~FAILING IN REVERSE~ (spanking story)

Chapter 12: Recovery Part 2

A/N: so, this is 17K words, about. Sorry it took so long! I just couldn't stop it from coming! Some...interesting...twists and turns in this one. Maybe a lot more fluff too :) and more Rami...

As Ben begins to drive you further and further away from the house, in silence, you can't help but feel an empty, almost forlorn feeling—despite your tears having died down. It's hard not to think you ruin everything. "Look, Ben, I-I...you said before today you were gonna ground me. Just do it. I'll be fine. I deserve it. I fucked up everyone's day. Past few days, really."

You expect Ben to lash out, say something along the lines of, "How dare you talk about my kid that way," but he doesn't. He just cradles the back of your head as he drives, and says, "You don't have to worry about all that. What everyone thinks of you. Just—be you. It'll be okay. It's always okay."

Either the man is too tired to lay into you a thorough lecture or he's too disappointed in you to make an effort any more. Of course, you don't like his lectures, but right now, he sounds like a dead man walking. You killed him.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I don't wanna come between you and Kamilla."

Ben pokes the back of your neck for emphasis. "You're. Not. You're just a kid. You don't have the power to erase a marriage. You needed a time out, and to be honest, I did too. Now let's talk about something else. Or just listen to—"

You block him from reaching the radio. "No, I mean, I wanna be grounded. I deserve to be grounded. I did too much shit. I knew better."

"You do know better, but I already told you. Kamilla and I changed our minds. We'd rather just supervise you more closely. And the spankings should suffice."

And then it dawns on him. "Oh—you wanna be grounded so you don't have to attend family day? Nope, not happening. Kamilla'd kill me if I let you skip. Sorry, son. You made your own grave with that one. You can face the music. Face everyone with confidence. You'll be fine. That's called a natural consequence."

You pout and slump further in your seat. Bested. "But I deserve—for the tattoo—"

"Sshh, enough. I'm done talking about this. Give yourself a break. We've already set your punishment for the tattoo...And literally no one's gonna care that you left today, or that you mooned them. That shit was funny. I don't care what your mom says. In fact, the only person they might be a little miffed at is Kamilla for embarrassing you, but they'll get over it because we all love each other. We take care of each other. It's called family, okay? They'll always be there."

This gets you sniffling. "I guess I—I never had family like that. They always would ask for stuff in return when I needed a favor. And I always had to earn their respect. They—liked to pretend I wasn't there until they needed me. I was kind of an annoying little shit. Can't blame them really."

"Guess what? News flash: you're still an annoying little shit, but we still love the snot out of you. We taught all our kids what true love is—even despite the obvious fact we're not always great at showing it. But we're working on it. That, that right there kid, what you're referring to with your family is transactional love. It's not real love. So get that out of your head. You can and will always have us. As long as we're alive, doesn't matter how long you need, you can come back home, alright? We'll be here."

You sniffle again, not quite sure how to accept all of that new information, and still not sure if you deserve it, or can handle it. However, you feel you can breathe easier again, relieved, just a little.

Ben pats your leg, giving you a short, reassuring smile. "Take your mind off stuff. Let's put our mind on ice cream. What flavors do you think they'll have?"