Scattered - Tangled series (Overprotective famous brothers)

Early morning drama

ALISHA’S POV

Sleepy and unable to balance myself, Arbaaz carried me to my room and set me on my bed. We had a blast at dinner, with Malaika’s sushi. An awkward conversation crept up in the middle, about the day when everyone had come to blows. What had hurt me the most was when Salman had hit the wall besides me. It was scary, and I hadn’t been able to get it out of my mind for days. After repeated apologizes, I forgave them. He hadn’t even touched me; all of them knew well that spanking was the worst idea when it came to me.

Snuggling into the known feel of the bed, I lost track of time as soon as I shut my eye lids.

There were sharks on the balance beam, flipping around. What the hell. Proof: I was obsessed with gymnastics, and watching the discovery documentary on sharks wasn’t the best idea either.

Suddenly, I wasn’t in the arena but was back in what I recognized as the dining room of Salman’s parents. As if watching my body as a soul after death, I could see the six year old me trying to set the dining table. High end crockery was not something new in the household. I had figured that I should help them and was trying to reach the wine glasses placed too high for my short frame. With my index finger just touching it, I pulled it closer. But instead of coming into my hands, it crashed down on the Italian marble. His mom came in rushing, followed by his dad.

Oh no, I thought, not this replaying again. These nightmares had stopped years ago.

“What have you done?” she cried out, kneeling in front of the mess of glass. I was frozen, unable to reply.

“Why do you have to think this is your house? We give you food and shelter, so just be grateful and lie in some corner. But you have to act stupid!” His dad slapped me across my face. Tears streamed down my face. Even in his fifties, he was strong and a six year old was hardly competition.

“I’m s-sorry.” I sniffled the tears, regretting my actions. His mom was going on and on about how it was precious and she’d got it from London. I felt guilty for breaking something expensive, but how could I possibly convey it? Before I could think of anything, a sharp pain ran through my arm.

“You need a lesson.” His dad said, his belt piercing my skin. I was begging for mercy, begging to be forgiven. The spanking didn’t seem to end. Another hard whip on my thighs caught me off guard and I fell backwards hitting the marble. Even then, he kept hitting me, talking about how I was selfish and unworthy. Slowly, the world around me faded.

I woke up, still feeling the light stings on my body. Getting out of the room, I flipped the kitchen lights on and sat on the counter.

Even though I was into concussion and hardly recalled anything after that, I found out that Malaika had seen me lying unconscious on the floor and had gotten me into the ER. Arbaaz and Sohail hurried to the hospital, and Salman was late because of out of country shooting. Even with his debut movie a hit at the box office, he hardly had any money. So, I and my brothers still stayed at his parents’ home.

Furious with what had happened, he decided to move out. The only place we could afford was a small one room apartment in Galaxy. It was the same place we stayed at still, but at that time we didn’t own entire two floors. Only one room, a living room and a kitchen. We didn’t even have BMWs, Mercedes and Rolls Royce. We didn’t own the most expensive designer wardrobes. We weren’t in the limelight constantly. But we were content.

That afternoon was the reason I dreaded the thought of being spanked. I knew that it was a form of punishment, meant to make the child realize his mistake. But after that, spanking brought back painful memories. I knew well that spanking didn’t involve being beaten unconscious, but I couldn’t help but feel the trauma of that afternoon. I knew people who spanked their kids, and they were all normal. But I wasn’t the one who could handle it well.