Colby's POV
I got Julia situated then made my way into the bathroom to get dressed and ready to take the kids to school.
I had half a mind to not bring them since Julia's seizure was so bad this morning.
Julia hasn't had a bad fit in a while. She took her medication and typically kept a low stress level.
Well, low enough to not be having seizures as bad as today.
I showered then got dressed and brushed my teeth before going downstairs.
"Ready to go?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen. "Where's Jules?" Sam asked as I grabbed my keys.
"She's not feeling well. I'm taking you to school." I said as Carter sighed.
"Way to go, Jenna. You broke Julia." He said causing me to narrow my eyes. "What happened?" I asked as Jenna shook her head, grabbing her backpack.
"Nothing. Let's just go." She said and pushed passed me.
"Yeah, no. That's not gonna work with me." I said and stopped her. "We're gonna be late." She said, looking up at me.
"So you'll tell me in the car." I said simply then turned to go outside.
I've been nice and usually let Julia take the reins on parenting these kids but when it started to effect Julia's health, I knew I needed to step in.
Jenna was a teenage girl which is a breed of human I have never dealt with.
I was the youngest in my family, and had an older brother. Sure, we fought from time to time but it was about something stupid that was resolved almost immediately.
The hormones of a girl weren't for the faint of heart.
"Is Julia mad at us?" Sam asked as I shook my head. "Not that I know of." I said and started driving to the school. "Jenna's sorry." Carter said as Jenna groaned.
"But I'm not! I meant what I said." She said and crossed her arms.
"What did you say to her?" I asked, focusing on the road. "I'm not telling you. You're just gonna side with her." Jenna said as I sighed.
"I'm not playing this game, Jenna. What did you say to her?" I asked, starting to feel a little annoyed.
"She told her that she's just as bad as mom." Carter said as anger immediately flooded through my body.
I knew she was just a kid and that she was going to say some pretty out of pocket shit but Julia did nothing but love her siblings.
Sure, she probably held them a little too close and a little too tight for their age but it was only because she cared so deeply for them.
She was nothing like her mother.
"Now you made Colby mad! We're gonna be orphans again." Sam said as I shook my head.
"No you're not." I said simply as I pulled up to the school.
"Jenna stay in the car for just a minute." I said as Carter and Sam opened their doors to get out.
"Have a good day." I said to the boys as they grabbed their bags. "Bye, Colby." They said in unison before closing the door.
"You're not in charge of me, ya know." Jenna said as she crossed her arms. "What's going on with you?" I asked and turned to look at her.
"I know she said no about my date. I know you probably didn't even talk to her!" Jenna said and narrowed her eyes.
I was actually pretty amused because she looked exactly like Julia in this moment, but I wasn't going to let her talk to me like that.
"I actually did talk to her. She was going to let you go but now that you disrespected her she might have changed her mind." I said blandly.
"Ugh!! I meant what I said! She doesn't let us do ANYTHING." Jenna said as I narrowed my eyes.
"Have you ever thought it's because she gives a shit about you? That's something your mother never did." I snapped, feeling the anger swell up.
"My mom made me stay home every day all day to help with the kids. Just like Jule does." Jenna said as I shook my head.
"No, she keeps you guys home but she never asks anything of you. She tells you to do your homework and go to bed so that you don't end up failing in life like your mother did." I said as she sighed.
"So cut the fucking attitude because if you want to be treated like an adult I can make sure that happens and you won't like it." I said with a hard expression.
I was never mean to any of the kids and really didn't let my anger show but the fact that Julia's health was on the line was where I needed to put my foot down.
"Okay." Jenna said quietly as I nodded. "That's what I though. Now cut the fucking attitude and have a good day at school." I said simply as she turned and opened the car door.
When she got out I sighed and started to drive away. I grabbed some breakfast for me, Julia, and Juniper on the way home.
I felt horrible that Jenna said what she said to Julia. She has been nothing but supportive and loving to her siblings and she didn't deserve it.
Those words would cut so deep in her heart and soul.
When I got home, I brought the food up to our room.
"Do I have to go to school?" Juniper asked as Julia hugged her close. "Mhmm. School makes your brain super big." Julia said as she looked up at me.
"Look, it's your best friend." She said with a smile. "Colby!!!" Juniper squealed happily.
"Hey, kid. I brought you some breakfast." I said and went to sit on the bed.
"You didn't have to do that, Colby." Julia said as she sat up. "Feed the kid? Yeah, I think that's part of the contract." I said with a grin.
"We're running a little bit late because of our cuddle session so you two eat, I'll finish making your lunch." Julia said and smoothed Juniper's hair down.
"I got it, babe. Just eat and rest." I said then leaned over and kissed her head.
"Colby are you-" Julia started but couldn't finish before I was leaving the room.
She seemed to be feeling better but I didn't want her to push herself too hard.
When I got down to the kitchen I noticed there was a piece of bread with a peanut butter covered knife placed on it.
I assume that's what Julia was doing when Jenna said what she said.
I sighed then went over and went to finish the sandwich. I didn't really know what Julia usually put in Juniper's lunch so I really had to wing it.
I spread the peanut butter and jelly on the bread then put that in a little bag.
"Alright...uh....what would a five year old eat?" I mumbled and went to look in the cabinet.
This is obviously the first time I've ever been around kids so I didn't really know what to look for so I went by the criteria of 'what would Jake like'.
Obviously Jake was a grown man but he had that childlike spirit, and that was good enough for me.
I grabbed a rice crispy treat, a bag of goldfish, a fruit roll up and a cookie. The perfect meal for Jake.
"Something to drink." I mumbled then went towards the fridge. I didn't see any sort of juice or anything but I did see a can of Red Bull.
Jake did like Red Bull.
I picked up the can and started looking at the label to see if it was safe to give her.
"What are you doing?" Julia asked as she walked into the kitchen with Juniper on her hip.
"Uh..making her lunch." I said as she laughed. "You can't give her Red Bull. Her little heart would explode." She said as Juniper giggled.
"What's a Red Bull?" She asked and looked up at Julia. "Something you can't have." Julia said then walked over to me.
"Babe." Julia said with a laugh as she looked at the lunch I had packed.
"What's wrong with it?" I asked as she giggled and brought her hand to my cheek.
"I love and appreciate you but it looks like you're feeding a teenage boy with all the sugar and snacks." She said causing me to grin.
"I was going with the criteria of what Jake would eat." I said as she laughed.
"That makes so much sense. Well this little bug needs some fruits and veggies. She's a growing lady." Julia said then that went to fix the lunch I made.
I had to admit that I found this part of her so beyond attractive.
One day she was going to be an amazing mom and right now she was an amazing sister.
It made me so mad that Jenna was giving Julia such a problem. I understood in a sense that Julia was being a little strict about them leaving the house but I couldn't blame her.
She's been through a lot and it was understandable that she was going to hold those kids close.
I knew I would have to help her take the leap and let those kids branch out a little bit.