The shrill sound of the lunch bell snaps me out of watching some girl walk down the hallway.

I shove my hands in my pockets, sighing.

Everyone is fucking staring at me. Did the party suck that bad? I thought it was pretty good. I notice my baby sister walking down the hall I'm in, going in the opposite direction, her head down. Her eyebrows are knitted together. Two girls and two guys are following her. One of the guys is Jake.

"I mean, seriously, look at her shoes!" One of the girls giggles. I realize the other one is Megan. Noemie sucks a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and starts walking faster. "She's so ugly!"

"She's so fucking stupid. She's going to die alone." Jake sniggers.

Without thinking, I step in front of my sister. She slams right into me, stumbling slightly. She looks up and has unshed tears in her eyes. I look down at her, and then at the girls behind her.

I may be a dick to my siblings, but they're my siblings. Only I can be mean to them.

"Uh, who the fuck are you two?" I snarl.

"Raylen." Noemie whispers. "Don't."

"Aw!" One of the girls coos. "Is this your boyfriend?"

I look down at my sister.

"Depuis combien de temps cela se passe-t-il?" I ask her harshly. She looks away from me. I asked her how long this has been happening. "Réponds-moi!" I hiss. I told her to answer me.

She sniffles.

"Depuis mon premier jour." She whispers weakly.

Since the first say of school. School started in early August, and it's October 23rd.

This is why she hates Jake.

"Whoa, Raylen!" Jake puts his hand on my shoulder. "Your fucking Mom is hot bro, you think she would have sex with me?"

Ew, what?

"How long have you been pissing on my sister?" I growl, glaring at him.

"What? Oh come on man, you hate your sister."

"No I don't." I snap. "How long?"

He shrugs.

"A few months. Seriously, your Mom is hot...she's kind of a bitch though." Jake eyes my sister thoughtfully. "You know, you look a lot like her. I could just have sex with you." He grabs her arm and starts tugging her.

I shove myself between them and without thinking, I swing, my fist connecting with Jake's jaw.

"Raylen!" Noemie gasps. "Mama and Daddy will kill you!"

"Aww. Mama and Daddy." Jake snickers, his hand on his jaw. "You better text your Mommy and tell her you love her, because I'm going to kill you."

He starts swinging at me.

I duck fast and shoot my leg out, kicking him in the back of the knee. He falls and I start swinging like crazy. I can vaguely hear my baby sister screaming for me to stop. Jake punches me in the jaw and shoves me off of him, and then he punches me in the cheek and I know I'm going to have a black eye. I swing back, jumping to my feet.

"You fucking dick, going at my sister and saying sit about my Mama. If anyone dies here today, it's you, you bastard!"

I swing again, my fist hitting his temple. He stumbles slightly, his nose already bleeding, and reaches out and punches me in the nose. It start gushing blood, and from the corner of my eye I see my sister screaming and crying, her hands over her mouth. The girls and the other guy are standing back laughing.

I swing at Jake again.

"I can have whoever I want, remember Megan?"

I knee him in the stomach and start punching his head. He falls then, a bloody stump, and I kick him in the stomach. Somebody starts yanking me back and I hear everyone yelling that Noemie started it, so the person grabbing me starts grabbing her too, while a nurse tends to Jake.

Good, I think. I hope he's dead.

_____

I sit in the chair in the office next to my sister, watching the principal walk over to the phone.

"Who are you calling?" I blurt.

"The 9327 number." He says bluntly, punching in the number.

He's calling my Mama.

"She's working, she won't answer! Call my Dad!"

Dad's least likely to answer than Mama is.

I see him stop listening to me.

"Yes, Mrs. Reed, this is the principal of Olentangy Liberty High School. I need to speak with you regarding Raylen and Noemie." He listens for a second and then sighs. "I'm going to have to have you come in. They need to be picked up." He listens again. "Well Raylen got into a fight and Noemie started it apparently. I don't know ma'am, they won't tell me anything." He listens again and I see him flinch. "Okay, so sorry. I will see you-" he cuts off, looking at the phone with a frown.

She hung up on him.

Noemie buries her head in her hands and starts crying again.

Mama is going to have my ass. I'm screwed.

I stare at the wall with my left eye, my right eye already swelling shut. The nurse walks out and sighs.

"You need to put that ice on your eye." She points to the pack in my hand. I shrug one shoulder. My nose is probably broken and my eye is swollen shut.

I wonder what Jake got.

I smile, but wince at my busted lip.

Noemie sits with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

"Why are you guys so afraid of your mother? Does she abuse you or something?" Principal Dumbass asks.

"No." I say gruffly. "You will see why when she gets here."

He looks thoughtful, sitting with the receptionist and watching me and Noemie.

Mama's work is in the heart of Columbus and we're in Powell. We live in Delaware, Ohio, and that's the next town over.

Mama is about a half hour away.

I wait, drumming my fingertips on my knees.

My anxiety is through the roof. Mama is going to lose it when she sees my face.

I nudge my sister.

"How bad is my face?" I whisper. She looks up, takes one look at me, and starts crying again. "It's that bad?"

She nods, looking away from me.

I have nothing to be nervous four. He was bullying Noemie and he tried to get her to have sex with him.

I know Dad will be on my side at least. And he said some shit about Mama, so I know I have Dad on my side, and Mama and Daddy love each other so much, I'm sure they will fight about it but they will be fine. They always are, and they somehow come out of every fight more in love.

I don't think two people could fall more in love, but they prove me wrong every day. They hardly fight anyways.

I sigh, watching the seconds pass.

After almost forty five minutes, the door to the office is ripped open violently and in steps my mother, her brown hair up in a neat bun on the back of her head. She has on a black tight dress that goes down to her knees, and the sleeves are short sleeve. She has on beige heels, too. She looks really pretty and I feel guilty. My mother is beautiful. I look up to her and Daddy more than ever now after I found out about their pasts.

The principal looks at my Mama and then at Noemie. Mama walks straight up to the counter, her heels clicking on the tile floor.

The few other people in here look intimidated by her glare.

"My children." She says. "Got into a fight. Where are they?"

Her French accent is very thick. The principal clears his throat, intimidated, and his eyes flit over to us. Mama whips around, her eyes darkening at the sight of me. She sucks air in through her teeth and turns to the principal.

"You are the principal?" She asks. He nods his head. "Where can we go to interrogate them?"

He raises a brow and then stands up. The bell for second lunch rings as the principal walks around the counter. He starts to walk. Mama turns to us.

"Se lever." She hisses. She told us to get up. We both rise to our feet, Noemie sniffling. She grabs her bag and I grab mine. Mama's eyes linger on my face and we walk ahead of her. I can hear her following behind us. The principal leads us to his office where he tried to get us to talk earlier.

My sister better not spill anything. I don't need Mama knowing some kid is talking about having sex with her.

I walk in with my sister and Mama steps in after us, shutting the door loudly.

"Start talking." She says.

I plop down in my chair and stay silent. Noemie presses her lips together.

"Raylen," Mama starts. "Why did you punch him? Who was it?"

"It was Jake." Noemie says. I glare at my sister. Mama scoffs loudly.

"He's not worth it, Raylen." She says. "Not worth this I am sure." She gestures to my face wildly and scoffs. "I want to know what happened and I want to know right now."

I don't say a word. I can see her jaw lock into place. She reaches into her Calvin Klein purse and pulls out her phone.

"Who are you calling?" I ask. She ignores me, dialing.

I see her tapping her hands on the arm holding her phone to her ear.

"Marissa, I need to speak to my husband. It cannot wait."

I hear a girl reply, and then a few seconds pass.

"Yes amour?"

His voice is muffled.

"Our children have thought it would be a good idea to fight." She says.

"What?" Dad asks. "Who?"

"Who do you think, Nathan?"

I hear him sigh loudly.

"Did you already pick them up?"

"Yes, but they won't speak to me."

"What makes you think they're going to tell me?"

"Two is stronger than one." She responds.

"Good point." He sighs again. "Alright baby, I'm coming. I'll be there as soon as I can."

I pull up at the school in a bad mood. I had to cancel three more appointments today for this bullshit.

Shoving my hands in the pockets of my black slacks, I walk up to the office and yank the door open.

"Are you Mr. Reed?" The principal asks.

"Yes." I sigh.

"Follow me."

I follow him deep into the office to a room in the back. He opens the door and I thank him for holding it as I walk in.

Raylen has a black eye, a busted lip, and a bruised nose that looks broken. Noemie has unshed tears in her eyes, and my wife is leaning against the wall looking extremely attractive in her work clothes. She looks really pissed off. I walk straight to her and kiss her cheek, my hand on her shoulder. I can feel her body relax at my touch. The principal shuts the door and Odeletta looks at the kids.

"We are not leaving until one of you fesses up."

Noemie opens her mouth but Raylen glares at her. She presses her lips together and falls silent.

I stare at my son.

"Was it over Megan?" I ask. He shakes his head. I look at Noemie. "Start talking."

"No."

Odeletta sighs harshly, rubbing her temples.

The bell rings and I look at the clock. 1:30PM.

"How long have you guys been dealing with this?"

"Well you took an hour and lunch was at eleven plus the forty five minutes it took for your wife to arrive...about two hours, give or take." The principal responds. I shake my head and pull out my phone, dialing my brother.

"Who are you calling?" Raylen asks.

Ignoring him, I wait for him to answer.

After the third ring, he picks up.

"Hey Nate." He says.

"Are you picking Leah up today?"

"Uh..." he hesitates. "Mom is. Why?"

"I need her to get Caroline."

"Caroline takes the bus." He says.

"I know that but nobody's home."

Ten years old is too young to be home alone.

"Okay, call Mom." He says.

"Okay bye."

"Bye."

I hang up with my brother and dial again. I rings four times and then stops.

"Hello?"

"Mom, can you pick up Caroline too?" I ask.

"Okay." She says. "Do you want me to bring her home?"

"No, I-" I sigh. "Can you bring her to your house with Leah? Nobody's home."

"O...Kay." She says. "What's going on?"

"It's just a long story." I say. "Please Mom?"

"Yes sweetie, of course. I'll let you know when I have her, okay?"

"Alright, thank you."

"You're welcome."

We hang up, and I dial Caroline's school.

"Do you see what you're doing?" I snap at my kids. "How many hoops we have to jump through to deal with your bullshit? I had to cancel three appointments. Now you're making Grandma pick up Caroline and take her all the way to her house. That means I have to go pick her up from Grandma's. And if you two keep it up, Gabe or Harper is Anna or Mason are going to have to get your brother, too. And for what? Your stupidity? You're costing me and your mother and your principal valuable time and money."

Noemie sinks deeper into her seat.

"Wyandot Run Elementary School. This is Jessie, how can I help you?"

"Yes, I need you to tell my daughter, Caroline Reed, that her grandma is picking her up." I say.

"What grade is she in?" She asks.

"Fifth. Her teacher is Mrs. Campbell." I say.

"Okay, I will let her know." She says.

"Thank you." I say.

I hang up and glare at my kids.

"Let's see how much time you've wasted." I say. "You wasted time fighting, you wasted time getting pried off of whoever you beat up, you wasted time not explaining what happened, you wasted time having to have your mother called, you wasted her time when she had to answer the phone, and then again when she had to shut off her computer and gather her things to leave. You wasted time when she had to tell her boss. You wasted time when she had to drive here and you two sat and waited in silence. You wasted time when she got here and you still didn't speak, you wasted time when she had to call me, and then you started wasting Marissa's time by her having to answer, then my time when she had to interrupt a client, so that means you wasted there time too. You wasted time having to-"

"Dammit Dad, we get it!" Raylen snaps. I slam my hands down on the principals desk in front of my kids.

"No Raylen, I don't think you do." I snarl. "And if you do, I don't think you actually give a fuck. You're pissing me, Mama, and your principal off by not talking. Start. Talking. Now."

Silence.

Odeletta scoffs.

We stand in silence, and at 2:30ish, Odeletta sighs.

"Do you have a restroom I can use?" She asks the principal.

"Go to your left and then your right, it's the first door on the left."

"Thank you." She looks at me. "If they talk when I'm gone, you better tell me."

"I'll tell you." I say.

He opens the door for her and she thanks him, her heels disappearing down the hall.

The moment Raylen hears the bathroom door shut, he starts talking.

"Noemie was getting bullet by Jake and Megan and these two other kids and I didn't know and I found out and Jake started making fun of her and then he called Mama a bitch and said she's hot and that he wanted to know if Mama would have sex with him, and then he looked at Noemie and said she looked like Mama, that he could just have sex with her, and then he started pulling her somewhere to go fuck her so I beat the shit out of him." He folds his arms across his chest. "I don't regret it. I was defending my sister and my Mama."

My jaw and the principals jaw is open slightly. Odeletta walks back in then, her eyes darting to the clock. She looks at me and stops short.

"You know what happened." She says.

I glance at her.

Can I tell her what Jake said?

That bastard was talking about sleeping with my wife? And then he tried to do it to my daughter?

What if Raylen hadn't stopped him? Would he have tried to rape my baby girl?

My stomach stirs in anger and I clench my jaw.

"We're leaving." I say flatly. "Let's go."

"No." Odeletta puts her hand on my chest. "What happened?"

She can feel how hard my heart is pounding right now.

"Nothing." I say. "Let's go."

My kids stand up and I stop in the doorway.

"They have punishment, yes?"

He hesitates.

"I can't let them off with nothing." He says.

I glance at my baby girl and my little man.

"Don't bother. They're switching schools. Let's go kids."

Odeletta looks pissed off that I didn't tell her what's happened, but I can tell she's going to wait until later to question me.

"Let's take the truck home. I'll tell Gabe to get Noah when he gets Caden and Addison. I'll tell him to take Noah to my Mom's and then we can swing by and get him and Caroline."

Odeletta sighs slowly, glaring at me, and then she marches to the Cadillac.

"Meet at home." She says, leaving me alone with the kids.

I sigh and walk to my truck. The kids follow me, Raylen getting in the front and Noemie getting in the back. I text Gabe and ask if he can get Noah and take him to my Mom and he answers fast, telling me he can.

I start driving behind Odeletta's Escalade.

"Are you going to tell Mama?" Raylen asks. I glance at him.

"I don't know." I look at Noemie in the rear view mirror. "Have you kissed a boy before?"

Her mouth opens and closes.

"No Daddy."

"Never?" I ask. "Not even in elementary?"

"Never, I mean it."

I sigh, relaxing slightly.

"Are we grounded?" Raylen asks.

"No."

"But Mama is going to ground us." Noemie says.

"I will deal with your mother." I say.

They fall silent. We drive the rest of the ride in silence. When we get home, I drop the truck off and walk to the Cadillac. When I get close enough, Odeletta gets out and walks around to the passenger side, getting in without a word. I get in the drivers seat and put the chair back. The kids get in silently and I start the forty minute drive to my parents house.

Nobody speaks and the radio isn't on. I can see my wife tapping her things on her thigh in annoyance.

"Nathan, I do not understand why you won't tell me. We don't keep secrets from each other."

I sigh slowly.

"Odeletta," I begin.

"No, it's not right. They are my kids too. I deserve to know."

"I will tell you later." I say.

"You promise?" She asks. I glance at her.

"I promise."

_____

I walk into my parents house, my eyebrows raising.

Not only is my Mom with Noah and Caroline, but eighteen year old Opal is here, and thirteen year old Caden, an eleven year old Addison, who are Harper and Gabe's kids, and then a twelve year old Annabelle, who is Annalise and Mason's kid, and then an eight year old Leah, who is Julian and his wife Emily's kid.

And all of their parents.

"What are all of you here for?" I ask slowly, stepping into the house with my wife and my two older kids.

"I picked up Noah, Caden, Addison, and Annabelle." Gabe says. "And I'm here to drop them off."

"We're here to pick up Annabelle." Mason says, glancing at his twelve year old.

"We're here to get Leah." Julian says, looking at Emily.

I glance at Peyton.

"I'm here for the food."

When Raylen steps into the house, everyone looks at him.

"What happened?" Mom asks.

"That's a good question." Odeletta mutters. She glares at me. "It's later."

I sigh.

"Odeletta," I begin.

"No Nathan, I want answers and I want them now."

"But-"

"No." She glares at me and I know she's willing to fight this. I step aside to let the kids further into the house, shutting the door.

"We can talk about it later." I say to my wife. I look at Raylen. "You need to go clean up. You're covered in blood." I glance at Noemie. "You can help him."

"And hurry up. You're grounded. Both of you." Odeletta cuts in.

"No they're not." I sigh.