Hold My Love

Chapter 52: Corporal Punishment

"I want Mama...Alessandro!", Mary cries.

Her tears were beginning to soak into his shirt but he doesn't seem to notice them or her crying in fact. He was looking off into the distance with empty eyes.

Mary reaches for the door handle, "Stop the car I'm getting out".

"Mary that's enough", Less tells her softly.

She glares at him and slaps him so hard Esperanza stirs from her sleep.

"Fuck you, don't tell me what to do!", the ten year old screams.

I don't have time to properly react to Mary's outbursts because Alessandro grabs the back of her head and pushes her onto her stomach on his lap. Her dress rides up as Alessandro lands three smacks on her butt.

I don't know weather to be embarrassed for Mary because she just got spanked by her brother in front of people or because now we know she still wears pink Barbie underwear.

Mary sits back in her seat, pulls her knees to her chest not caring that she has a dress on and cries.

No one speaks. We are too shocked about what we just witnessed.

We drive to the airport in silence and I don't question why we are here when we were supposed to spend another week. And I also don't question how our suitcases got here.

Mary avoids her brother like the plague and sits in between Lace and I. She falls asleep before we board the plane and Less carries her on board.

I sit next to Giovanni in the back. Beatrice and Lucia sit in front of us, lace next to Mary across from us, sienna with Antonio buckled in a car seat next to her and Alessandro with Esperanza buckled in a car seat next to him.

I fall asleep as the plane takes of but halfway through the flight I wake up and find everyone but Giovanni sleeping. And to my surprise Mary had made her way to Alessandro's lap.

"They made up or something?"

Gio looks over at the siblings, "I guess they did".

I shake my head, "I still can't believe he beat her in front of everyone. "

Giovanni shrugs, "Sure it was humiliating but I bet you she won't do that again-"

"He isn't her Mom. And so are you saying you would have done the same thing if that were Lucia?"

He nods, "Sophia, you have to understand my father died when Lucia was very young, I had to fill in not only as a brother but a father at times. Same thing with Mary, she doesn't even know her father, just Less. So yes I would have and she didn't get beat I wouldn't even call that a spanking".

I shake my head, "poor girl she's probably so humiliated. He should have done it somewhere private at least".

Gio reclines his seat and reaches across me to press something that reclines mine as well.

"You aren't gonna spank our kids Sophia?"

Butterflies swarm my heart and Vagina when he says "our" instead of "your".

"I don't want to. I think it's hypocritical to teach our children that violence is not OK but then beat them and excuse it as 'discipline'. There are other ways to discipline a child that would actually get through to them. All spanking does is teach them to hate you and make them think that violence is acceptable if you're teaching someone a lesson".

Gio strokes my cheek, "were you beat as a child Sophia?"

I look away, "...my father".

I barely saw my Dad growing up. But when he was there he would always find a reason to get angry at me so he could put use to his belt. When I turned 18 I tried talking to him about how he had hurt me. I wanted him to know how I felt, to know whether he regrets beating me for no reason, calling me outside of my name. But he didn't, in his eyes he did nothing wrong. I cut him off from that day, although sometimes he randomly texts me when he needs something from me.

"Would he do it on the spot? Yell at you too? And he would forget his own strength?"

I clench my jaw as my vision blurs. There is nothing more I hate then crying in front of people.

"That wasn't discipline mio amore. That was abuse, he would say he did it because he loves you but he was doing it when he was angry like he was taking his anger out on you".

I didn't want to have this conversation with him. My childhood was still a sensitive topic for me.

I shrug feeling uncomfortable, "Yeah you're right, but I'm still not fully for corporal punishment".

Pulling me onto his lap, Gio kisses my head and traces the shape of my lips.

"My father was abusive too. Mentally and physically. I never had a fatherly role model, I had someone who I never wanted to be like...I'll never hurt our children Sophia. That's a promise I'll take to the grave".

I close my eyes and act like I'm going to sleep because if I look into those stormy grey eyes....

Oh baby I could cry.

Lmao who got beat as a kid?