By Melanie E.

Internet. Keyboard. Free time. STORY!

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Fifteen minutes turned into half an hour, all 30 minutes of which the twins managed to fill with every apology, nicety, and plea not to get in trouble they could. Meanwhile I spent the time cleaning up their mess and leaving our cousin to pickle in the kitchen. The TV was toast, as was my console (obviously,) but luckily those seemed to be the only two things seriously damaged by the incident. Mom was going to be mad, but the TV was pretty old anyway, and all my saves were backed up to a flash drive in my room, so it wasn't the end of the world.

Of course, I couldn't let the twins know that, could I?

"But we don't have any money!"

"Then I guess you'll just have to work off the cost of a new TV with mom and dad," I said, tsking as I wiped down the wall and wondered if we had any filling putty in the garage. "Then you can buy me a new system too."

"But those are like eleventy-million dollars!" Jenny cried.

"Eleventy million and twelve," I countered, getting a gasp from both of them. In truth replacing the TV, the game, and the console would be maybe five hundred all together, but at their age what was the difference? "I'm sure you'll have them replaced by the time you get to high school though."

"But we'll be old then!"

I managed to bite back my laugh and turned toward them, glaring. "So being in high school makes me old then?" I asked, giving them every opportunity to dig themselves deeper into the hole they were already trapped in. Luckily for them we all heard the front door open before they had a chance to answer.

To say Mom was pissed would be an understatement. We started in the front room, where she gave the twins a good tongue lashing before sending them to their rooms. This was less a punishment for them than it was a gift, though, because it meant they didn't have to see the confrontation between Mom and Marilyn.

It took the two of us the better part of ten minutes to wake her up, but as soon as she saw Mom she knew she was in deep trouble. She tried to give Mom a sob story about problems with her husband and money -- the same one she'd used on grandma so often -- but Mom wasn't listening.

"I let you stay here with my CHILDREN, Lyn! I trusted you, and gave you a chance to prove yourself worth that trust. Get out and don't come back."

"But...."

"OUT!" Mom screeched, making both me and our cousin jump. "And take this shit with you!" Mom said, kicking over one of the empty wine bottles. Despite her condition our cousin was out of there like a shot, likely heading across the street to our grandmother's place to hide out.

With that it was just me and a haggard looking Mom, who almost immediately collapsed into Marilyn's vacated seat and collapsed forward, head in her hands. "Jeezus."

"I know, Mom," I said, patting her on the shoulder. I still wanted nothing more than to just get out of there, but I knew that wasn't the right thing to do.

"How're you staying so calm, Sam?" She asked me. "If your uncle Ben had done that to something of mine I'd still be in jail on the murder charges."

"I'm used to it," I said with a sigh, remembering all too many other times the twins had tried to "help" me. "Besides, it's really Mar's fault, not theirs. If she'd been watching them like she was supposed to...."

Mom gave me a grateful smile. "True. Still, I can't believe how patient you are with those two. Sometimes it feels like you can deal with them better than I can."

I shrugged. "They're good kids, just, I dunno."

"Destructive? Trouble magnets?"

"I was thinking 'rambunctious,'" I answered her with a snort.

"Hon, you are the master of understatement." Her smile quickly faded as she closed her eyes and put her head in her hands again. "Ugh. What am I gonna do for a babysitter now? Marilyn wasn't the best choice, but she was the last option we had. If only I didn't have to work afternoons."

We sat in silence for a bit after that. I was too busy tutoring in the afternoons to do the babysitting myself, and that was on the days I didn't have something else going on, like practice with my band. Looking at Mom, though, there had to be something I could do to help.

The problem was I really didn't want to.

"Mom?"

"Yeah honey?"

I gulped down my own distaste at what I was about to say before continuing. "If... if I HAVE to... I can tutor from the house I guess?"

Mom was about to say no, I could see it in her face, and for a brief moment I felt a glimmer of hope that I might not have to watch the twins. Then, that glimmer was destroyed by mom's pause followed by her look of relief. "Okay hon. And as much as your dad's gonna hate it, tell Greg he can bring his drums over to our garage and your group can play here too. I really appreciate this, Sam."

"No prob, Mom," I said, hoping she couldn't see the disappointment on my face.

Well. Now not only had I lost my console, AND my favorite game, but I'd also lost what little freedom I'd had on the afternoons.

The twins would pay. Oh, yes... they would pay.

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Welp, there ya go. Not sure how long I just spent typing this up, but it advances the plot beyond what I'd put in the first one, and opens things up for if I continue this in the future. Regardless, thank you for reading, and feel free to comment -- I always appreciate them.