
“Of course.”
“Coming, Ben?”
“Nope.”
At first I think Emmett is going to stay inside too, so I give him a little nudge. If the suicides didn’t wear them out, maybe separating them is best. “Hades is all yours, then.”
He disappears into the backyard, Ben switches their Xbox back on, and I get my ass in the kitchen again. I set to work finding a chopping board, a clean knife, and a pot. Then I peel and cut up everything he’s given me, dump it into the pot with the jar of sauce, and set it all on the stove.
Asher’s still gone, but the constant noise that was filling the house has calmed.
Now, it’s time to calm Asher.
I find a bottle of vodka in the cupboard above the fridge and pour out two small drinks with juice. Neither of us has time to be getting drunk, but hopefully this will help him loosen up a little.
When Asher is still gone, and I have nothing else to do, I stand at the window watching Emmett and Hades.
By the time Asher appears behind me, the sauce is in the pot bubbling away, and I’ve stacked all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
Not going to lie, I’m totally a domestic fucking goddess right now.
“Thank you,” he says as he leans against the sink.
I hand over his drink. “Don’t thank me. I was worried if I left and you went full meltdown mode, you’d never come back from that. Then who would suck my dick? Totally selfish move on my part.”
He manages a smile and takes a long mouthful. “I’m so not cut out for this.”
“No offense, but I can’t imagine many people would be. You and West have been dumped with five kids. That’s rough.”
“It is.”
“He, umm, mentioned hiring someone to help out. Has he done that yet? I figured with him not being at away games—”
“Oh, he has never gone to away games. Zoe was only fourteen last year, so there was no way we could leave them alone all weekend. That’s a stipulation in his contract because of the kids. We have a babysitter for after school until West and I get home from practice, but there’s no point having a babysitter when we’re home, you know?”