Stole My Heart

19. I'll Hold You to It

"Can I see her again?" I asked Mom while we were working in her flower garden. It was just us because Dad had a meeting conference and the triplets went somewhere.

"Of course, baby. We would never keep you from her. Of course, it's also up to your parents, and with them trying to get custody of you, they might try to use Everly as a bribe," Mom replied, looking at me.

"Ok," I whispered, "I'll call Leena later."

We finished her garden work for the day and went inside to eat lunch and wash up. I helped Mom make chicken, bacon, ranch salads.

"So, Mom, what do you think I should do with Taylen for our next date?"

"Well, the fair is next Friday. Do you think she would enjoy that?"

"Yes! That's perfect! Thanks, Momma."

The triplets came home, arguing, while Mom and I were watching a movie.

"No, she is not!" Mason hollered.

"Yes, she is!" Bryson yelled back.

"Say that again," Mason said in a scary calm voice.

"She's a slut."

Mason charged at Bryson. In a split second, they were on the ground.

"Peter, stop them," Mom told me, desperate to get the situation under control.

I grabbed Mason's shirt and yanked him backward with all of my might. It worked, and I managed to pull him off Bryson. Then, he turned around and started trying to hit me.

I learned some self-defense growing up with my biological parents, and I skillfully ducked out of the way. He continued and finally connected to my jaw.

"MASON RILEY, STOP IT NOW!!" Mom boomed, completely fed up.

It took a second, but when it registered, realization washed over Mason, and his eyes welled up at the situation.

Bryson was standing away from us, his eyes still blazing. Mom walked over to him and started checking for injuries. He was glaring at Mason like he wanted to hit him again. Which would be understandable if he hadn't called a girl the "s word". That's something that should not even be said, ever.

Bryson had a bloody nose, but it wasn't broken. His back was slightly bruised, and so were his arms.

"Petey, I'm sorry I hit you," Mason said remorsefully.

"Apology accepted," I replied.

We hugged, and then Mom came over to Mason, after sending Bryson to his room, and started to check Mason for injuries. His knuckles were bleeding, but other than that, Bryson couldn't land a hit, and I didn't try.

She sent him to his room then walked over to me. I managed to get out of the fight with only a bruised jaw. We sat down on the couch, ready to finish the movie we were watching.

"Thanks for stepping into that," Mom said tearfully, "Sometimes they have no problem getting along, and then they argue and get physical and one day it's just going to be me here when they do, and I won't be able to stop it."

Her tears started to fall by the time she finished telling me how she felt. Mom and I are close. I tell her everything, and she tells me everything, with a few exceptions, but I understand that I'm the child, and she's the parent.

"Momma, we're sorry," Bryson and Mason said at the same time.

I guess they had quietly walked in while she was confessing her feelings.

"We shouldn't fight like that, and we definitely let you see, and that's the second time in the last couple of weeks," Mason said sincerely.

"Are you going to tell Dad?" Bryson asked.

"I'm going to have to, baby. We have got to put a stop to all this fighting."

"I understand."

"Do y'all want to watch a movie with us?"

++++++++++++++++2 Days Later+++++++++++++++

"So, want to go to the fair with me on Friday?" I asked Taylen on Monday.

"I'd love to," Taylen replied, "you're not mad at me because I told you that you needed to go home?"

"Nope, because you were right, and I should not have run away anyways," I said with a slight shrug.

"Did you get in a lot of trouble?"

"Not for that. I got in trouble for something else, and thankfully I didn't get myself grounded 'cause then I couldn't take a pretty girl out this Friday," I booped her cute little nose, and she giggled.

"Oh yes, what a tragedy," she dramatically replied.

I went to Gabe's house that afternoon, and when I got home, Bryson and Mason were scrubbing the kitchen floors together as part of their punishment from Friday. We'll leave it as Dad followed through on his word.

"Hey boys."

"Hi," they deadpanned back.

"Where's Mom?"

"Dunno," Mason replied.

I found Mom in her office working on lesson plans.

"Guess what!"

"What?"

"Taylen said she would go to the fair with me!" I said finally letting myself be excited. I had to act like it wasn't as big of a deal as it was when I was around anyone else.

"That's awesome, sweetie!"

"What's for dinner?"

"We already ate, but your plate is in the microwave."

"Ok, I figured y'all had done eat, but I was just making sure."

I went back downstairs and heated up my pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans. After that was finished, I sat down at the table and began to eat alone. Mason and Bryson had finished their extra chores for tonight.

I was scrolling through Taylen's Instagram and memorizing every detail of every post when Mason and Bryson both came back into the kitchen and sat down with me.

"Hey baby bro, we're really sorry we keep fighting and that you have to break it up every time," Bryson said, looking at the floor.

"And I'm also really sorry I tried to hit you. I didn't mean it, please forgive me," Mason said, a little teary-eyed.

"Guys, Dad punished you already. Once you're punished, you're forgiven. Of course, I forgive you guys. I love you," I replied, smacking both of their butts jokingly.

"Ouch!" they both exclaimed.

"It still hurts this much almost 3 days later? Dad got you good."

"Um, no. We're getting one at night for the next 3 days," They both looked embarrassed. They were probably waiting on me to laugh at them, but I feel for them. Once sucks plenty, but 6 times in a week, no thanks!

"Dad wasn't kidding when he said he was going to blister anyone if they fight, dang!" I feel sorry for them.

"Alright, well we also have a 10 o'clock bedtime, so goodnight. Again we're super sorry, and I'd like to say it'll never happen again, but it probably will, but we'll work on it," Bryson said, hugging me.

"I'll hold you to it," I said playfully.

After I finished eating, I went upstairs, stripped, and climbed into my bed, completely worn out. It was only 10:30, so I could not fall asleep. I thought about my weekend coming up. On Friday, I was going to take Taylen to the fair, and on Saturday, I was going to take Everly to get ice cream and to the park. I eventually fell asleep, dreaming about jumping up the Eiffel Tower.