Sticks and Stones and Occasionally Leather

Chapter 3

"Then I'll meet you down there." She conceited, still glaring at me. I nodded and closed her door. My head throbbing at the interaction that just took place. What was I supposed to do? Should I talk to her? Should I wait for her mom to talk to her? I mean she was taking nudes. What if she was sending them to someone. That could be really dangerous. I mean I know she's 14 but she's got a better rack than me. If those pictures got into the wrong hands she could be in real trouble. With that in mind, I decided to talk to her after dinner. Then we'd go from there.

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As we just about finished dinner, a very sulky Emily came stomping down the stairs. She plopped in her chair, mumbling a hello to Archer and then grabbing food for her plate. Archer looked at me with a "what the heck did you do" look on his face and I narrowed my eyes in return.

Say something. I. Dare. You.

"Okay, boys it's your turn for dishes tonight, but that also means Emily you shower first." I reminded. Keeping the kids on a schedule has helped so much to reduce the amount of bickering. Emily rolled her eyes as she continued eating and the boys slumped in their chairs at the thought of dishes.

"Really? You make the kids do your job?" Archer piped up, getting the boys' attention.

"Doing dishes isn't my job. And besides, having chores teaches the kids responsibility. And your mother agrees." I shot back, glaring in his direction.

Dipstick.

"I'm just saying, I mean what do they pay you for if you can't even do the dishes yourself." Archer deadpanned and I sneered are him.

"Yeah, what do we pay you for!" Alex added

"I think Saylor should do dishes!" Caleb continued, causing Archer to smirk.

"Great. Thank you. You know what? Why don't you go give Reese his bath, since your such an expert at my job." I suggested sweetly.

"Gladly. Maybe this time, he'd actually get clean for once." He smiled, gesturing at Reese's crusty food covered face. Then he took him by his hand and lead him out of the room.

"Boys. Dishes. Now." I scolded and they groaned as they hopped off their chairs and began washing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. I sighed, turning my attention to Emily as she continued to sulk at her plate of food. Aggressively poking at noodles. Knowing my patience just wouldn't stand to that drama at the moment, I decided to go check on Archer and Reese.

As I peeked through the crack in the bathroom door, I watched as Reese sat in the tub, Archer next to him on the floor. Reese had given him some of his bath toys and I gasped when I saw that it was the boat he normally saved for only me.

The absolute betrayal! I-I have no words.

Seeing that Archer had the situation "under control", I guess, I made my way back downstairs where the boys now were running around the house. Emily was reading on the couch as usual and I began trying to round the boys up for bed.

"Alex, Caleb, Enough. It's time for bed." I warned and they whined at me.

"Uncle Archer would let us stay up," Alex complained and more of my patience chipped away.

If I hear the words "uncle Archer" one more time, my head might just explode.

"Yeah, uncle Archer's the best!" Caleb cooed, jumping off one of the couches.

*BOOM*

They continued jumping on couches and running around the table as I chased them, scolding them for not listening for another several minutes.

"Wow. Your right. You are really good at your job." Archer mocked, leaning against the doorway. Clearly enjoying the fact that the boys wouldn't listen to me.

"Where's Reese." I sighed, knowing it was time for him to go to bed as well.

"I put him to bed. But since it seems your incapable of putting these two to bed, I guess I'll do that for you too." Unable to muster up enough energy to shoot a snarky response back, I remained silent as he signaled to the boys who gladly followed him up to their room. I rubbed at the giant migraine that was bound to surface as I faced my next big problem.

"Emily. We need to talk." I tossed out and she lowered her book, squinting her eyes at me.

"About?" She asked snarkily.

"I know what you were doing upstairs." I began and she went quiet. Her face reddening again.

"It's not okay. For one your underage and for two you don't need to send pictures for anyone's approval."

"Okay, for one, your not the boss of me, and for two, I don't need you to lecture me on having guys like me for my personality or whatever." She mimicked and I could feel the last of my patience easily slipping.

"Emily, If those pictures wind up in the wrong hands you could put yourself in real danger," I warned but she seemed unbothered.

"Look, just because you don't like how your body looks doesn't mean you have to get mad at me for being confident enough to keep a guy's attention." She reasoned And I was appalled at her behavior towards me.

So what if she has a better rack than me!

"I didn't think I'd have to but Emily I'm going to tell your mother." I shook my head and her face blanched.

"Are you kidding? This is ridiculous! I hate you, Saylor! I wish you were never our nanny!" She screamed, stomping upstairs and slamming her door behind her.

I knew she didn't mean what she said and that she was just mad, but after the weekend I'd had and the drama that came along with Archer, something inside me snapped. Her words cut deep. Tears began falling from my eyes as I tried to wipe them furiously. I turned to grab my stuff, thinking I'd let Archer take care of the kids until his mom came home but instead ran into a wall. A wall that talked and wore black and smelled crisp like trees and snow.

"Are you seriously crying?" Archer snorted, noticing my distress and all my pent-up frustration broke free.