all american | lance tucker

ch. 44 • rome 2011

"Hey! You're home!" She held a cheerful look with the kids, but I knew she was pissed about having to watch them. The kids were so involved in their game, they didn't even get up.

"Thank you so much, Adele. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you watching them." I sighed, chewing on the inside of her cheek. The annoyed look melted off of her face as she met my gaze.

"You okay?" She asked softly, her eyebrows creasing. I nodded, flashing a small smile.

"Family drama. You know how it is." I shrugged, walking with her to the door. "I'm really sorry it was last second. I'll try not to let it happen again."

"It's okay. I left Will to deal with Hope's volcano science project." She laughed. I smiled.

"I'll try not to call you too soon."

"Oh, it's not that bad. I just pretend to be angry to make Lance mad." She smiled before heading out the door, closing it softly behind her. Lance, who was consoling Jace who had just started crying, had a sour look on his face.

"She acts like I'm deaf." He grumbled, bouncing Jace slightly.

"Oh, don't take it personally. I do stuff specifically to make you mad all the time." I reassured him, rubbing his arm. He had calmed Jace down, so he set him on the ground and checked his watch.

"Did you guys eat dinner?" He asked, picking up Ciara as she jumped at him and swinging her around.

"No." Ciara said, shaking her head dramatically. He rolled his eyes, setting her down before picking up Jace and grabbing Shay's hand and leading them all into the kitchen with him.

"Of course you guys didn't. Looks like chicken nuggets for dinner." He started to make them, setting Ciara on the counter as he did so.

"Can we watch a movie?" Aria asked, standing next to me. I scoffed.

"What ever happened to a little family conversation?" I pointed to the chair next to me, motioning for her to sit down. "How was your day?"

"Good. But it's almost tomorrow and then dad has to leave. Again." She sighed, leaning her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her, taking a deep breath.

"I know. I'm gonna miss him too."

"How long is he gonna be gone for?"

"A month at most."

"That's such a long time!" She complained, groaning.

"I know. But he's going to come home once a week. And he'll do anything you want him to do with you." I promised, knowing full well that wasn't true. You couldn't make Lance do anything he didn't want to.

"Why didn't she feed you? It's almost eight?" Lance snapped, basically just complaining to himself as he put them in the oven.

"We were playing Jenga for a long time." Aria explained. "Dad can you watch a movie with us tonight?"

"No, because you have to go to bed after dinner."

"But why?"

"Because you have school in the morning." Lance shook his head. "Plus, I have to leave super early so I'm going to bed with you."

"But you never go to bed at the same time as us." Aria whined, leaning her head back. Lance stared her down.

"Quit complaining. I'm older than you."

"Yeah, by like 10,000 years." She retorted. I high-fived her, grinning at the well timed insult. He stared at her.

"And that extra 10,000 years lets me control your bedtime." He winked at her before turning to adjust the time on the oven.