Six Shots Deep

A Faint Cry

"A boy?" Arthur bellowed.

"Yes!" Bria yelled, sounding helpless.

I groaned, rubbing my face in irritation. I paced the room, trying to figure out what to do. These kids. I had no idea what the hell to do with them. No matter the punishment, they still disobeyed. I let out a sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "Grounded until further notice."

They both groaned.

"Rooms, now." Arthur said sternly.

They both stood and headed for their rooms. I plopped down on the couch. I felt like breaking down into tears with exhaustion. John and Charles came in through the front door, looking at Arthur and myself with confusion.

"We heard yelling so we waited." Charles said, sitting down next to me. "Is everything okay?"

"Far from it," Arthur replied, pacing the dining room, "Bria was out with a boy."

Charles sighed and looked up at Arthur. "I don't know how you two handle them."

"I'm starting to wonder too." I sighed.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" John asked, laying his hand on my shoulder.

"Charles, will you talk to them? They seem to listen to you more than they do us."

"Sure." Charles stood, heading for the children's rooms.

"Arthur, can you and John keep watch? I don't want any surprises, especially after seeing Bill."

"You guys saw Bill?" John's eyes widened.

I nodded. "Save the questions, John. I ain't in the mood right now."

John nodded and followed Arthur outside, keeping a good distance from the angry man. I dropped my head back into my hands. Once finally alone, I broke down into tears. This was getting hard. The twins wouldn't listen and it was getting to me. I cried for a few minutes before finally calming down and walking to the bathroom. I wiped my teary face and splashed it with warm water. I took in a deep breath before walking outside and to the main house. Abigail sat in the living room sewing. She looked up.

She instantly noticed my rough movement and patted the couch next to her. I plopped down and let out a sigh. "I don't know what to do with them, Abigail."

"I know." She rubbed my back.

"No matter what punishments we give them, they just don't listen-"

"Maybe the punishments are causing them to rebel?"

I looked up at her, confused.

She smiled. "Do you remember that one time John told Jack not to go hunting on his own?"

I nodded.

"Well, he did it anyway, and he got himself hurt. When he got home, he got hell from both me and John, but the next day, he goes and does it again. We grounded him, and then right after his grounding, he goes out on his own once again and almost got himself killed. I talked to a lady in town, and she said that the more punishments you give your kids, the more likely they are to rebel against your wishes." She cleared her throat. "My point being, Rose, is that maybe instead of punishing them so much, why don't you and Arthur have a sit down with them, and figure out why they're rebelling so much?"

"We've tried that-"

She raised her eyebrow. "You've tried and it turned into a yelling match." She pointed out.

I shrugged, admitting it.

"You have a sit down with Eugene, having Arthur listen from afar, and then Arthur sits down with Bria with you listening. Figure this shit out. Those kids are getting to you, I can tell."