Unpredictable SOS

chapter 1

"Ricky!" Bella yelled, glaring at Luke who had been laying across the couch in the same spot all day long doing absolutely nothing.

Ricky came down the stairs slowly, looking a bit worried as to why his mom was calling him.

"Why did I just get a call from your principal?" Bella groaned, "Were you really acting up, again?" 

Ricky looked up at his mom as innocently as he possibly could. Luke finally seemed interested in something that didn't involve his phone for the first time today, standing up and walking into the kitchen where his wife and son stood.

Ricky backed up a little, staring up at his dad who towered over him. "What did you do?" Luke asked, his tone completely serious and demanding.

The twelve year old boy bit his lip, stepping back a little further as he shrugged his shoulders. 

"Richard Hemmings." Luke warned, reaching out for Ricky who dashed off in a second,  slipping down the hall as fast as a jackrabbit. 

Luke jetted after his child, "Richard, when I get my hands on you-"

"Daddy stop." A little voice demanded. Standing in the middle of the hallway between Ricky and Luke was Darcy.

Luke sighed, reaching down and picking up the little two year old. He set her on his hip then stared back over at Ricky with a warning look in his eyes. "I suggest you go get your laptop, phone, and tablet. Bring it out to your mom."

Ricky stood there, with his eyes narrowed. "All of it?"

"Yes, all of it. Now."

Ricky sighed, turning on his heels and heading to his room.

Luke took Darcy into the living room, "Look who got out of her crib again."

Bella briefly smiled at her daughter than walked over to the sink, starting to clean the dirty dishes that had been piled up for a while waiting for Luke to clean them. "I was going to do that," He muttered, walking by her and into the living room.

She didn't answer back, just rolled her eyes and scrubbed away. Ricky walked out with his electronics, setting them on the breakfast bar and walking over to the sink picking up a dish to dry.

"Isn't this dad's job?" He sighed.

"Mhmm. Do you mind finishing while I start supper, then I have to go change over the laundry, and Darcy's going to need a bath, and-"

Ricky frowned at his mom, cutting her off. "I'll finish, mom, it's fine."

Bella had dark circles under her eyes, she felt like she was beginning to get sick, she was exhausted and she just had so much work to do. The other day she had accidentally dumped bleach into the dark clothes instead of the detergent, she set her alarm clock for 5 at night instead of 5 in the morning and practically slept through half a day of work before Luke woke her up, and yesterday morning she actually put on her shirt and pants on backwards and went out for hours before she even realized.

Maybe exhausted isn't even the right word to describe her.

Bella preheated the oven, then went downstairs and switched over the laundry. After that, she came back upstairs and continued to cook. When she had set up plates for the boys and fed Darcy it was time to give her a bath then tuck the kids in, and she kept forgetting to find out what Ricky did still.

"Are they asleep?" Luke questioned Bella who sat down on the couch to finish folding the basket of clean clothes that had been sitting there for days.

Bella didn't answer, instead pulled another shirt out of the basket and began to neatly fold it.

"Well, I'm gonna go out with Mikey." He stood up, walking towards his boots and slipping them on along with his jacket.

Bella bit her tongue to keep from saying anything that would start a fight, that's all she had been trying to do; keep from starting a fight with Luke.

It was nerve-wrecking for Bella every time her husband went out. She thought things she never wanted to think.

Is he cheating on me?

Is he even with Michael?

Maybe it would be nice if he just didn't come back one day. A lot easier, at least.

Bella cringed at the thought of all of those, wishing they would fall from her mind. But that's close to impossible lately.

"Bye." Luke called, the door closing loudly behind him. Bella held her breath for a second, waiting for what she knew would come next.

Sure enough, the baby-monitor made a tiny creaking noise and soon Darcy's cries were heard through the little speaker. Bella cursed under her breath, laying down the pants she had in her hands and walking towards Darcy's room. 

She didn't bother attempting to go try and fold clothes again once Darcy had fallen back asleep, instead she just climbed into her large, cold bed and tried to sleep a little, but when that failed she reached over picking up her phone and dialing the only person who could listen to her mumble rants until she fell asleep.

"Hey love, everything alright?"

"Hi Ashton, and no, not really."

(Quick first chapter to get things started. xx)