Approaching Normal // third book in Dementophobia series

six // run away. i'll attack

--Courtney's P.O.V--

"Mom, Dad, can Chris come over tonight?" Benji asked, stepping into the living room, his arms crossed.

I turned my head to look at my husband and Bowser who appeared to be passed out against the arm of the couch. "Do you think that will be a good idea, Benji? You know what your brother has been feeling over the last few days. I don't know if it would be good for him to over company over."

If Tyler and I had a nickel for every time we said that to Benji, we would probably be rich. I hated telling any of my children no, but their well-being came first, which meant that if Bowser's mental state would be worsened by company, then there wasn't going to be any.

"Mom, he's asleep!" Benji remarked, gesturing to the couch. "He's been asleep for a couple hours now. Besides, I can have Chris bring his younger sister, Hanna, over in case he wakes up. He'll hang out with her."

I glanced at Tyler. "What do you think?"

The love of my life shrugged. "I don't see the harm in it really. You know how how Bowser is when Benji has friends over. He just usually stays in my music room until the person has left. Besides, it's Pierre's weekend for Séverine, Koda and Candice are at David and London's, and Emma has her head buried in homework. It wouldn't be a problem to let Benji have a friend over."

I knew that Tyler was right, but I still felt uneasy. "Alright, Benji, Chris can come over, but I don't have him bring Hanna over. Since she was the reason why he had a breakdown, I don't want her around him for the time being."

Benji gestured to his sleeping brother. "But he likes her a lot. You may not realize that, but I'm his twin brother, I know more things about him than you ever will. This is the first person since Alex's disappearance that he's actually talked to outside of his own family unit. He needs to talk things out with her."

I opened my mouth to speak up, but Tyler beat me to it.

"He'll talk to her when he feels like he's ready. I've learned over time that being forced to talk about things isn't very helpful. The talking has to happen because you want it to happen," he explained.

Benji sighed in defeat. "Fine, whatever you say." With that being his last words, he stomped out of the living room.

"You insisted that you wanted to have a boy. Now, this is what you have to deal with," Tyler remarked.

I elbowed him in the rib cage, causing him to groan in pain. "And you insisted that you wanted a girl, but could barely handle the emotional teenage phase that Séverine went through and that Emma is just now entering."

Tyler groaned. "Do not remind me about the emotional teenage phase. I hated that time period and I still have to suffer through it with Emma and Candice."

I smiled, pecking him on the cheek before standing up. "You are the one that wanted these many children."

"And Benji and Bowser are going to college soon, so that means we will have an extra room."

I cut him off. "No, no, no. I'm done with kids. Giving birth six times is enough."

I swear I saw a faint smile on Bowser's lips at my comment whilst Tyler just rolled his eyes. "You said that after Candice was born."

I let out a fed up sigh at Tyler's teasing and started into the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, he followed me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a gigantic bear hug, planting kisses all over my face.

I giggled. "I hate you."

"You love me more than you care to admit."

"I know."