Chapter 2 – The Interview

Renesmee POV

"Jacob!" I whined, drawing his name out. "I promise I'll calm down if you let me out!"

For the fiftieth time, I got no answer. I had been begging him to let me out of my room for the longest time, but he wouldn't budge. On top of that, whenever I tried to leave the room on my own, he would carry me right back inside. I even tried to sneak out the window, but he was outside waiting for me before my foot even hit the ground.

The only answer he gave me was, "Your father will let you out. Until then, stay put."

He only told me once, after that, he completely ignored me except to carry me back to my room if I managed to get out.

I thought I was finally going to get out when daddy got home, but he just spoke with Jacob and went to see Grandpa and Mommy at the big house.

When dad left, I became afraid. Surely Mommy wouldn't tell on me, would she?

I had sort of used my gift to tell her what I thought of the spanking she gave me, and it made her cry. I knew that she didn't want to spank me. She thought I deserved it, but she was afraid that she would seriously hurt me. I let her think that she had. Now, she would think twice before she gave me another spanking. She would probably talk Daddy out of spanking me as well and protect me if he wants to spank me.

Now, I just had to figure out a way to get Jacob to let me out of the room. I couldn't tell him I was hungry. He knew that mommy and I went hunting today. Also, I have already gone to the bathroom like three times, and he said that he wouldn't let me go again. I tried to make him think that I was unjustly suffering, but he wouldn't believe me. I screamed and threw toys, but he never came into the room.

"I'm thirsty!" I yelled, demanding a drink of water.

Nothing, not even a hint that he had heard what I said.

"I said, I'm thirsty!" I repeated, stomping my foot on the ground.

"Enough." My dad suddenly appeared in my room and commanded, even but very firmly. "I've had my fill of this temper tantrum. And I'm sure Jacob's ears are bleeding from having to listen to this nonsense for the last hour."

"Daddy!" I squealed in delight that he had come to let me out of my room. I ran to him with open arms to get a hug, but he stood motionlessly and never attempted to return my affection.

"Come with me." He took me by the hand and led me toward his bedroom.

My heart sank with dread when I figured out what had happened.

"She told you?!" I tried to yank my hand away from Daddy's iron grip, but he didn't allow me to escape.

"Your mother showed me how you used your gift to hurt her." He answered sitting on the spanking chair.

I hated that chair. Daddy always sat in that chair when I was in trouble. And he always gave me five swats on the bottom, telling me that he is disappointed in me.

"Yes." Dad read my thoughts and agreed with me. "But not this time."

I smiled and did a mental celebration. Daddy was going to…

"Give you ten swats." He finished my thought. "And I'm more than disappointed in you, Renesmee Carlie Cullen."

No! The bottom fell out of my stomach. It isn't fair!

"You deliberately hurt your mother, little girl." He explained. "You used foul language, and then when she told you to stop, you were very disrespectful to her. You deserved a spanking and you know it."

He gave me a look that dared me to disagree with what he just said. Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper said that word first. Why can they say it, and I can't?

"Your mother and I are not their parents." He answered my thoughts.

"It's not fair!" I shouted out loud this time as I stomped my foot, and Daddy reached around me and gave me a firm swat on my behind.

Ouch.

"I told you that I've had enough of your little outburst." He reminded me.

I pouted but otherwise remained quite.

"By the way, that doesn't count as one of the ten." He informed me. "And if you continue to engage in these theatrics, you will get the same thing every time."

I gritted my teeth, determined that Daddy wouldn't win. I might have to take this spanking, but I didn't have to let him see that I had given in.

"So much like me." He mumbled, looking disgusted.

I am nothing like you. I thought knowing he could hear what I was thinking.

"Anyway…" He sighed, choosing not to argue with me. "Getting back to your earlier actions," he continued. "Your mother spanked you for your disrespectful words, and you fought her every second of the way."

"You'd fight too if you were being beaten." I argued sullenly.

"Your mother did not beat you, Renesmee." He became very stern, piercing me with his gaze. "But you did everything in your power to convince her that she did. And by the way, if I treated Nana the way you treated Mommy, Grandpa would have me over his knee every night for a week. And since I'm older than you, he would give me more than ten swats."

"More than ten?" I found that hard to believe.

"But since you are still very young, your mother," he emphasized that it was Mommy's idea, "asked me to not give you more than ten." His explanation made me feel awful that I had accused Mommy of beating me, but she was the one who asked Daddy not to be too harsh. I ducked my head in shame.

"What did you hope to accomplish with your atrocious actions?" He asked me after reading my thoughts.

"I wanted her to not spank me again… and maybe talk you out of spanking me in the future." I admitted sheepishly.

"Do you know she went to see Grandpa after you planted those thoughts in her head?" He pressed further

"Yes." I nodded, confused where he was going with this.

"Did you know she went to ask him to spank her because she thought she abused you?" He lifted my chin to that I was forced to look him in they eye.

"Did he?" I asked nervously.

"No." Dad told me. "Mommy may be new to discipline, but Grandpa has been around a while. He knew that you had manipulated your mother."

"I'm sorry, Daddy." I told him, really feeling guilty for what I had done to mommy.

"That brings me to the second part of your punishment." Daddy told me, making me wince. "You will write a letter to your mother, apologizing for treating her so badly."

"Okay." I agreed, glad that it wasn't another spanking tomorrow or something like that.

"And you will not leave your room until it's finished, that is, after we go speak with Grandpa. He wants to talk to you tonight after your spanking." He added, making me even more nervous. He chuckled at my thoughts. "He isn't going to add to your spanking."

"Good." I sighed in relief.

"However…" he drawled suggestively, pointing at his lap. I sighed and draped myself over his knees.

He shifted me and put me exactly where he wanted me. And to my horror, Daddy flipped up my dress and hooked his thumbs under my panties. He was going to take them down and spank me on my naked bottom.

"Daddy, no!" I screamed in humiliation, reaching back to stop him from taking down my undergarments.

But Daddy was quicker than I was… and stronger. He deftly pinned my wrists to the middle of my back with one hand, and finished exposing my bottom. I was mortified.

"Embarrassment is part of the punishment." He explained, allowing me to let that sink in while he sat there patiently.

I was taken by surprise when he landed his first, very strong smack.

"Owie!" I howled, not expecting it to hurt that much. Either clothing provided quite a bit of protection, or daddy had decided to spank me harder than usual as well as longer.

"You earned this, sweetheart." Daddy reminded me, again pausing and allowing me to calm down a little. "Mommy would have gotten much worse than this if Grandpa believed that she had abused you."

Again, after he gave me a few moments to think about my actions and what was happening, he gave me another sharp swat.

"I'm sorry!" I sobbed, hoping that he would see that I was remorseful and end the spanking early.

"Not this time." Daddy told me sadly as he landed another swat, not giving me as much time in between as he did before. "I intend for you to learn this lesson well."

"I promise I won't do it again!" I pleaded with him, and definitely meaning every word I spoke. I wouldn't disrespect mommy in that way ever.

"I'm glad to hear that, sweetheart." He told me, pausing to answer my thought. "Because if you treat your mother that way again, she will spank you, and then I will." He landed a swat to drive his point home. That's a promise." With that, he swatted me again, right in the middle of my rump. Again, I screamed.

He was silent, though I most certainly was not, for the next three swats, which he seemed to take forever to deliver. By the time he had delivered the last of these three swats, I ceased fighting him to regain control of my hands.

Daddy paused again, and I wished that he would just get it over with. I only knew that he hadn't finished, because he still held my hands securely at my back.

"If I release your hands, will you reach back?" He asked me, confirming my suspicion that he wasn't quite finished.

"Please, daddy, no more!" I ignored his question and begged him to stop. "I've learned my lesson! I promise!"

"You have two more coming, sweetheart." Daddy sounded sad that he had to do this to me, and I thought about how Mommy was also sad, and I made it much harder on her. "I'm glad that you are empathizing with your mother, and I believe that you have learned your lesson, but I need you to understand the consequences of your behavior."

"I won't reach back." I told him. "But please finish quickly."

"Sorry, sweetheart." He told me as he released my hands. "This spanking is on my terms, not yours."

I fought the urge to disobey and reach back to rub the sting out, knowing that while I was in this position, he could easily extend my punishment if I chose to challenge his authority. Instead of subversion, I chose to grab onto Daddy's pants leg. I held my breath, waiting for Daddy to land the next blow. He waited until I let the breath out before he spanked me again. It was in a new spot, one that was really sensitive.

"Owie!" I screamed and started to reach back to cover my rump.

Daddy cleared his throat as I moved my hand off of his pants, and I immediately moved it back to where it was, grasping his pants more tightly, remembering that I had promised to not reach back. Daddy waited until I had calmed down a bit, and struck my behind for the last time exactly on the opposite side that the last one had hit. Again, I shrieked, but this time I fell limply over daddy's lap.

While I cried, daddy fixed my panties and dress. When I calmed down, I got up off of Daddy's lap. Daddy instantly opened his arms to me, and I threw myself into them.

"You're forgiven, sweetheart." He assured me, kissing the top of my head.

He allowed me exactly fifteen minutes of comfort. He promised more after the meeting, but reminded me that Grandpa and Mommy were waiting for me at the big house.

When we got to the big house, Daddy took me into the kitchen. Mommy was already there seated at the table. I ran to her and started crying again.

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" I bawled. "I'm…"

"Shh," Mommy opened her arms and sat me on her lap. "All is forgiven."

Grandpa came into the kitchen and cleared his throat.

"I would like Renesmee to sit on her own chair, Bella." Grandpa told her.

Mommy hugged me more tightly, kissed me on top of my head, and then placed me on my feet in front of a chair for me.

That chair looked very hard. I did not want to sit on it. My behind was still very sore.

"I think I'll just stand." I told Grandpa.

Grandpa didn't like this idea. He narrowed his eyes at me, letting me know that this was not a request.

"Sit." Grandpa pointed to the chair. "Now."

I groaned internally as I gingerly lowered myself down onto the seat.

"If you enjoy sitting comfortably, you will learn to behave yourself." Grandpa told me.

"Yes sir." I answered as respectfully as I could. I had heard Daddy say it one time when he was being scolded, and I assumed it was the answer I should give.

"Renesmee." Mommy said with a smile in her voice as she stood up and walked over to Grandpa. Daddy joined her. "Your father and I, with Grandpa's help have decided on a few rules."

Wonderful. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Check the attitude, missy." Daddy scolded me, not appreciating my expression.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"As I was saying, we have some rules, some for you, some for the family." Mommy continued like I hadn't done anything. "First, your rules."

"I assume I have to be respectful." I guessed.

"Yes, and that includes language, attitude, whining, lying, and lots of other things." Mommy explained. "We can iron out the details later, but for now, as long as you're trying to be respectful, you should be fine."

"Second," Daddy chimed in, "obedience. It should be covered by respectfulness, but I want to drive this point home. If Mommy or I tell you to do something, you will do it. These are our rules for you."

"We have rules in the larger family as well." Grandpa added. "One of which you broke tonight. You are not to use either your heightened senses or extra gifts to manipulate anyone. There are a few exceptions, life or death situations or to protect our family secret. The other rule is this, you will not expose this family to humans." Grandpa paused for effect. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir." I nodded to him.

"Good. For the most part, your mother and father will be the ones physically disciplining you because if I did it all of the time, you wouldn't respect them as you should. Your parents are the head of your family." Grandpa emphasized. "But I am the head of the larger family. Therefore, I am to be obeyed as well, and so is Nana. If it is necessary, I will spank you. I will do it if your parents are not present, or in cases of extreme disobedience. Do not force Nana to spank you." He finished, very clearly implying that if Nana had to spank me, he would spank me as well.

"Your aunts and uncles can be left in charge of you sometimes, and they are to be respected, but they do not have permission to spank you. They may send you to your room or put you in the corner, but Daddy and I will spank you, if it's necessary. We don't want to put you in the position that everyone in the family is allowed to spank you. That seems cruel." Mommy added. "Jacob is not allowed to spank you or punish you in any way. If he feels that you are hurting yourself or someone else, he may bring you to us, but he is…"

"My imprint?" I finished for her.

"Yes." Mommy nodded. "And that means that you are his equal, not his child."

"Jake can't babysit me anymore?" I asked, kind of bummed. I liked having Jake as my babysitter. He was by far the coolest babysitter. Ever.

"He can." Daddy told me. "But, like your mother said, he will only be allowed to bring you to us."

"But earlier…" I reminded them.

"That will never happen again." Mommy promised, looking very much like she thought it was her fault. "I was…"

"He wasn't really punishing you, sweetheart." Daddy interrupted her, trying to placate her. "Mommy was. Jacob was just making sure you didn't disobey."

"How is that different?" I asked, remembering what had happened and feeling very much like Jacob was in charge, and he was punishing me.

"He wasn't really in charge." Daddy told me, reading my thoughts.

"Let's call a spade a spade, Edward." Mommy told him in frustration. "I can't pretend that it didn't happen or try to justify my actions. I left him in charge. Period. And more importantly, she felt like he was the one administering her punishment."

Mommy stared Daddy down. I think she was communicating silently with him because of the intense look on her face, the one she got when she was concentrating hard enough to move her shield so that Daddy could read her mind.

"I will never leave him in that position again." Mommy reiterated. "I wasn't thinking clearly earlier, and..."

"Bella…" Daddy started to argue with her.

"Enough, Edward." Grandpa cut him off. "I think Bella knows more about what your daughter is feeling in this instance than you do."

That seemed very cryptic to me. What was Grandpa trying to say without words? He clearly said more with his mind to Daddy that I wasn't supposed to hear. Daddy became remorseful and nodded to Grandpa and Mommy.

"I apologize, Nessie." Mommy locked eyes with me, letting me know that she felt she had messed up in a big way. I believed she felt that way. It was rare that she would call me Nessie. She hated that nickname. She must have really felt strongly about this.

For a moment, I considered pressing my advantage. Since Mommy thought that she had wronged me, maybe I could ask her to talk to Daddy about this letter I still had to write. Maybe she would convince him that it wasn't really necessary.

"Renesmee Cullen!" Daddy cut through my thoughts, growling. "You and I are going to have another discussion when we are finished here."

I jumped about a foot off the chair, startled by my dad's reprimand. Unfortunately for my bottom, I landed back on it when I sat back down. I started crying immediately, but not from the pain in my rump. I was ashamed of my thoughts. I wondered if I was destined to spend the rest of my life draped over my father's lap. I couldn't even go an hour without disobeying again.

"Edward!" Mommy stood between Daddy and me in a very defensive stance. Her voice was somewhere between shock and anger. I couldn't believe that she was upset with Daddy, and not me. I was the one who thought about disobeying again.

"Think whatever you like, sweetheart." She added to me, though she was still staring Daddy down. "I'm shielding your thoughts now."

"I'll handle this, Isabella." Grandpa told her in a calm, but very authoritative voice as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You may go sit with your daughter."

Mommy looked torn between obedience and protectiveness. It took her great effort, but she did manage to nod and walk over to sit with me, pulling me into her lap. Her cool lap felt good on my sore behind.

"We discussed this, not one hour ago, Edward Anthony. Thinking about disobeying and actually disobeying are not the same thing." Grandpa scolded him, making Daddy look like a child. "You may stand in the corner while your wife and I discuss the last rule and the other item with your daughter."

"But I'm her father." Daddy whined in protest, clearly embarrassed that he had been called out in front of me. Grandpa growled at him very lowly. Daddy took a deep breath and obeyed. "Yes, sir."

I was shocked that Daddy had broken a rule that I didn't even know existed. I knew that Daddy had disobeyed before, but I had never seen Grandpa send him to the corner for a time-out. I tried very hard not to giggle at the situation.

"The last rule," Grandpa looked at me and Mommy with a sigh probably slightly upset that I was in her lap, "was also your mother's idea, and I happen to agree with it, wholeheartedly. But this rule is for your father, not you. He is not allowed to punish you for your thoughts."

"Unless you are thinking directly at him in place of talking and do it disrespectfully." Mommy amended Grandpa's rule, and Grandpa nodded in agreement.

"He can, however, prevent you from hurting yourself or others based on your thoughts." Grandpa continued.

"That's why he's in trouble?" I asked. "Because he scolded me for thinking something he didn't like?"

"Yes." Mommy confirmed.

"How much time do you think you would have spent in trouble if I could read your thoughts, Edward and held you accountable for everything that passed through your mind?" Grandpa asked him rhetorically.

"Not as much time as I would have." Uncle Emmett joined us in the kitchen, laughing at Daddy in the corner. Uncle Jasper followed close behind him. Uncle Jasper was more serious. In fact, Uncle Jasper looked nervous.

"You are in enough trouble, young man." Grandpa informed him. "You will not tease Edward."

"What did I do?" Uncle Emmett asked, looking innocent.

"How about… using foul language in front of my granddaughter?" Grandpa pretended to ponder his question and suddenly remember the answer.

"You didn't repeat what I said, did you half-pint?" Uncle Emmett complained.

"Sorry, Uncle Emmett." I apologized to him.

"We shouldn't have said those things in the first place." Uncle Jasper reminded Uncle Emmett.

"Jasper's right." Uncle Emmett admitted. "This is on us, half-pint, not you."

"Then let's not waste any time, gentlemen." Grandpa announced, pulling out two bars of soap. "Open up."

They were both compliant, but it was obvious that they didn't want to do it. I didn't even understand what was going on until Grandpa lathered up one of the bars of soap and washed Uncle Emmett's mouth, tongue and all. He then instructed him to bite down on it and stand in the corner. He immediately started gagging on the soap and bubbles were forming at the sides of his mouth. After he had done the same to Uncle Jasper, he let Daddy out of the corner so that Uncle Jasper could take his place.

"That's disgusting!" I was horrified.

"It's the venom." Grandpa explained. "It dissolves the soap. When one of my children swears in my house, this is the punishment. If I hear you swear, young lady, this is what will happen."

"Except you don't have venom, and the soap won't do that." Daddy laughed and cringed in disgust at my uncles.

"Would you care to join them, Edward Anthony?" Grandpa scolded him and Daddy immediately straightened his face.

"No, sir." He answered Grandpa very contritely.

"What if I don't know it's a bad thing to say?" I asked, bringing them back to the conversation.

"If you hear a word that you don't know, ask about it before you use it." Grandpa told me.

"But mommy didn't really tell me what that other word meant. She just told me not to say it." I told him.

"It was probably embarrassing for her to say that to her very young daughter." He reasoned. "It is a very negative connotation for sexual relations."

"Huh?" I was confused.

"Do you know about sex?" He asked me.

"Kind of." I admitted, remembering Mommy tell me that it was a grown-up expression of love and affection and that it felt good. She also told me that I was born out of that kind of love between her and Daddy.

"Kind of, hmm?" He asked thoughtfully. "Do you know how boys and girls are different?

"Yes." I confirmed. "In our private parts?"

"Sex involves our private parts, and ideally, the two people involved love each other and are trying to make one another feel good." He explained.

"So… that word means sex?" I asked confused as to why it was not appropriate.

"Not exactly." He shook his head and struggled to explain it to me. "Sex is wonderful and beautiful. That other word is meant to be ugly and harsh. It has nothing to do with love. Basically, you invited your mother to go have angry, selfish sex by herself."

"Oh, sorry." I apologized to my mother, very ashamed of having said that to her.

"You're forgiven, sweetheart." She kissed me on top of the head.