It Goes On - Book l

An Ounce of Military Punishment

Simon's Point of View:

I ended up waking up late the following morning, hating myself for sleeping in for once. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel better. But once I realized that I was picking up Johnny and Teeter from the hospital, and with that thought, I shot up in realization, quickly changing into a pair of jeans and a hoodie before hiding my unkept hair with a backwards ballcap before rushing towards the nursery to check on my twins, and when I noticed they were gone, my heart began to beat harshly against my chest. Kiera was gone from her side of the bed and my kids were nowhere to be found, my worst nightmare becoming a reality in the midst of my fading drowsiness.

I rushed down the stairs, nearly slipping on the steps due to the fabric of my socks, and I was relieved when I saw Kiera sitting on the couch, both twins on her lap with Baler on the opposite couch and her mother putting away a few dishes of the sink.

Even with their concerned looks, I was glad that my worst nightmare hadn't come true. "You alright, Simon?" She asked me, and I couldn't reply after a few moments to gather myself and force my mind to realize that this wasn't a nightmare.

I was just overreacting.

"Yeah, just fine love," I sighed. "Just woke up late."

"I didn't want to wake you up. You were sleeping and the twins were crying. I didn't want to wake you up."

Her face looked as if she were sorry for letting me sleep, and I quickly reassured her that it was okay by pressing a kiss to the top of her head as I leant over the couch. "It's okay, love. Just woke up late for once."

"I figured you deserved to sleep in for once instead of waking up at four a.m." She giggled.

"What're you and Baler up to this morning? The kid is quiet." I arched my brow, my gaze looking up towards the television that was mounted above the fireplace.

"I let him pick the movie. We're being lazy today," She hummed, standing up to put Jacob and Evie into the play pen when they became restless sitting on her lap. They were going to be two years old soon, and that thought alone broke my heart. They're growing too fucking fast for my liking. Their heads were full of hair and each of them now were showing teeth all while growing more aware of their surroundings. "What movie is this, Baler?" She asked him, a smirk on his face while the remote rested on his stomach.

"Norbit."

"That's right. I knew I've seen this movie before, but I couldn't remember the name of it."

"What's it rated?"

"So far, it's a good five out of ten." Baler retorted.

"No, what's the rating? I don't want them watching something that's not appropriate."

"It's PG-13, dad," He scoffed. Did he just roll his eyes at me? "They won't know what this is about."

"I've already heard two curse words and I've been down here for less than five minutes." I scoffed.

"Come on, dad. We're halfway through it!"

"Subtitles, then," I huffed. "You know the rules."

"Such bullshit." He mumbled under his breath. God, it pissed me off. Especially when he retorted at Kiera for giggling at my helicopter dad behavior. "It's not fucking funny, mom. It's stupid we can't even watch a movie that has a couple of cuss words—"

"Hey, you know what? Turn it off," I hissed at him, now walking over to where he was to snatch the remote from him. "If you can't respect the rules, then you have to follow the consequences."