Hellooooo everybody! So this is one of those fics I wrote a loooooong time ago (actually it was just Christmas of 2007, which I guess is a while ago) but didn't think it was good enough to put up here. I just wasn't satisfied with it, etc. Well, I've decided I'm going to put those things aside and just present it to you. Some of the facts (like Liam's schooling) may not be historically accurate, and I couldn't find an age that worked good for the storyline for both Liam and Abby. But apart from that, I find it rather cute, and I hope you do too. This is part one of a two shot. I'll post the second part once I edit it one last time. :D This is a sort of sequel to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in that it takes Liam's younger sister Abby, but it's not really necessary to read it (unless you want to make me really happy!).
Oh, and also, this is my birthday present for my adopted sissy number 2 Mar (setarip on HTR). HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYY (even though it's late).
69. Annoyance
"Liam! Liiiiiiiaaaaaammmmmmmm!" I groaned and rolled my eyes. Could I not get two minutes without being disturbed? I thought silently to myself. I glanced over my shoulder to see my four-year-old sister Abby skipping gaily over to me. I let out a moan. Abby was forever bothering me when I was working. She never seemed to get that I was busy. Sighing loudly, I turned in my chair to face her.
"What is it, Abby? I'm doing schoolwork," I told her, hoping she would get the hint and leave. She bounced on the balls of her feet, her brown curls dancing on her small shoulders.
"Will you play with me?" Apparently, the hint was not taken. I turned back to my slate.
"I just told you! I'm working!" I repeated exasperatedly. Now I was getting angry. My work was taking enough time already with out Abby being bothersome. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. Her bright face fell slightly.
"Oh," she whispered. I cringed internally. I really did hate letting her down, but I had things to do, and she was getting in the way. Not to mention she was being a pain. I didn't need to entertain her every waking moment of the day, did I? She should be able to find her own entertainment. I continued my work half-heartedly, still feeling her presence behind me. That was almost as annoying as her talking to me, because now, she was just standing there, watching me. I leaned my head up helplessly and turned back to her.
"Are you just going to sit there and watch me?" I asked her. She shrugged. Ugh, was I ever going to be rid of her? I moved to continue working, choosing to ignore her answer.
"Whatcha working on?" she asked, oblivious to my anger. She scurried over to my side and peeked over my elbow. I moved my arm slightly so she could see, and hoped that maybe, once she found out what I was doing, she would leave. No such luck.
"What is that?"
"Multiplication tables," I sighed with a tone of finality, trying to appear as if I was working diligently.
"What are mulpikitation tables? Do you eat on them?" she asked innocently, her brown eyes wide. I sighed and turned to her again.
"It's mul-ti-pli-ca-tion. And no, you don't eat on it. It's math," I told her. "Hard math," I added in an undertone.
"Oh," she said again, climbing onto the chair next to me and standing on it to get a better view. I moaned silently. Why couldn't she just go away?
"Can I help?" That was the final straw.
"You can help by leaving me alone!" I yelled. "This is hard enough without you constantly being an annoyance!" Abby's bottom lip trembled as she tried to hold back tears.
"Fine!" she yelled back. Sticking her tongue out at me, she spun on her heels and ran out of the room, crying.
I sighed miserably. "Now you've done it," I said to myself, glaring at my slate. "Now she'll go tattle on you. Great job, Liam. Good going." I picked up my chalk again. I hadn't meant to get so mad at her, but she had just sent me over the edge, and I exploded. Yes, she was annoying, but I felt terrible for making her cry. I started working on my multiplication again. Eleven times three. What is eleven times three? I racked my brain. I hated multiplication. I was terrible at math, and it kept getting harder and harder. I twisted my chalk, trying to remember what eleven times three was. Oh, right! I thought. Eleven times three equals thirty-three! I hastily scratched two three's onto the slate with my chalk next to the problem. Suddenly, my ears pricked. A faint noise was growing steadily closer. Footsteps echoed in the silent house. As the noise grew louder, my heart sank, as I realized that it was my sister, crying. Great. Now I'm in trouble. Father, looking rather frazzled, walked into the room, carrying a sobbing Abby in his strong arms.
"William Jonathan Turner!" he yelled. I turned guiltily in my chair to face him. "Explain yourself!" His tired eyes bored into me. I flushed slightly and stared at my worn, brown boots.
"I was working on my multiplication tables," I started meekly, "when Abby came in here and bothered me. She was being really annoying, and I kind of exploded at her. I'm sorry! I really am." I looked up at him again, with wide, guilty eyes and a frown on my face. Father's eyes softened slightly. Placing Abby, who had stopped crying, on the floor, he came and sat down next to me.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Liam," he sighed, rubbing his exhausted eyes. "I'm just hanging by a thread here." I watched as he ran a tired hand through his hair. "When Abby came to me crying, she woke up your mother." I winced. Mother was pregnant again, and she hadn't been getting much sleep lately, so she was extremely grumpy. I imagined that she wasn't too happy when Abby woke her up. I looked apologetically back at Father. "Yes. And she yelled at me for it," he chuckled a little.
"Sorry," I said sheepishly, a small smile gracing my face.
"It's not your fault that your mother is acting a bit crazy," he replied, tousling my hair. I smiled up at him. "But on top of that, I was trying to do some paperwork for the shop, since I'm taking care of your mother and I can't be in there working. It's been piling up anyway. I guess it was about time to tackle it," he added.
"Can I help you at all?" I asked, trying to make amends. Father eyed me hesitantly.
"Well," he started, "If you really wanted to be a big help, you could entertain Abby." I groaned, glancing at my sister, who was standing in the middle of the room and smiling innocently, and then turned back to Father. "It would be a very big help to both your mother and me." He guilted me into it. I sighed.
"Fine, I'll take her to the beach," I relented. Abby cheered behind me as Father smiled gratefully at me. Standing up, he gave me a big hug.
"Thank you so much. You're such a wonderful son," I smiled widely at him. "Maybe later we can do some sword fighting, hm? What say you to that?"
"Aye!" I exclaimed. Father smiled and patted my shoulder. "Come on, Abby, let's go." She grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door, laughing jubilantly.
"Don't be out past sunset! Your mother will kill us both if you're late for dinner!" Father called after us. I waved back at him.
So that's part one. Constructive criticism is always welcome! And if anyone has a better title for this twoshot, it is also very welcome. I just came up with the current one off the top of my head really fast so I could post this. :)
