Armored

10

After our little chat, Martha went to go check on Rosie, while I was left once again with the four hoodlums here to take us. I looked them all up and down and decided now was as good a time as ever to set up some ground rules.

"Okay gentlemen, here's the deal. I'm gonna talk, and y'all are gonna listen. I don't wanna hear a peep from any of you motherfuckers till i finish."

"Okay, we-"

"-shush, that was peeping!"

Bleach blondie (Michael) put his hands up in mock surrender, as they all nodded in acknowledgement.

"Let's get a few things straight right off the bat. First, you lay a hand on either one of us even for a second, CPS is getting involved, immediately. Second, neither of us will be referring to you as 'dad' you are our legal guardians and that is the title you will hold. Next, let's get one thing straight about Rosie. I am her sister. She is my responsibility and I have been the one to discipline her most of her life. Now, having said that, just because you have now assumed the role of being a 'parent,' does not mean that I don't get a say in things that pertain to her. I am still her sister and I have practically raised her, so there is no way in hell I'm letting any of you take over that department. I will know everything pertaining to her and her wellbeing and I will not take any interference with regards to this matter. I am protective of her and I will not apologize for refusing to back down when it comes to her care. Finally, I do what I want. You leave me the fuck alone and I mean it. None of this trying to be all loving and caring shit, I won't have it. I do not trust men, I never have. I've never been nor felt safe under the care of men, so y'all aren't taking that shit personal. And yes I curse, and no I will not stop. I do not care if Rosie picks up on it, that's your problem if you got an issue with it," I concluded rather firmly.

"Okay, well since we will all have equal custody of the two of you, I think it's important that we are all on the same page here. I think I speak for all of us when I say you and your sister will never have to worry about getting hurt under our care. It's completely fine if you're not comfortable referring to us as parents, we will be your guardians regardless of what you would like to refer to us as. We understand that up to this point you've practically been a mom to Rosie, and we get that it's not going to be easy for you to let us in. But, we would also like to give you the opportunity to just be a kid. Mess up, have fun, experience life as a teenager. You've got the rest of your life for responsibilities and being an adult. You deserve to have a childhood. Having said that, we do understand that up till now, you've been the authority figure in her life, and we will keep you in the loop when it comes to her care. But, you are also our responsibility, so there will be rules that you will be expected to abide by. I understand that this will be an adjustment for us all, but I expect there to be an element of mutual respect here. Deal?" Ashton spoke.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes, letting my annoyance be known.

"It's not 'whatever' Izzy, we want you to know that you both are going to be safe under our care and you don't have to worry about Rosie, we will take care of her too. The last thing we want is for you to feel like you don't belong, because you do Izzy. You belong in our family, and we hope to be able to show that to you in time. We understand this is a lot to take in and we aren't expecting it to be an overnight process. We'll fight, we'll laugh, we'll yell and scream, but at the end of the day, we will stick together because we are a family, and we hope you can accept us into your life as well." Hood spoke up.

"Okay, I genuinely don't give a shit so do us all a favor here and manage your goddamn expectations," I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"I know that's what you believe in your heart, but I think we'll be able to change your mind soon enough," Ashton stated.

Oh lord help us all. This better end up being okay, because if it doesn't, I'm not sure I can take another heartbreak.