Sticks and Stones and Occasionally Leather

Chapter 5

Holy Shiitake Mushrooms! Someone kill me. Right now. PLEASE.

"Wow! That is exciting!" I celebrated, mimicking excitement for Reese's sake.

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After grocery shopping and putting all the groceries away, it was time for lunch and then Reese went down for a nap. During nap time, I effectively cleaned dishes and vacuumed, and then began studying.

Studying seemed to drag on for hours, though I know it couldn't have been much more than 45 minutes otherwise Reese would be awake and bugging me to play with him. However, after an additional 15 minutes of trying to study, I effectively gave up and looked for more things to tidy around the house instead.

Within no time Reese was up from his nap and then the kids were home for school. Dinner came and went and everything seemed to be back to normal in Archer's absence, although I feared that wouldn't last.

After the kids were all down for the night, I popped open one of Charlotte's favorite wines, sliced cheese, and added crackers for us to snack on when she got home. Then I waited, practicing what my speech about Emily would be.

"Darling your an angel sent from God!" Charlotte exclaimed as she entered the living room, placing a kiss on my head as she swiped the half-full wine glass that was waiting for her.

"Anything for you Char." I beamed and she sighed as she sat back on the sofa.

"I've been dying for some girl time ever since I missed you last week. So tell me, what have I missed." She pried and I figured now was as good time as any to inform her of Emily's extracurricular activities.

Now how should I go about this...

"Well, actually I was a little concerned about Emily. I wanted to talk to you about that before anything else." I directed, sobering her up slightly.

"Oh? What's wrong? Has she been giving you trouble?" She asked, seemingly concerned.

"No no, she's fine. I just, well, I walked in on her taking pictures the other day." I hinted, hoping she would catch on. She continued to stare at me confused.

"Topless. She was taking pictures topless." I added and Charlotte continued to stare at me.

Really? Nothing? Still?

"And braless. And um, In The mirror. So the pictures were of her. Braless. And topless." I rambled, trying to explain and she sat silently.

"I talked to her about it but I'm not sure anything got through so I just wanted to make sure I told you." She swallowed as she processed the information.

"Wow. Okay. Well, thank you doll. My baby girl really is growing up huh. I will definitely talk to her." She answered finally and I sighed in relief as a weight lifted from my shoulder. Despite knowing I'd be getting the cold shoulder from Emily for a while, I knew this was the right thing.

"Was there anything else you had to tell me?" Charlotte asked and I shook my head no.

"Um, so Archers in town huh." I slyly snuck in, trying to pry for information.

"Yeah, he is. It was quite a surprise and I can't say Paul is too pleased; they don't get along well. But he actually has an apartment nearby so I'm sure we'll see lots more of him in the future." She took a sip of wine.

Thank the heavens!

"Oh, he has his own apartment. That's good. You know so that he has his own place to live." I contributed, taking a sip of my own wine, thanking my lucky stars that I wouldn't have to put up with Archer on a daily.

"Right, well he'll be staying with us for a little while because his apartment is getting renovated which will take about two weeks." I snorted trying not to spit out my wine as I realized he'd be living here for two whole weeks.

Curse you heavens!

"Are you okay darling? Did it go down the wrong pipe?" Charlotte inquired, giving me firm pats on the back.

"Uh yeah. Wrong pipe. I'm fine though." I assured her and my brain reeled.

"He seems to be doing really well." She beamed proudly, "Hey, maybe you two will hit it off." She suggested and my face reddened at the implication.

Girl, you have no idea.

"Right. Maybe." I answered nonchalantly, downing the rest of my wine.

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I fiddled with my fingers as I sat in my room. The house was quiet for now but I was sure the quiet was temporary. Chloe was at a friend's house so there was no need to worry about her but with mom out at the store, that left me as a wide-open target.

Feeling brave, I pushed open the door and peered down the hallway to see Mike surrounded by some of the meatheads in his grade sitting in our living room. I glanced past the room to my phone which sat on the counter. I took a deep breath and began walking down the hall, keeping my head down.

"Yo! Saylor! Get in here." Mike called as I walked past the room. My shoulders slumped and I entered the room where the three other guys' eyes began raking my 14-year-old body. My stomach tightened in disgust.

"Get us some food. We're starving." He demanded and I could feel the small daring side of me rise.

"Get it yourself. I'm not your servant." I answered calmly. Anger flashed across my brother's face and he approached me. He towered over me, leaning down to meet my eyes.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are my servant. Moms not home. There's no one to run crying too." My eyes dropped from his angry gaze as the words sunk in. His hand wrapped around my arm, hard enough to leave bruises I'm sure.

"I believe I said to get us food," Mike warned, trying to keep his cool in front of his buddies but still show that he was asserting dominance. Aggravated, I turned my back and began walking towards the kitchen when a firm hand smacked my ass hard. I swung around to see Mike smirking at me, daring me to fight him.

"Do not touch me!" I spat at him and he chuckled, seemingly unbothered.

"You're a slut. Nobody wants you. I can do whatever the hell I want" he shot back, nodding at his friends as he sat back down, effectively dismissing me. My face burned with embarrassment and tears gathered in my eyes but I would not let him see me cry. I would not let him break me. I couldn't.

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Hi guys!
So I'm actually only releasing these first few chapters right now for some feedback...

How do you guys feel about the chapter lengths? Should I make them shorter or longer or keep them the same?

Also is there anything I could change that would make it more enjoyable to read? Like do you guys prefer the small paragraphs or just big long chunks?

Let me know! Your wish is my command ;) thanks for all the support!

Oh by the way I'm not going to lie, it's going to be a while before an update because I'm still trying to plan out a few things.

Till next time loves! Xoxo
-Amirah