The second I got in the car, whatever conversation the twins were having in the backseat stopped. We didn’t say a word as I drove us back to the shop. Axel glared out the window while Weylyn fidgeted in his seat. 

“What in the actual fuck were you thinking,” I asked when I parked in my usual spot. The deep breaths I had been taking the whole drive over hadn’t worked and I was seconds away from screaming at both of them. 

“I didn’t want to take English,” Axel said with a small shrug. I turned around in my seat to glare at him properly. 

“So you thought switching classes was the best option?”

“It usually works.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” I sighed. “And you,” I said looking at Weylyn, who flinched back but looked up at me. “I expect this from him but you used to be the responsible one. Where the hell did that go? Since when do you just go along with these things?”

“I pressured him into it,” Axel said. “He tried to talk me out of it. If you’re going to be mad at anyone be mad at me.”

“What’s this about you throwing books?”

“Apparently the math teacher is also our homeroom teacher and recognized that I had already been in that class. She told me to leave and to send Weylyn in, I told her to fuck off, she tried to grab me and force me out of the room, I threw a book at her to get her away from me.” All I could do was stare at him for a second. 

“Why would you do that,” I asked, desperation seeping into my voice. “Out of all of the things that you could have done, why that? You could have hurt her?”

"That was kind of the point,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t want people touching me so I made an example out of her.”

I sighed again, the headache quickly getting worse. 

“Just get inside,” I told them as I rubbed a hand over my face. “Just go inside and stay in the office until I come to get you. Can you do that for me, please? Can you do the one thing I’m asking of you right now? Please?” Weylyn was out the door in seconds. Axel muttered something under his breath before following his brother while I stayed in the car for a little while longer. 

Deep breaths, Andrew’s voice whispered in my head. Your anger is valid but unhelpful. Anger will not help you solve this problem. Take some time to just be by yourself to calm down and we can revisit this when you are ready.

I stayed in the car for a long time. 

“How did it go,” Ryder asked tensely when I went to reopen my side of the shop. 

“I’m trying to not think about it right now,” I said with forced calmness. “I’ll tell everyone later so I only have to do it once. Can you text Liam that he doesn’t need to pick them up after all?”

The drive home at the end of the day was tense. Ryder kept glancing at all of us, hoping someone would break the silence but no one did. I was still beyond pissed and I knew the twins could tell. 

They didn’t need to be told to go to their rooms when we got back to the house but Carter lifted an eyebrow when he saw the way my hands clenched after I threw my keys on the table. 

“Workout time,” he asked and I only nodded. 

“You wanna talk about it,” he asked as he held the bag as I hit it as hard as I could. 

“That fucking principal is a bitch. The twins switched classes for some reason and got caught. They got sent to the office and she called me, mid-rush saying I needed to come pick them up. We talked about it and I thought everything was going to be fine until she started going on about how she raised her siblings and how successful they were now and how great of a job she did and how I needed to do better. That bitch has no fucking right to comment on how I raise my brothers. And then she had the audacity to recommend foster care for them! Who fucking does that? I’m not just going to let some stranger have them!” 

“You’re right,” Carter said with a scowl of his own. “You were a child raising children. You did the best you could.”

“Exactly! And I know they weren’t exactly angels when I was there but they wouldn’t have thrown a book at a teacher or starting cussing in class. This is all Lily. She didn’t give enough of a shit about them and now I have to try and correct it. And to have that bitch questioning my ability to care for kids, god it pissed me off so much. I don’t know if I’m even mad at the twins or if I’m just pissed at her at this point.”

“You can be mad at both.”

“I don’t want to be mad at all,” I groaned as I pulled away from the bag and began pacing. “I had a fucking streak Carter. I’ve gone months without exploding like that and now because some bitch couldn’t keep her damn comments to herself it’s gone. I think I’m mad about that too.”

“Trust me, if anyone understands what it feels like to lose a streak it’s me and you are completely in your right to be upset about it.” 

“Doesn’t make me feel any better about it.”

“I know,” he said with a frown. “What are you going to do about the twins?”

“I’m not sending them away,” I said with a glare. His scowl softened as he stepped in front of me, holding my face in his hands.

“I would never ask you to do that. Not after knowing how much you care for them. I meant more repercussion-wise. These actions can’t go without consequences but if you do too much they might not see you as a safe person anymore.” I sighed. 

“I don’t even know. The last time they did it they were 10. Weylyn didn’t want to take gym class so Axel took it for him. The teacher was nice and knew about our situation so he didn’t do anything but give them a lecture. I had yelled at them too but didn’t really know what else to do. I still don’t. I can’t ground them because they need their phones and tv is the only time they actually relax around us and they don’t do anything else.”

“I think we should talk to Liam, maybe Andrew, and see what they have to say.” I nod and he smiles. “Are you feeling better?”

“No.”

“Then lets get back at it.”