Teen Trials

Stair Stomping

Amy had been secretly excited when Paige had broken her arm and Emma had decided not to go to camp without her. The girl had spent a week at youth camp and then four weeks in Europe with her parents and brothers. She made missed her terribly. It was a sweet, charming teenager that she had sent off and she had picked up a demon from the airport. Emma had fought them on everything. First it was that she didn't want to go to church on Sunday. God was dead she had told them, and she didn't feel like going and putting on a show for men with fragile egos. They had agreed she could stay home. Every time they had asked her to do a chore she had made an argument about them not only asking her because she was a woman, but also the task itself was beneath her anyway. She wasn't sure how Hunter hadn't killed her yet. Amy stood at the base of the stairs, prepping herself for the fight she knew was coming. "Ems dinner!"

Hunter was halfway down the stairs himself when he heard Emma call back. "Not hungry."

"She didn't ask." Hunter called, pausing his steps.

Emma poked her head out the door. "You know Europeans aren't as fat, and they eat less."

"You start getting fat, I'll start getting worried. Let's go." He turned and kept walking down the stairs.

"Well I'm not the only one who eats so heavy in this house..." Emma sassed.

Hunter stopped again and turned to the teen. "You can't be implying that I'm overweight, that would be insane. You certainly are not implying that my wife, who just had a baby six weeks ago is overweight, that would be suicidal."

"Well..." Emma started.

"Hey!" Hunter snapped. "I love you. I love Niko and Luca. I do not know how I would continue in a world without any of the three of you in it. In fact some morning when you are all asleep and I am praying over you, I think about how surreal it is that I ever lived in a world without any of you. That being said, little miss. This woman." He pointed down at Amy. "Is my whole freaking world. I would die if I had to know a world without her. You will not even contemplate disrespecting her. Do you hear me?"

"Yes. Sorry, Amy." Another thing she had picked up overseas, Amy noted.

"Its okay, love bug. Come eat."

"Fine." She stomped down the stairs and Amy expected Hunter to wait for her and swat her, but he didn't. He walked ahead of her to wash his hands for dinner.

They sat down to the steaks, asparagus, and salad. Emma wrinkled her nose. "What?" Amy asked.

"We eat so much red meat. You know people in Greece say we smell like rotting flesh because of how much red meat we eat."

"That's a nice thought right before we eat." Hunter said, cutting up Niko's steak.

"I'm not eating this." Emma declared.

Hunter raised an eyebrow at that. "Your momma made it for you, you are eating it."