Just Breathe

Chapter Three

Friday night, Lin and Vanessa were out on a date; a rare night away from all the kids.  Lia was left in charge and she wasn't terribly happy about it.  She was looking forward to a Skype call with Ayden and the twins might get in the way.

They were wired, as usual, whenever their parents went away for a while.  Both were already in the pajamas at least so bedtime would be a little easier.  It was still much too early to put them to bed, so Lia pulled up Moana on Netflix and set them up with some snacks.  Both settled onto the couch and started munching on their Goldfish.

Lia walked to the kitchen and found herself a soda and chips.  The Coke tasted different in England but it was still good.  She powered up her laptop and settled into a chair in the dining room.  A few moments later, Ayden's handsome face filled the screen.  He grinned at her, his brown eyes sparkling from New York.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted her as he adjusted his screen.

"Hey, handsome," she answered back.  "How was practice?"

"Uggh," he complained, running his hand through his slightly shaggy hair.  "Don't remind me.  Tell me about your day."

Lia smiled and began to tell him about what she'd been up to.  It was a little embarrassing, really, how little she had done.  It mostly revolved around pre-reading for class (since she was a workaholic) and SAT prep work.  She should probably try to meet some local kids, but she was a bit hesitant since she was only there because of her father.

"They have no bubble tea here," Lia complained, used to multiple stores within a few blocks in New York.  It was her favorite treat.  Ayden rolled his eyes at her and then they both heard a bang and a scream coming from the living room.

"Shit, I'll be back," she told him.

She ran to the living' room and found Sebastian on the floor sobbing.  Stella was just looking at him, not sure what to do as "You're Welcome" played on the TV.

"Oh, Seb," she cooed as she picked him up and placed him on her lap.  "You poor thing."

His wails increased as Stella stared at her brother in confusion.  Lia could see her brother was bleeding pretty badly.  "Stella, go get a towel from the bathroom please."

The little girl hopped off the couch and returned with a towel a few moments later.  Lia pressed it to Seb's temple and applied pressure.  "Shit, shit, shit," she mumbled.

"That's a bad word!" Stella told her sister indignantly.

"Sorry," she said, feeling her heart rate increase.  Her siblings had gotten some bumps and bruises over the years, but never blood like this.  What should she do?  Call 911? Wasn't it called something else here?  Call her parents?  She didn't want to disturb them on their night away.  God, this was such a mess.

___

Across town, the evening had soured slightly when Lin realized how much his wife was struggling.  She'd confessed to him that she hadn't been happy in months, being stuck with the twins all the time and not advancing her career.  Vanessa told him about the guilt.  She felt she should be grateful that they had the means for her stay home with the twins, but felt intellectually empty.  She didn't have enough of an outlet to keep her mind going and it was starting to affect her mental health.

"I mean, I love being a mom," she tried to explain her feelings.  "But I just feel...unfulfilled I guess?  You're getting all kinds of offers for work and I'm barely able to scratch the surface of what I want to do."

Vanessa had wanted to stay home with the babies at first.  She definitely hadn't been forced to take on the role of the old-fashioned cliche where mom stays at home with the kids.  Her motherly instinct had taken over though, and she couldn't tear herself away from the twins.  Especially when Stella had been so needy at first.