The next day at the NJC
Mike's pov
After dinner I sat Lisa and Julie down in the conference room to write their lines.
"Listen, girls. Every night for the next two weeks I expect you to come here straight after dinner and write your lines." I handed the girls some sheets of paper and a pencil.
Julie rolled her eyes and huffed, sitting with her arms crossed as she glared at me.
"I highly recommend you lose the attitude, darlin', as you still have a belting scheduled for tonight and I will add penalty strokes if I sense a lack of remorse. Understand?" I'm in no mood for my child's impudence.
"Whatever, this is bogus," Julie muttered, slumping further down in her seat.
I took a deep breath and counted to five like Marlena suggested but it did nothing to quell my temper. I was still furious with my second oldest daughter and her crap attitude.
"Stand up, Julie," I commanded, as I rubbed my temples.
"No. Why?" Julie inexplicably remained defiant.
I took a moment to compose myself.
"Julie, you can stand up on your own accord like I asked, or I can stand you up myself. In the first scenario, I'll give you two harsh slaps to your bottom as a reminder to straighten up. In the second scenario, I'll pull you over my knee and spank you for two solid minutes. The choice is yours." I sincerely hope she chooses wisely.
Thankfully, Julie stood up on her own.
After smacking her ass harshly twice, I sat her back down and said, "The two of you will write, I will not show my niece inappropriate music videos, one hundred times each night. Get started, ladies, I'll be back to check on you later."
One hour later
Mike's pov
I went back to the conference room and the girls were just finishing up their writing assignments.
"Now I want the two of you to come with me to Shane's room so the four of us can finish our discussion regarding Maegan and the video in question."
"Yes sir," Lisa replied respectfully, heading out of the room.
Julie, however, sighed loudly and said, "OMG, this is so dumb."
Before Julie reached the door, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the room.
"Go on ahead, Lisa, we'll meet you in Shane's room in a little bit." Once Lisa was gone, I closed the door and addressed Julie. "Come here," I ordered, as I leaned against the table.
Julie sauntered over, rolling her eyes. "Ok, I'm here. Now what?"
I slapped her bottom harshly.
"Watch it," I warned, pointing my finger in her face.
"Fine," she replied sadly, avoiding eye contact.
I don't know what's going on with her but I intend to find out.
"Look at me, Julie," I said, softly sighing while grabbing her wrist to prevent her from backing away. Reluctantly she met my gaze. "Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart. Why are you being so combative and disrespectful?" I asked, genuinely concerned.
"I'm not," Julie replied incredibly unconvincingly, turning her head to look away.
"Darlin', I know when something's weighin' heavy on your mind. Please talk to me." I guided her chin with my hand so she had to look at me and when she did, I saw the tears in her eyes. Immediately I stood, wrapping my arms around her, holding her head against my chest. "Don't cry, baby, it'll be alright. Just tell me what's bothering you." I held her tight, gently swaying her back and forth.
Her tears flowed freely now.
Sniffling she replied, "I don't want Shane to make me transfer to a local college. I don't want him to say I can't go back to my school in the fall."
Because Julie had dropped some classes that she was failing and changed her major three times, she wasn't going to have enough credits after her fourth year of college to earn her degree. It would take her a minimum of five years, possibly even five and a half, to graduate. Knowing this, Shane had threatened to send Julie to a local college to obtain the remaining credits needed for her degree so he could keep a close eye on her as she would be living here at the Center and commuting to school, instead of going to college three hours away and living on campus.
Pulling back so I could look her in the eye, I questioned, "That's what this is about? That's why you've been so obstinate lately?" I was shocked.
Julie nodded sadly as fresh tears dripped onto her cheeks. I wiped them away with my thumbs and held her close to my heart.
Hugging her, I said, "Julie, Shane's not going to keep you from going back to school in the fall. He was just upset with some of the choices you made and he was really worried about you. Ok?"
"Are you sure?" Julie asked timidly.
"Yes, I'm sure, baby girl. As long as you behave yourself, you'll be fine. If you get in serious trouble at school again, the three of us will sit down and discuss it together. I promise. Alright?"
"Yes sir." Julie wiped her eyes and circled her arms around my waist, laying her cheek against my chest, she whispered, "Thanks, Mike."
"You're welcome, darlin'. You know you can always come to us when something's weighin' heavy on your heart or mind. Shane and I love you very much. Ok?"
"Ok," Julie nodded, as I held her at arm's length.
Giving her a quick swat on the seat of her pants, I said, "Come on, we need to go meet Lisa and Shane now and finish your punishment." I opened the door and ushered her out.
When we got to Shane's room, I handed Julie her phone. Time to slip back into stern disciplinarian mode.
"I want you to pull up the video of the song in question and play it for Shane and I, young lady. While it's playing, we're going to count every curse word and you'll receive three strokes of my belt tonight for each one."
"After watching the video, I'll decide the terms of your grounding, ladies." Shane raised one eyebrow in a warning gesture.
Julie's pov
I pulled up the video on YouTube and resisted the urge to sing along and tap my hands and feet to the beat, feeling much better now that I didn't have to worry about switching schools. Our guardians did not appear to be enjoying the video nearly as much as Lisa and I were. In fact, they seemed to be getting angrier with each passing verse.
"How many curse words did you count, Julie?" Mike stood rigidly with one hand perched precariously atop his belt buckle. "Before you answer, keep in mind I will add on penalty strokes if you try to low-ball the number."
"Eight," I answered, matter of factly.
"I'm sorry, how many?" Mike asked haughtily.
"There's eight, like I said the first time," I replied, annoyed having to repeat myself.
"I heard you the first time but the correct response was eight sir. You know perfectly well how to end every response and how to address me when you're in trouble, young lady. Try again." Mike spoke even more haughtily this time.
I rolled my eyes, irritated with his snobby pretentiousness.
Sighing in exasperation, I replied, "Eight, sir."
"The eye roll and sigh earned you four penalty strokes. You might want to keep that in mind as reference for future responses." Mike was not amused.
"Unless you want a refresher course on respect led by my paddle, I strongly suggest you moderate your speech, tone, and body language. Am I clear?" Shane put his two cents into the conversation.
Not wanting any contact with Shane's paddle anytime soon, I responded respectfully, saying, "Yes sir," which thankfully seemed to appease him.
"So how many strokes of my belt will you be receiving tonight, Julie?" Mike stripped his stiff black leather dress belt through the loops of his dark grey suit pants. "Keep in mind you would just be grounded and writing lines like Lisa if you hadn't responded disrespectfully and cursed in front of me yesterday."
Swallowing hard, I replied, "Twenty-eight, sir." I loathe getting spanked with this particular belt of Mike's. It's not wide and thick like the one he bought at the leather shop with me but it's stiff, narrow, and unyielding, leaving behind a painful sting with each stroke.
"That's correct. First, I'll have Shane lay out the conditions of your grounding then we'll get on with your spanking. Go ahead, Shane." Mike was all business. He stood squarely, holding his folded over belt in front of him with both hands, tapping it against his thighs as he patiently waited.
"For the two weeks you're grounded and writing lines every night, you will also have daily chores to complete and a nine o'clock bedtime. You'll be without your phones and any electronics including computers, laptops, tablets, mp3 players, and tv. You may go outside but you will not leave the grounds except for church on Sundays. Any questions, girls?" Shane seemed more annoyed than angry.
"No sir," Lisa and I echoed.
"The two of you know very well you should be setting a good example for Maegan of the proper way to behave. Don't you?" Shane looked at us expectantly.
"Yes sir," we replied.
"I'm disappointed in you both. You should know better." Shane laid on the guilt trip. "Lisa, you need to go get ready for bed now. Julie, you need to keep your mouth in check while Mike disciplines you."
Shane and Lisa left so Mike could reprimand me in private.
"Let's get this overwith. Shall we?" Mike took a seat in the desk chair and beckoned me over his knee.
I took a calming breath and laid across his lap.
"I'll let you keep your pants up since I know Shane did a number on you with his paddle. Don't count on such benevolence, however, at the end of the week because that belting will most definitely be on your bare behind."
Mike shifted me atop his thighs and began spanking me with his belt. I winced feeling the sting on my bottom as I was still raw from Shane's handiwork with the paddle last night. Mike continued to belt me hard and fast. The short strokes of the stiff leather had me wriggling uncomfortably. My bottom burned as if being pricked by hundreds of tiny needles. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Halfway there, darlin', only fourteen more to go." Mike tapped the belt against my bottom a few times before snapping it down sharply. He finished my spanking in a painful rhythm. I continued to cry well after stroke twenty-eight. Mike let me lie across his knees as he rubbed my back and firmly patted my bottom, which I found oddly soothing. After doing this for several minutes, he sat me up on his lap.
I clasped my hands behind Mike's neck and nuzzled my head against his shoulder.
"Come on, sweetheart, it's past your bedtime," Mike said, making me feel like a little kid again and for some reason, I didn't mind. I actually kind of liked it. Maybe on some level, I was kind of jealous of all the attention Maegan got from our guardians. Maybe I was just worn out and exhausted from my punishments, or maybe I just missed the feeling of being taken care of.
"Carry me," I whined softly, not loosening my hold on Mike.
Mike smiled and shook his head, amused by the clingy college aged baby in his arms.
"Sure, sweetheart," he said, hoisting his "baby" onto his hip and carrying her off to her room to put her to bed.