AUTHOR'S NOTE: I feel bad that I'm not able to update as often I as I used to, so thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm doing somewhat better with the anxiety, but I'm still not able to drive. I know it's going to just take time! Thank you to all of you who continue to leave reviews and comments, they make my day! I love reading that people have binge-read my story, that's great! Jani745 and Claire, it's so cool finding out that Charlie has inspired you to create new headcanons and stories, I'd love to hear about them in more detail! Welcome to all the people who have just started following the story and favorited too! XXXOOO #ALWAYS KEEP FIGHTING
CONTENT WARNING: Charlie's extra-curricular Kindle activites get found out, she gets paddled in this chapter.
~ ~ spn ~ ~ spn ~ ~
My hand and hip were throbbing.
"Oh, come here," Daddy bent down and held his hands out. Uncle Sam lifted the bike and Daddy helped me get up. He swung me up onto his hip and kissed the side of my head. "You're okay," he said comfortingly.
"My h-hand-" I sniffled, holding my hand out. The lower half of it was scraped and red.
"We'll get that cleaned up when we get inside," Daddy told me, starting to walk up the sidewalk.
Uncle Sam carried the bike back to the house. As we walked up to the porch, a truck pulled up to the curb.
"Bobby's here," Grandpa John said, walking down the stairs. "You okay, darlin'?" he asked me.
"She'll be fine," Daddy said. He set me down when we got into the living room and took off the helmet and unzipped my coat, and then pulled it off. He had to undo the elbow pads, and I grumbled about it.
"But your elbow isn't hurt, right?" Daddy looked at me, "See, they work. Let's go to the bathroom and fix your hand up."
I followed him down the hall, and he got some bandages out of the little closet as I washed my hands.
"Sit down," he said, and I sat on the closed toilet seat. He spread some ointment on my hand and then put a couple of band-aids on the larger scraped areas. "Anything else hurting?" he asked.
"My hip," I said.
"Here, stand up and let me take a look," he said. I stood up and undid my jeans, and pulled them down on the side. There was a dark red mark on my hip.
Uncle Sam came to the bathroom door. "Everything okay?" he asked.
"What do you think, Sammy, should we put some ice on that?" Daddy gestured to my hip.
Uncle Sam leaned down and looked at it, and touched the skin gently. "Yeah, it might bruise, ice would be good for a little while," he looked at me and smiled, "Falling when you're learning how to ride a bike is like a rite of passage for kids," he said, "Your Dad and I both fell plenty of times when we were learning."
"Speak for yourself, Sam, I had good balance," Daddy retorted. I buttoned my jeans back up, and we walked out to the living room.
I sat down next to Daddy on the sofa and looked at him. "I was scared, I realized I don't know how to stop the bike, an' then I was going out into the street!"
Daddy chuckled, "Yeah, I forgot to explain how you stop the bike, you pedal backwards, and it makes the bike brake. It's okay, it was a learning experience, right?"
Uncle Sam brought in a baggie with ice and I put in on my hip. Grandpa John and Uncle Bobby came into the living room from outside. Uncle Bobby had a bag with presents in it. He had brought us food like fancy chocolates and imported cheeses and crackers.
Uncle Sam said that the ham was ready, so we sat down to eat an early Christmas dinner. There was also baked potatoes, a big salad, and green beans. For dessert we had Christmas cookies and some of the chocolates that Uncle Bobby had brought. Grandpa John opened the bottle of whiskey too, and all of them had a glass.
I leaned over to Daddy as he tasted it. "It's very smoky, different than what I'm used to," he said.
"Can I try?"I asked him.
"No, it's very strong," Daddy said, "and little girls shouldn't be drinking alcohol."
"Mommy always let me try her wine on holidays!" I protested.
Daddy rolled his eyes. "Not this again."
"What does that mean?" I asked with confusion.
Daddy shook his head. "Never mind. You are not to touch any alcohol until you're of age, and that's my rule," his voice was stern.
I frowned at my lap.
"Do you understand?" Daddy asked me.
"Yeees!" I said with annoyance.
Daddy reached over and took my chin in his hand, making me look at him. "You want to lose the attitude?" he raised his eyebrows at me.
I felt myself start to blush. "Okay," I muttered, trying to pull my chin out of his hand.
"What was that?" his voice was stern again.
I peered at him through my bangs. "Yes, Daddy," I said obediently, and he let me go.
"You finished eating?" he asked me.
"Yeah," I started to get up and leave the room.
Uncle Sam put his hand on my arm. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.
I turned to look at him. "What?"
Uncle Sam gestured to the table. "Whose job is it to clear the table after meals?" he asked pointedly.
I sighed with annoyance. "Can't you do it yourself today?"
Daddy got up out of his chair suddenly and took my wrist, pulling me into the kitchen. He bent down and looked at me sternly. "I don't know what's gotten into you all of a sudden, but it's going to stop," he said in a harsh whisper.
"What?" I snapped, trying to pull away from him.
"You really want to end Christmas with a spanking, little girl?" his green eyes flicked back and forth between mine, and I felt myself blushing.
"No," I said sullenly.
"Then cool it," he said, "This is the last time I'm going to talk to you about it," he straightened up, "Get out there and clear the table, and I don't want to hear any more attitude from you. Got it?"
"Yes, Daddy," I agreed. He let me go, and followed me out to the dining room. I took my plate and utensils to the sink, and then walked back to the table. "Are you done?" I asked Daddy, and he nodded. I picked up his plate and turned to take it to the kitchen. Normally we ate in the kitchen, so I didn't have that far to walk when clearing the table. Walking back and forth between the dining room and the kitchen so many times was annoying, but I didn't say anything.
The men were still sitting around with their glasses of whiskey when I came out with a damp dishcloth to wipe the table off.
"One of us will get that later, you go on," Grandpa John said to me.
I turned to look at Daddy, and he nodded. "That's fine," he agreed.
I went to the living room and gathered some of my new stuff from under the tree. I had gotten some more Hello Kitty figurines, and I took them upstairs to put on the shelf with my others. I spent some time re-arranging them, and then I laid down on my bed and played my 3DS for a while.
Daddy poked his head in the door. "There you are," he said, "I wondered where you'd gotten to. How's your hip?" he came into the room and walked over to the bed.
I rolled over on my back. "It's okay now," I told him.
"We're going to watch a Christmas movie, want to come watch with us?" he asked. "Uncle Bobby brought some fancy popcorn."
"Okay," I turned the game off and got off the bed. I took Daddy's hand as we walked down the stairs.
We watched a movie about a little blonde boy who wanted a gun for Christmas. Some of it was silly, but some of it was boring. Everyone else laughed a lot at some parts, that I didn't get.
I woke up when Daddy was laying me in bed. I sat up and rubbed my face.
"You want your nightgown?" he asked, and I nodded.
I pulled my shirt and pants off, and he helped me put the nightgown on, and then I crawled under the covers. I felt like I was barely awake.
Daddy leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Did you have a good Christmas?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, I did," I murmured, "Thank you for everything, Daddy."
He stroked my hair back from my face. "Thank you, Charlie. This was a special day for me too. I love you, baby girl," he kissed the top of my head.
"Love you too, Daddy," I mumbled, and then I fell asleep.
The next day, I practiced riding my bike again. Daddy and Uncle Sam stood outside and watched, calling encouragement to me. I started to get the hang of balancing it, and I could ride it down the sidewalk without falling to one side or the other, for a long distance.
I stopped further up the street, where there were a bunch of kids hanging out on a large lawn in front of a big wide house. The two girls that I had seen roller-skating yesterday were there.
"I like your bike," one of them called shyly.
"Thanks," I said, "I just got it for Christmas."
"Only babies use training wheels," a boy with close-cut dark hair scoffed.
"Shut up, Chance," the other girl said. She was taller and looked a little older. "Only babies wear pull-ups at night."
"Shut UP!" Chance yelled, as some of the other kids snickered. Chance's face got red and he glared at everyone.
The girl who had said she liked my bike asked, "You wanna hang out with us?"
"Uh, okay...lemme go ask my Daddy," I said. I turned and pointed down the street. "I live that way, I'll take my bike back, and come back here, okay?"
She smiled at me. "Okay!"
I rode my bike back to our house and stopped in front. "There's a bunch of kids up the street, and a girl asked if I wanted to hang out. Can I?"
Daddy glanced at Uncle Sam. "What's her name?"
"Um, I dunno, she didn't tell me."
Daddy hesitated. "Yes, you can hang out in her yard, but I don't want you going in anyone's house until you've actually met these kids and know their names. And I'd like to meet their parents too."
"Okay, Daddy," I got off the bike and put the kick-stand down. "Can you take my helmet and all inside?" I pulled off the pads and helmet, and Uncle Sam took them.
"And no crossing the street either," Daddy called as I started to walk back up the sidewalk.
"Okay," I called back.
The girl came up to me as I walked up to the yard that all the kids were standing in. "Hey, I'm Addison, an' that's my sister, Aubrey," she turned and pointed at the taller girl, "What's your name?"
"Uh, Charlie," I said.
"Charlie is a boys' name!" Chance jeered.
A blonde boy shoved his shoulder. "And Chance is a dork's name!"
A bunch of the kids laughed, and Chance spun around and swung at the blonde boy. "Shut up, jerk!"
Addison pointed at the house next to the one we were standing in front of. "That's our house. Franny lives in this house, an' her parents don't mind that we all hang out here."
Franny was a shorter girl with long brown hair. She was standing by the porch, talking to a couple of other kids.
"So, do we wanna play tag, or what?" another boy asked. He had short brown hair and was wearing a big puffy coat.
"I thought we were gonna play hide-n-seek," someone else said. The kids milled around, talking, and then they started to walk.
"Hey, what're we doin'?" Addison called, trotting after her sister. I hurried up so I could fall into step next to her.
"We're going over to Meadowview Park," Aubrey said over her shoulder. Meadowview Park was a couple of blocks away, I had walked there with Daddy and Uncle Sam a couple of times before Christmas.
"Oh, uh, I, I don't think I can," I said with hesitation.
"Why not?" Addison asked.
"I, uh, I hafta ask if I can go places."
Addison tossed her head. "It's just up the street a ways, all the parents let their kids go there."
"Yeah, but..." I sighed, remembering the rule that Daddy had said about always asking him if I could go somewhere. And he had also just told me to hang out in the yard and not cross the street.
"So, what school do you go to? I go to Longfellow Elementary."
"I'm, um, home-schooled." I told her.
"Oh...is it fun? I mean, I wouldn't wanna be home-schooled by my mom, she'd drive me crazy!" Addison rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I like it," I said. I looked around as the kids stopped and then started to cross a street. "Listen, I—I can't go with you, I'm not allowed to cross the street either," I said.
Addison looked at me. "You're not?"
I blushed. "Well, I...we just moved here, an' I don't know the neighborhood or anything, y'know?"
"Well, okay...bye!" Addison ran across the street with the rest of the kids.
I turned and started to walk back the way I came. I don't know what happened, but suddenly I looked around and realized that I didn't know where I was. Somehow I had made a wrong turn, and none of the houses looked familiar. I turned around again and started to walk the other way, feeling nervous. Where was our house? I could barely even remember what it looked like.
I thought I heard someone calling me, and I started to run. I saw Uncle Sam coming up a side street that I hadn't even noticed, his long legs striding quickly towards me. "Charlie!" he called.
I ran up to him and burst into tears. "I—I got lost, Uncle Sam!" I threw my arms around his waist and sobbed.
"What happened?" he asked, looking down at me.
"I—I was talkin' to those kids, an' they all started to walk, an' said they were goin' to the park. I said I couldn't go, 'an I wasn't allowed to cross the street. They left, and I turned around to come back, but I guess I went the wrong way. I was getting scared, Uncle Sam!"
He swung me up onto his hip. "It's okay, Charlie," he said comfortingly, "We would have found you. I'm proud of you that you didn't go with the kids, and you didn't cross the street like we told you."
He walked us back to the house, and I saw Daddy coming up the sidewalk from the other direction. He looked worried, but then when he saw us, he looked relieved.
"Charlie, where were you?" he asked as we walked inside.
Uncle Sam set me down.
"I went outside to call you in for dinner, and all the kids were gone," Daddy said tightly, folding his arms, "Where the hell did you go?"
I looked up at him. "The kids were talking about playing a game an' then they started to walk, an' then one of them said they were going to the park. I said I couldn't go 'cause I wasn't allowed, an' I turned around to come back, but I got lost."
"You turned around and came back?" Daddy asked.
"Yeah, they got to a street an' stopped an' I said I couldn't cross the street either, an' I hadda go back. An' they just kept going."
Daddy exhaled. "Well, good for you."
"Are you—are you mad at me?" I asked him.
"Charlie followed the rules," Uncle Sam said.
Daddy stepped over and ruffled my hair. "Good job, Charlie," he said, relaxing, "Go wash your hands and come to the table."
When we were eating, I told them about the kids. "Addison asked me what school I go to. It seems like people look at me funny when I say I'm home-schooled. Why?"
Daddy and Uncle Sam glanced at each other. "It's not something that people think about, and home-schooling used to be something that was on the fringes. It's more popular now, though," Uncle Sam explained.
"What do I say if they ask why?"
"They shouldn't be asking why, that's rude," Grandpa John commented.
"Yeah, but you know how kids are, they'll ask anything," Daddy said, "Just tell them you were sick for a while and couldn't go to school, and leave it at that."
"Missouri said that you shouldn't tell people any more than they need to know," I told them.
"Missouri is a wise woman," Grandpa John said.
"Agreed," Daddy nodded.
The next day was Monday, and Daddy had to go back to work. I spent the day doing schoolwork with Uncle Sam. We looked up all the different countries that the fruit was from, that Castiel had brought him for Christmas. He said that for Social Studies we could learn about each country for the next couple of weeks. When I was finished with my work I went upstairs to my room to play with my new Hello Kitty figurines for a while.
"Charlie!" Daddy called, "Get down here!"
I hadn't heard him come in. I ran downstairs to the living room.
"Daddy!" I ran to him and hugged him. He gave me a loose hug, and then took my arms and held me away from him.
"You got anything you want to tell us?" he asked.
"Uh...no?" I noticed that Uncle Sam was standing there with his laptop open, and he looked angry.
Daddy let me go, and turned to Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam said to me, "I got a notice from the Online Books website today, Charlie. There's an after holiday sale going on, and they gave me a list of things they thought I'd be interested in, since I bought some things a couple of weeks ago."
I looked at him. "Oh...yeah...I, uh, I got some books an' stuff on your account."
"How?" Uncle Sam put his hand on his hip.
"Um, when I was reading on my Kindle, your shopping basket thing popped up and it was open, so I picked out a couple things."
Uncle Sam leaned down and looked at the screen. "Uh huh, three books, and three games," he looked at me again, raising his eyebrows.
"Did you ask if you could buy this stuff?" Daddy asked, and his voice was his deeper, serious voice.
"Uh, no, but—I didn't think I'd have to!"
"What?" Uncle Sam asked, "Why not?"
"Well, it's my Kindle."
Daddy and Uncle Sam looked at each other, and they looked confused. "What does that have to do with anything?" Daddy asked.
"Well, Uncle Sam said that I couldn't play on his laptop, or put stuff on the tablet. But the Kindle's mine, y'know, so I can do whatever I want with it...right?" I felt uncertain now. Why were they acting mad?
"No, Charlie, no," Uncle Sam shook his head, and closed his eyes for a moment, "What's the rule?"
I squirmed. "Which one?"
"The one about downloading things."
"Oh, I, uh, I can't, unless you okay it first."
"And did you okay it with me?"
I squirmed again. "No, but...it was from the Online Books website, it wasn't a site you don't know! And it was your shopping cart thingy!"
"Charlie. That is not the point. Once again, you went behind my back, and you downloaded things from the computer, without my knowledge, or my permission, and you used my account, which is attached to my credit card, to do it."
"But- but they were all free! I made sure it didn't cost anything! Well, 'cept for the one game that was a penny. An' I can give you a penny, Uncle Sam."
He shook his head again. "Once again, that's not the point, young lady."
"Why didn't you ask?" Daddy asked me.
"I, uh, I dunno, I just...'cause it was my Kindle."
"Why didn't you tell us about it, then? Why have you been hiding it?"
"I-I wasn't hiding it!" I protested.
"Oh, you weren't? How come none of us knew about this?" Daddy raised his eyebrows.
I felt myself start to blush. "I—I just didn't say anything-"
"Go get your Kindle," Uncle Sam said in a stern voice.
"Why?"
He took a step towards me. "Because I told you to, young lady!"
He looked even angrier, and I hurried up the stairs to my room, and then grabbed the Kindle off of my night stand. I ran back downstairs, and handed it to Uncle Sam. I watched as he turned in on and then tapped the screen.
He looked up at me. "Where are the games?"
"Uh, what?" I tried to stall.
"The games, Charlie. The ones that you bought. I don't see them on here," Uncle Sam held the device out to me.
"Oh, uh-" I took it from him, and stood there staring at the screen. I was going to get found out now!
"Charlie," Daddy said.
I tapped the screen and pulled up the page that had my "secret folder" on it.
Daddy leaned over and looked at the screen. "What's that?" he took the Kindle from me, and read aloud, "Secret Folder". He looked up at Uncle Sam, and handed him the Kindle.
Uncle Sam took it, and tapped the screen. "What's the password, Charlie?" he asked.
"Uh- hellokitty4," I shifted and stared at my feet.
He tapped the screen, and then showed it to Daddy.
"So you were hiding it. You bought these books and games without permission, and then, you created a secret folder to hide the games, so that nobody would know," Daddy said, folding his arms over his chest. He looked angry now. "You've basically been lying to us about this for...how long now?"
Uncle Sam glanced at his laptop. "Says they were downloaded about three weeks ago."
"What do you have to say for yourself, Charlotte Anne?" Daddy's voice was hard.
"I—I wasn't lying, I just didn't- I didn't say anything is all!"
"Which is a lie of omission, and we've talked about that more than once," Uncle Sam said, "And you did lie, when you created a secret folder to hide the games in."
I gulped, and my face got red. "But—but this isn't Uncle Sam's laptop, or the tablet! It's my Kindle, so I shouldn't be in trouble for that!"
"And why not?" Daddy asked.
"Be—because it's my Kindle, and I can do what I want with it, it's not like Uncle Sam's laptop that he uses for research!"
"You're missing the point, Charlie," Uncle Sam said, "What were the rules I made, a long time ago. Do you remember?"
"Uh, I gotta ask you to go on your laptop, an' I can't go on the internet unsupervised."
"And did anyone supervise you when you were looking at the website, or buying the games?" Daddy asked.
"No," I toed the floor with my sock, "But the website was already up, and Uncle Sam's account was all signed in!"
"And did you ask permission to go online, or buy the things you did?" Daddy was watching me.
"Uh, no."
"What else did I say?" Uncle Sam asked.
I glanced up at him. His hands were on his hips.
"I, uh...I can't remember."
He shook his head. "I told you, that if you did anything with going online unsupervised, or downloading games without my knowledge, that I would paddle you."
I looked at at him nervously. "But Uncle Sam!" I whined.
"I don't want to hear it, young lady. You're in the wrong here, and you're in trouble."
I felt tears come to my eyes. "But nobody said I couldn't put stuff on my Kindle!"
"You're right, we never talked about that," Daddy said, "But the fact remains that you disobeyed Uncle Sam's rules about downloading things and going online on your own, and you've lied about it."
"Why do you gotta know everything that I do? I only wanted to read some more books an' play some games!" I said hotly.
"Attitude, little girl," Daddy gave me a look.
"And again, that's not the point, Charlie. No, we never made rules for the Kindle. But because it's an electronic device that can access the internet, the same rules still apply as for the tablet. And I think you know that, otherwise you wouldn't have hidden that you bought things," Uncle Sam's voice was reasonable.
I felt myself blushing. I knew he was right. I had hidden the books and games, and I had done it on purpose. I had known in the back of my mind that I probably shouldn't buy anything, that what I was doing was wrong, but I did it anyway.
I got mad instead. "This isn't fair!" I yelled, clenching my fists, "You never said I couldn't-"
Daddy crossed his arms. "All right, you want to play it that way? You want us to make rules for everything that you have? Uncle Sam and I can sit down and makes rules for every single electronic device, and your toys, and your chores, and everything, and then every time you break a rule you'll be held accountable. Is that what you want?"
"No," I said stubbornly.
"You're a smart girl, and you should know better than to do what you did. Once again, you know the rules, and you chose to flaunt them, and now you're in trouble for it. You need to face up to the consequences of your actions," Daddy said sternly.
"Go to your room," Uncle Sam said.
My stomach did a nervous flip. "Wh-why?"
"You know why. I'll be up after I talk to your Dad."
"But—Uncle Saaammm-" I whined.
"You want to wait until bedtime for your spanking?" he asked.
I gulped. The idea of having a spanking looming over my head all night was not something I wanted to deal with. "Uh, no," I said weakly.
"Then go," Uncle Sam said.
I sighed heavily, and turned to trudge up to my room.
I sat on my bed and crossed my legs, feeling more anxious.
In a few minutes, there was a knock on the door, and I called, "C-come in," nervously.
Uncle Sam walked into the room, holding the paddle in his right hand. He came over to the bed and stood there looking down at me.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Sam," I said, hoping that he would go easier on me if I apologized right away.
"I'm disappointed in you, Charlie," he said, "We've talked about all of this more than once, and you keep disobeying me."
That hurt my feelings when he said that. I hated feeling like he and Daddy were upset with me or disappointed. I looked down at my hands in my lap and squirmed.
"This is the last time I want to have to punish you for this. If it happens again, we will get really strict about things, and you'll have a lot more rules, and get into trouble a lot quicker. So you think about that the next time you're tempted to go online or buy something," Uncle Sam sat down on the edge of the bed and set the paddle next to him.
He turned towards me. "Come here," he said, and reached for me.
I gulped, and moved over next to him, and he pulled me down over his lap.
I gave a little squeal when he started to pull my pants down. "Uncle Sam, what're you doing?"
He pulled them down to my knees, and then pulled my panties down too. My body was on the bed, and I pushed up with my arms and turned to look at him.
"Lying is a bare butt spanking, remember?" he asked. He put his arm over my back and pushed me down on the bed, and I grabbed onto the comforter.
"Oww!" I cried out after the first swat landed. It stung so much more, I burst into tears and started to wiggle and squirm to try and get away from Uncle Sam's big hand. He pulled me closer to him and held me firmly. My legs were dangling off his lap, and as I kicked I felt my pants and panties falling off. Then I realized I could kick harder, because my pants weren't keeping my legs trapped. I kicked more, and Uncle Sam said sternly, "Charlie, stop kicking."
I bent my leg and moved my foot up so that it was in front of my bottom, trying to block him.
"No, young lady, put your foot down," he said in a harder voice, "You do that again and I'm adding more swats with the paddle."
I lowered my foot and whimpered as his hand continued to pepper my butt with hard smacks. Then he stopped for a moment and leaned over.
I turned my head and saw him pick up the paddle. "M'sorry, Uncle Sam, I am," I sobbed, "Please..."
"Sorry that you misbehaved, or sorry that you got caught, and you're in trouble?" he asked, "you need to learn from your mistakes, so that you don't get yourself into more trouble. Because you're going to find yourself back over my knee, or your dad's knee, every single time you break rules like this."
I shrieked and then wailed as the paddle swatted me. My bottom was already on fire, and all I could concentrate on was the sting each time the paddle fell.
"You will not go online unsupervised any more, or buy things or download things without permission. And you will not lie or hide things from us. Is that clear?"
"Y—y—yes, Uncle S-sam," I heaved out.
He landed a couple more swats and I wailed again. Then he lifted me up off his lap and held me like a baby, my butt drooping down between his arms. I sobbed into his chest and clutched at his flannel.
"M' s-sorry I was b-bad," I sobbed, "Are you s-still d-dis—appointed in me?"
"You're not bad, Charlie, you misbehaved and broke rules, and you've been punished. You do the right thing from now on, and I won't be disappointed any more. I know you're a good girl." Uncle Sam leaned down and kissed my forehead.
I put my arms around him. "I love you, Uncle Sam."
"I love you too, Charlie," he said, squeezing me tightly.
He held me until I was calm, and then patted my back. "I've got to go downstairs and check on dinner. Wash your face and then come down."
"Yes, Uncle Sam," I said. He set me on the floor and left the room, and I put my panties and jeans back on, easing them up over my sore rear. I washed my face and hands and then went downstairs.
Daddy was in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. I went up to him and stood in front of him. "I'm sorry," I said, staring at the floor.
Daddy set his mug on the counter, and then put his finger under my chin and made me look at him.
"I hope that this is the last time we have to deal with this. We still have to talk about the rest of your punishment."
"Uh, the—the rest?" I asked uneasily. Was he going to spank me too?
"Yes, you're losing your Kindle and 3DS for two weeks, and Sam is going to put parental controls on them. And he's going to monitor you using the tablet as well."
"Two weeks!" I complained, "My 3DS too?"
"Well, it has access to the internet too, doesn't it? I want to check it over and make sure you can't go online whenever you want," Uncle Sam said.
"That's not fair!" I stomped my foot.
"I don't want to hear it," Daddy said sternly, "You should count yourself lucky that you're not getting a spanking from me too. I'm not happy about the sneaking and the lying, Charlie."
"I said I was sorry!" I felt my face getting red.
"Yes, you did. Now show me that you mean it by changing how you behave."
"Okayokay!" I started to turn, to stomp out of the room.
Daddy grabbed my chin. "Lose the attitude, or you will be getting a spanking from me tonight."
Uncle Sam set a stack of dishes on the table. "Set the table, Charlie," he said.
Daddy let go of me and I stepped over to the table and began to lay the plates and get out the utensils.
Grandpa John came in just as we were sitting down. He had a couple of shopping bags, and he went to put them in his room.
He sat down at the table and looked around at us. "I got some interesting books on folklore at that new bookstore, Sam, you should take a look. So, what's been going on here?"
"Charlie got into some trouble, she's not allowed to have her Kindle or 3DS for two weeks," Daddy told him.
Grandpa John raised his eyebrow. "Oh? What happened?"
"She bought some books and games for her Kindle without asking, and then hid that she bought them," Uncle Sam said.
I stared at the table, blushing.
"Well, that's not good," Grandpa John said.
"And that's the last time we're going to have any issues with the computer, Charlie?" Daddy looked at me.
"Uh...yes, Daddy," I said quietly, "Can I be done?"
"All right," he said.
"Go get your 3DS," Uncle Sam told me.
I slid off my chair and went upstairs to get them, and when I brought them into the kitchen, he said, "Leave it on the desk."
I put it on the desk where I did my school work- my Kindle was already there- and then went back into the kitchen to help with the dishes, since that was one of my chores. Daddy and I cleared the table and he loaded the dishwasher.
When he was finished, I pulled on his arm. "Can I sit with you, Daddy?"
"Sure, what's up?" he asked.
"I just...miss you when you're at work."
He ruffled my hair. "Let me get another cup of coffee and we can sit, okay?"
I climbed onto his lap when he sat down on the sofa, and he put his arm around me.
"Can we do something this weekend?" I asked.
"Sure, what do you want to do?"
I leaned against Daddy. "I dunno."
"Well, it's New Year's Eve this weekend, maybe we can find some kind of celebration to go to." Daddy said.
I snuggled with him until I started to fall asleep, and then he carried my upstairs to my room.