Chilton Academy (Spanking Story)

Saturday Night with Romeo

Joe's POV

The house was finally quiet; It was just me and Cee.  Nick was out on his date with Cat and Kevin was home due to the girls coming down with the stomach bug.

Romeo and Juliet had completely overtaken my night. I was knee deep in 9th grade papers that I had them write about the tragic love story. Unfortunately for me the most tragic part seemed to be these papers that had gradually gone from mediocre to awful. I had written more "D's"  than "B's". Sometimes I wonder why I'm stuck teaching English class when I know I could have had the opportunity to do so much more. But I guess there's nothing more important than raising Cece into the woman mom would have wanted her to be.

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love. And I'll no longer be a Capulet."

Looking up, I was shocked seeing Cece standing in the doorway of my office with a half smile on her face. "What are you doing out of bed? We told you to yell if you needed anything."

"That would have done wonders on my throat and besides I had to get out of bed. I felt like the germs were crawling all over me. I had to make my escape." Cecelia always had my quick wit and humor and more than once pulled them out especially when she was in deep trouble. "How's the essay grading going?"

"They're worse than your essays." I teased bringing a much welcomed smirk to Cecelia's face. " I think I've given out more bad grades than good " I patted my knee for her to take a seat. "Still feeling rough?"

Nodding she took a seat on my lap and rested her head on my shoulder. "My chest still hurts and I've got a headache. No matter how much sleep I get, that headache won't go away."

"Well maybe if you get some food in your system that might help." Giving her a parental look, I rubbed my thumb over her hand. "Can you try to eat something for me? Cat brought over homemade chicken noodle soup; want some of that?"

"I'd like that." She said giving me a half hearted smile, I gave her hand a squeeze and  stood her to her feet before pulling her along with me to the kitchen.

She sat on the barstool as I set to work getting her soup ready. She played with the ring on her finger before clearing her throat. "Joey, I have a question."

"What's up baby girl?"

"Before I threw down that Romeo quote,  You were looking pretty deep in thought..." she said her eyes filled with exhaustion and worry. "what were you thinking about?"

Leaning against the counter, I looked at her before taking a deep breath. "Several things to be honest."

"Sharing is caring." She smirked as I cleared my throat. The timer on the microwave beeped as I delivered the bowl of soup to the counter in front of Cee.

Pointing to the soup, I looked at my baby sister. "Eat that while it's warm. It'll help with your throat and your congestion."

"Again, sharing is caring, Joe."

Nodding, I folded my hands before looking at her. "Like I said I was thinking of several things. Mostly about how Mom would always take care of us when we were sick. I was also thinking about life prior to Mom and Dad passing away."

I watched as Cee stopped blowing her spoonful of soup and brought her eyes to mine. "Do you ever regret giving up your life, moving back and taking care of me?"

"Never." I didn't even have to think about that question. "There was a time I thought I would but I can't imagine being anywhere else. I can't imagine missing out on all the moments we've shared.  I think I would have regretted it if I hadn't moved back. I mean Nick was 19 and I was 22; Kevin was married and had Ellie on the way when this all went down. Like you know, Kevin offered to take you but we didn't want to uproot you anymore than you had already been."

"There are days that I have vivid flashbacks of what happened to them. Like I'm back being 13 and my whole world is flipped upside down." Shrugging she held the bowl to get warmth into her hands. "I mean you and Nick were out of the house so it was only Mom, Dad, and I then suddenly it was only me."

I nodded. "And that's when the nightmares started... the only time you ever had them outside of being sick. I remember waking up in the middle of the night for months with you screaming your head off. Nick and I honestly didn't know what to do. We went through every remedy . . . thank God you grew out of those."

"I know I don't say this enough but thank you for giving up your life and moving here to stay with me. I know I may throw temper tantrums and act like a spoiled brat but I really appreciate you two stepping up to raise me." Giving me a hug, she inhaled through her mouth before mumbling an 'I Love You' in my shirt.

"I love you too kiddo. Nick and I love being here and watching you grow up." Tightening my arms around her, I kissed the top of her head. "We do have the job of chasing the guys away."

She giggled before pushing the half empty bowl of soup away. "I don't thank you for that. I'm going back upstairs. Will you send Nick and Cat up when they get home?"

"Sure."

I watched her walk up the stairs as the house returned to its unusual quietness. I returned to my papers and waited for my brother to return home from his date.