Spanktember Prompt, Day 13: Use of Implements
Hello Dear Readers! I'm back with another Spanktember story featuring a no-nonsense Shelby and a clueless Rachel! This girl refuses to see reason, what can I do? Spank her, of course! ;)
Warnings: This is a spanking story. It will have spanking. I do not condone the use of physical discipline on real-life children/teens or anyone who does not or cannot consent to such activities.
Summary: Rachel Berry has learned the hard way that Mom means what she says. The girl hasn't been late for a curfew since the second time on the business end of her mother's hand. When she tries to get around the rules on a technicality, Shelby is ready and waiting for round three. Follows Unfamiliar Territory and Déjà Vu.
Part 3 of 3 Rachel Berry Doesn't Believe in Curfews series
Third Time's the Charm
Rachel Berry hadn't been late for curfew since her last unfortunate run-in with her mother's hand in early October. She hadn't even missed it tonight—or, last night, as it as it was currently 2:18 in the morning on Sunday, December 27th. The newly-minted sixteen-year-old climbed the latticework up the side of her house, feeling giddy and quite proud of herself. She had successfully snuck out to go to a party with her friends and now she was more than ready to go to bed (for real this time).
Her fathers already thought Rachel had gone to bed hours ago. She had come in at 10:30 Saturday night—thirty whole minutes before her curfew—kissed her dads goodnight and gone to her room. Now the house was pitch black, her fathers snug in their first-floor master bedroom and fast asleep. As far as they were concerned, Rachel was sound asleep in her own bed—and she would be too, just as soon as she crawled in through the guest room window, the same way she had gone out. Yes, everything had gone according to plan and it was official—Rachel Berry was a genius!
Rachel eased the window open and quickly climbed through, shivering as she turned to lock it. Yawning, Rachel took a step toward the door and tripped on something. Frowning, she was just about to grab her phone to see what it was when there was a scream and the bedside light flicked on, blinding her.
Shelby Corcoran woke from a dead sleep to something being knocked over. The air in the room was cold and her nostrils flared at the crisp smell of winter—the window had been opened. Someone had broken into the house! Knowing she had only seconds to her advantage, Shelby let out an ear-piercing scream and then turned the bedside light on. She may have blinded herself, but she did the same to her intruder—they fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Shelby was already reaching for anything she could use as a weapon, and her fingers closed around the handle of her wooden hairbrush. Not exactly a deadly weapon, but she figured she could whack the person upside the head and leave a pretty good dent.
Rachel screamed as a body landed atop her and pinned her to the ground. Her hands immediately went to protect her head. "D-DAD! DADDY! H—HELP!"
Hiram and LeRoy came bolting into the room half a second later, eyes crazed and frantically taking in the room. They had both jumped out of bed the moment they heard both Shelby and Rachel screaming for them, their hearts beating out of their chests in fright. The scene they had come upon was the absolute last they had expected—Shelby pinning Rachel to the floor, her hairbrush poised high in the air and ready to strike, while Rachel had her hands covering her face and was continuing to scream for her daddies.
Meanwhile, Shelby was working hard to control her own heart rate as the world came back into focus. Anger quickly replaced her fight or flight response as she realized just what was going on here. Easing off of her child, Shelby stood and then yanked the girl up beside her. And no longer needing her hairbrush to beat an intruder over the head, Shelby instead cracked it down hard on Rachel's other end.
"Ouch, Mom! M-Mom?" Rachel gasped and jumped away from the angry woman still holding her hairbrush at the ready. Rachel didn't want to be anywhere near Shelby or that damn brush at the moment. "How—What are you doing here?"
"The better question is what are you doing in here, Rachel? We thought you were in bed!" Hiram rounded on his child, crossing his arms and glaring at the girl. He was an imposing figure that way.
"She just climbed in through the window—it's what woke me up," Shelby offered, echoing Hiram's stance. The hairbrush twitched in her hand as she stared daggers at Rachel.
"Do you know what time it is, Rachel Barbra?! Where have you been?" LeRoy demanded. He, too, took up a matching stance, so now Rachel was being towered over by all three parents.
Rachel shifted her weight from foot to foot and rubbed her hands together to warm them—all while racking her brain to come up with a plausible explanation her parents would accept. Truthfully, the girl hadn't even thought about having to explain herself—her plan had been perfect. Her mother being asleep in the guest room of her fathers' house never crossed her mind as something she needed to consider. What was Shelby doing here?
"I—I—"
"Don't even think about telling a lie, young lady," her mother was quick to interrupt her and Rachel flicked her eyes to the woman's, paling at the ferocity there. Shelby looked pissed. Rachel gulped and squirmed under that gaze.
"Mommy," Rachel whined.
"I think that is quite enough stalling, little miss," Hiram chided, his voice gravelly with sleep. "Tell us where you've been—now."
Rachel grimaced and bit her lip. She wasn't a fan of how forceful her daddies were becoming under Shelby's tutelage. What happened to the men being two big, soft pushovers?! How was she supposed to go up against three immovable parents?
"That's it," Shelby growled, and before either Rachel or the dads knew what was happening, Shelby had stepped forward and grabbed the teenager by her arm. Taking advantage of Rachel's shock, Shelby easily sat on the bed she'd been peacefully sleeping in less than ten minutes ago, and pulled her sneaky little girl over her lap. "If you don't want to talk to us, that's fine, Rach. I have no problem doing the talking."
"M-Mom!" Rachel sputtered as she found herself staring at the carpet. Her face grew warm in embarrassment at being turned over her mother's lap so easily—and in front of her fathers to boot!
"Five days, Rachel," Shelby ground out, snapping the back of her oval hairbrush against Rachel's jean-clad bottom. "You had five days to go before we'd all sit down and discuss extending your curfew because you had been doing so well. Now, come to find out, you're missing curfew again."
"Ah—Ouch!" Rachel yelped, kicking her legs against the sting of that one swat. She was glad she had jeans on and not her usual skirt or dress. Even so, her bottom started to heat quickly as her mom went to town on it. "Ow! I-I didn't! Ow, gah, I—I was home on time—early even! It was after mid—OW—night before I l-left again. Curfew isn't technically until 9pm and it's only—Ow! OWW, Mom!"
"Oh, don't you even—" Shelby couldn't believe the gall of her child. Rachel was back on her feet as quickly as she had been upended and the girl was momentarily relieved until she felt her mother's fingers at the button of her jeans.
"M-Mom, no! S-Stop!" she stammered, her hands flying to her pants. She wanted them to stay where they were, thank you very much!
"Move your hands; these are coming down and you are getting your tail lit on fire, little girl," Shelby growled, prying at her child's hands. She was going to teach this lesson to her daughter once and for all, if it was the last thing she did!
"Shelby—Shelby, now's not the time," LeRoy intervened, sidling up to the mother-daughter duo and separating them. He didn't have a problem with Shelby giving their daughter the spanking of her life—but it should be done in the morning, after they all had time to calm down.
Rachel already had tears streaming down her face and her bottom throbbed from the dozen or so swats her mom had landed. She was grateful to her daddy for stepping in. Her hands flew back in a futile effort to ease the sting as she offered a shaky apology.
"I think you're only sorry you got caught," her mother bit back. Rachel could only hang her head—the woman was right.
"You were deceitful, and we haven't raised you to be that way, Rachel Barbra. You should be ashamed of yourself," Hiram added. "What's more, your daddy and I didn't know where you were—we thought you were safe at home in your bed. Anything could have happened to you and we'd be none-the-wiser. That's beyond dangerous, young lady."
"Which brings us back to—where were you?" LeRoy joined in.
Rachel could only cry. She was getting it from all sides, her butt hurt, and she was cold and tired—her perfect plan had fallen apart before her very eyes. The magnitude of the trouble she found herself in hit her like a freight train, bringing with it the heavy weight of guilt that settled in the pit of her stomach and made itself at home.
"Quinn and S-Santana and I went to P—Puck's for a party. I just wanted to go and knew you wouldn't l-let me! I'm s—sorry!"
"Were you drinking?" LeRoy asked.
"No, Daddy, I promise I didn't!" Rachel met her father's gaze with brimming eyes. LeRoy sighed and nodded, seeing the sincerity in the girl's face.
"At least you made one good decision tonight," Hiram commented and Rachel wrung her hands nervously.
"I'm sorry," the girl repeated, sniffling.
"You will be, young lady," Shelby promised her child. At Rachel's wince, she relented. She was exhausted and had been scared out of her wits, then angry at discovering her child had snuck out. "I love you, Rachel. You scared me—scared us. I thought we had dealt with this issue, but you have manipulated the situation to suit your needs…We can talk about all of this in the morning, however."
"Your mom's right. We're all tired and emotions are high," Hiram reasoned. "Let's all get back to bed and we can discuss this and the consequences in the morning."
LeRoy was first to pull Rachel into a hug, then Hiram. Rachel soaked up all of the love the men offered. As Hiram pulled away, Shelby scooped Rachel into her own arms and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words. Rachel choked back a sob and buried her face into the crook of Shelby's neck.
"Go get changed and ready for bed, then come back here, please," her mother said as she stepped back from their embrace. Shelby's hands came to cup Rachel's face and she swiped her thumbs at the tears still falling.
"Mommy?" Rachel couldn't keep the worry from her voice. Her mother gave her a sad little smile and leaned in to kiss her forehead.
"It's okay, Rach," Shelby assured, her tone soft, "You have quite the spanking coming, but not tonight. Right now, all I want to do is go back to sleep—and I'd prefer to have you close by when I do. So go on, go get ready for bed. I'll be right here." The mother turned her child toward the door and sent the teenager off with several firm pats to her bottom.
The fathers watched the exchange between mother and daughter with interest. Both of them were impressed with how well Shelby handled Rachel. Oftentimes, the two felt that Shelby had been doing this far longer than they had—they were only just learning how to be firm with their daughter and not give in to her tears and excuses, and it was much in part to Shelby's newfound place in their lives.
"That girl's gonna give us all premature gray hairs," Hiram quipped, breaking the silence. LeRoy and Shelby gave him nearly-identical looks of exasperation. The two then made eye contact and all three burst into quiet giggles—they didn't want their daughter to inadvertently hear and think they approved of her behavior.
"Goodnight, Shelby," LeRoy said once the moment had passed. As he and Hiram began to file out of the room, the taller man added a teasing, "Good luck!"
Shelby rolled her eyes and sat on her bed to wait for their child to return. Her gaze fell on the hairbrush she had discarded when she had gotten up to hug Rachel; she picked it up and turned it lazily in her hands, letting her mind wander as she did.
And that is how Rachel found her mother several minutes later. The girl stopped dead in her tracks, standing just inside the guest bedroom's door. For half a second she considered turning tail and running back to the relative safety of her own room, but hazel eyes snapped up right afterwards. Rachel gulped as she took in the unreadable expression on her mother's face.
Shelby shook herself from her reverie, setting the brush back down on the nightstand where it had been originally, then motioned for her child to come closer. Rachel did, however nervously.
As the teen drew nearer to her mother, her hands snuck behind her to protect her still-throbbing bottom in case her mom got any ideas. She had taken the time while in her bathroom to check her bottom in the mirror and wasn't surprised by the bright pink splotches marring her once-pale skin.
Shelby hid her smirk as her daughter stopped to stand just outside of her reach; the mother only had to lean forward before she was able to grab a handful of her child's oversized t-shirt and bring the girl closer. Rachel let out a little squeak but otherwise made no protest; her hands stayed firmly clapped behind her, an action that Shelby found adorable.
Red-rimmed eyes met Shelby's and it was enough to take the woman's breath away. Rachel looked far more like a six-year-old than sixteen, and Shelby couldn't help but think back to when she and Rachel had first met, that day the girl had snuck into a Vocal Adrenaline practice. Shelby worried then that Rachel was already grown up and wouldn't need her—that Shelby had already missed out on the girl's childhood and her chance at getting to be Rachel's Mom. That seemed like such a silly thing now, as Rachel stood before her, very much a child and in need of her mom.
Whatever Shelby had been planning to say went out the window with that look. The mother sighed and pulled Rachel down onto the bed beside her, her arms coming to wrap around her. Rachel clutched whole fistfuls of Shelby's sleep shirt as she settled her head into her usual spot at the crook of her mother's neck—it was the best place to hear the woman's heartbeat while breathing in Shelby's scent that was quickly becoming synonymous with home.
They stayed like that for several long moments, until Rachel's bottom began to protest being sat on in its current state. The girl hissed as she pulled away from her mom, meeting the woman's questioning gaze with a sheepish expression.
"My butt hurts," she murmured, cheeks coloring.
Shelby sighed and scooted into the middle of the bed, taking Rachel with her. "Lay down," she said when the girl continued to stare at her. "Your butt won't hurt that way."
Rachel rolled her eyes but did as her mother instructed, stretching out on her stomach. Shelby reached over her to turn the bedside lamp off, then settled in next to her, her hand trailing down to ease the lingering soreness she had imparted.
"Are you really going to sp—uh, y'know—me in the morning again?" Rachel asked, grateful the lights were now off and her mom couldn't see how red her face had become.
Shelby laughed and patted her girl's bottom. "Again? I hardly spanked you a first time."
"Mo-om."
"Rach-el," Shelby copied her child's whine. "You snuck out of this house in the middle of the night. You deserve a sore bottom," she continued.
"But I have one," Rachel couldn't stop herself from protesting.
"Not yet you don't," Shelby retorted.
"But—"
"That's enough. It's time to sleep. We will talk about all of this in the morning."
"It is the morning," Rachel grumbled into her pillow. She yelped as her mother's hand snapped down against her bottom sharply.
"Watch yourself, young lady. My patience is running thin," the mother warned, her hand resting heavy against her child's upturned bottom. She felt the girl's muscles clench beneath her palm.
Rachel wiggled and pushed herself up on her elbows, turning to look at her mom. It may be dark, but Rachel could make out enough of her mother's features to know the woman was giving her her scary Coach Corcoran glare.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm just used to you—y'know—handling things right away. Now I'm supposed to wait and I…I don't want you to be mad, is all. Or—or not be forgiven." Tears burned behind rapidly-blinking lids as Rachel tried in vain to keep them at bay.
"Oh, honey," Shelby breathed, her left hand trailing up to her child's shoulder and coaxing her to lay down once more. "I'm not mad—certainly not at you. I'm upset with your choices tonight—the lying and sneaking around. It's dangerous. And you scared the living shit out of me creeping back through the window—I thought someone was breaking in!"
"I'm sorry I scared you," Rachel said as she scooted closer to her mother until their foreheads practically touched. "I d-didn't know you'd be here."
Shelby chuckled lightly as her hand began to gently caress Rachel's cheek, her thumb wiping away the few stray tears that had managed to escape. "I didn't either." Brows furrowed in silent question, then, "The power went out at my place, so I came here."
"You scared me too, you know," Rachel confided. "I thought you were an ax murderer."
"Well, I'm glad our fears turned out to be unfounded," Shelby quipped, running her hand over her child's hair.
"Mmm," Rachel hummed noncommittally. With the way things had turned out for her, she wondered if she wouldn't have preferred the ax murderer. She yawned and closed her eyes as her mom carded her fingers through her hair.
Rachel woke the following morning to sunlight streaming in through the same window she had crawled in and out of the previous evening. Stretching, the girl rolled over onto her back, relieved that her butt no longer hurt (but knowing that wouldn't last for long). Her mother was nowhere to be found.
Meanwhile, Shelby and the two Berry men sat in the living room drinking coffee and conferring about just what to do with their daughter when the girl finally woke up.
"You gotta give it to her," Hiram joked, "The girl's got panache." He put on a falsetto in order to mimic the girl's words from the early hours, "I was home on time—early even. I left after midnight so curfew isn't technically until 9PM."
"If Broadway doesn't pan out, she'd make an excellent lawyer," LeRoy laughed.
"Laugh it up. I'm going to make you spank her," Shelby teased the men.
"What? You are resident spanker, my dear madam," Hiram volleyed back.
"I'm not even a resident of this house!" Shelby balked in mock outrage.
As Rachel padded down the hallway towards the stairs in socked feet, she could hear the laughter and banter of her parents in the living room. It gave the girl hope that maybe the three adults had had a change of heart after getting more sleep. If they were able to joke about the events from last night, that had to mean they weren't upset about it anymore, right? And they certainly wouldn't punish her for it now…would they?
By the time Rachel reached the bottom of the stairs and turned towards the living room, she had convinced herself that all was well and she was in the clear. It wasn't until she took her first step into the large living area and met the three stony faces of her parents that she realized how wrong she was.
"Good morning, Rachel. Are you hungry?" Hiram was the first to speak.
"M-Morning. No," Rachel muttered, staring down at her feet. She had been hungry but now her stomach was doing too many flips for her to even think about food.
"Come sit down then, please," LeRoy said, gesturing to the empty spot on the loveseat conveniently next to Shelby.
Rachel sighed but didn't dare disobey. She did, however, sit as far away from her mother as possible, tucking her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Her chin came to rest on her knees as she waited for one of her parents to begin lecturing.
It was LeRoy who took the lead in the beginning, going over in great detail just how deceitful and dangerous her sneaking out of the house after midnight was. Hiram jumped in then to lecture her about them needing to be able to trust her to make good decisions and 'This was not a good decision, Rachel Barbra', he had scolded.
By the time Shelby was getting on her about her continued disregard for their rules and expectations, Rachel was crying steadily. It was almost a relief when her mother ordered her to her room to wait.
Rachel paced the length of her room and tried to listen for any sound of her mom's approach. For once, she regretted having talked her daddies into soundproofing her room—how was she supposed to hear anything?! On the other hand…at least her dads wouldn't be able to hear her punishment; the embarrassment of that would almost be worse than the actual spanking.
Rachel startled at the sudden rap on her door seconds before it opened. Heart racing, she spun on the spot to meet her mother's face as the woman entered the room. The door shut with a sharp click as the latch caught and Rachel swallowed—hard.
"Oh no, Mom, please don't use that," Rachel begged as her eyes trailed down to the wooden hairbrush clutched in Shelby's left hand.
Shelby sighed and had to remind herself that what Rachel had done was serious—and a repeat offense even if the girl didn't see it that way. The mother wanted to be done with this issue once and for all; her hairbrush would ensure that.
"This is the third time we've dealt with you missing or completely disregarding your curfew, young lady. There will not be a fourth time, is that clear?"
"Mom—"
"No ma'am, I don't want to hear it," Shelby said as she went to sit on the bed. She looked at her child expectantly. "Come here."
"Mommy," Rachel whined even as she took a step towards the woman. "Please. I promise I'll never break curfew again. You don't—You don't have to do this." She wiped at the tears that hadn't stopped falling since her three-way lecture and gave her mom her most pitiful look.
Shelby only shook her head before leaning forward to grab her child's t-shirt and tug her into place—right over her lap. The girl's sleep pants and panties came down and then Shelby's hand was rising and falling against her target. Rachel squealed and kicked her legs against the onslaught.
"Ow! Oh, ouch! Ouch, Mommy! OW!" Rachel cried, completely overwhelmed by the burning sting from her mother's palm. The girl didn't remember her mom's hand hurting this much the two other times she had spanked her—and Shelby was going to use her brush on top of this? Rachel was never going to sit again!
Shelby ignored her daughter's cries, continuing to pepper her child's bottom with sharp swats that turned pale cheeks rosy.
"Ow! Ow, please—Ouch! Ouch, Mom! Ow! Owhowoww, I'm sorry! Oooh, I'm sorry! Mommy, please—I'm sorry!"
"You're always sorry, Rachel," Shelby said, stopping to rest her stinging palm against warm skin. "Every time we deal with this, you're sorry. Your sorrys are starting to lose their meaning because you don't change your behavior. 'Sorry' doesn't make things better, Rachel Barbra—actions do. Make better choices. Your choices last night were unacceptable and dangerous."
Rachel could only cry and nod her head along to her mother's scolding. She knew it was dangerous. She hadn't thought about it that way last night when she was doing it, but now that it had been fastidiously spelled out for her…Yeah, it was dangerous—and stupid.
"You want us to treat you more like an adult," Shelby continued, "But you aren't showing us that you are making adult decisions. Rather than having a frank conversation with us and being truthful about what you and your friends are doing, you sneak around behind our backs and make up excuses. How can we trust you, Rachel?"
Shelby's words hit Rachel harder than the woman's palm ever could, knocking the wind out of her as her stomach churned with guilt. The girl's mouth was already opening to spit out another 'sorry' when she stopped herself, choking on the word and a sob.
"I—I'm not…I'm not trying to make you and my dads not t-trust me," Rachel sobbed. "I just want to do all the nor—normal teenage stuff with my f-friends."
One moment Rachel was face down and staring at her bedspread, the next, she was being set on her feet in between her mother's knees. She desperately wanted to reach back to rub at stinging skin, but her mom had already taken her hands in her own and brought them up to her chest to hold as she looked into Rachel's eyes.
"Your dads and I want that too, Rachel," Shelby told her child. "We want you to do all the things and have fun—we just want you to be safe when you're doing it. You just turned sixteen. We need to know where you are and who you are with—and yes, we expect you home at a certain time. We're not asking a lot here, kid."
"I k-know," Rachel sniffled. "I just…I don't want to be the only one who has to call my parents all the time to keep asking for permission to do things. I'm already younger than all of my friends. I don't…I don't want to be seen as a child."
"Okay," Shelby nodded along in understanding. "Why do you have to wait until the last minute to ask us, though? Why can't you come to us before you even go out with your friends and ask us in private?"
Rachel frowned and shifted, lowering her eyes at her mother's prodding. When she said it like that, it all seemed so…simple—in theory. It wasn't in practice, however…was it? Rachel shrugged and could hear her mother sigh.
"You create drama, my little Houdini," Shelby chided gently, almost teasingly. Rachel's eyes darted up to meet hers and then narrowed as she glared at her. The tears made the glare less potent. The mother smiled. "You are so sure you know how we are going to react to you asking us for permission that you decide it's better not to—and look where that gets you—" Shelby emphasized her point by raising an eyebrow and nodding her head at her daughter and her state of undress. "—A bare, pink bottom that's well on its way to red."
"Mo-om," Rachel groaned, her cheeks flushing to match the other set.
"What do you think would have happened if you had asked any of us about going to that party last night?" Shelby continued, completely ignoring her child's embarrassment.
Rachel scoffed. "You wouldn't have let me go."
Shelby shook her head and reached around with one hand to tap her child's bottom in warning. "Sure we would," she said. Rachel opened her mouth to argue, but Shelby silenced her with a look. "I'm assuming the party didn't start after midnight, correct?" Rachel only shrugged.
"Your dads and I wouldn't have had a problem extending your curfew for an hour or even two so you could go with your friends. You already told us you didn't drink and I believe you. We could have arranged for one of us to come pick you up at the decided-upon time. But you never had that conversation with us, Rachel. And that is why you are here with me now having your bare bottom spanked—and why, despite being only days away from our original three-month benchmark, you've forfeited your chance of a later curfew for at least another month."
If Shelby's previous words knocked the wind out of her, these ones made it so Rachel forgot how to breathe—and think (talking might prove problematic, too). Rachel opened and closed her mouth but no words would come.
Shelby was fine with that. She squeezed her child's hands and waited until wet brown eyes focused on her once more. "I keep telling you me and your dads aren't unreasonable—when are you going to start believing that, hmm?"
Rachel let out a garbled sound and then fell forward into her mother's arms, their hands still entwined at Shelby's chest. Shelby immediately let go of her child's hands in order to catch the girl and wrap her arms around the small, quaking body.
"Shh, shh," Shelby soothed, now rubbing circles on her child's back.
"Mommy, I—I—" Rachel wanted to say she was sorry, but she wasn't sure if her mother wanted to hear that. The woman had said her sorrys were meaningless and she needed to change her behavior—act and do better. There was only one way to do that. "Can we get the spa—spanking over with now?"
It was Shelby's turn to be at a lost for words. She had assumed her child was going to ask if the spanking was over, as she had the two other times they had found themselves in this position. Instead, her girl was asking to finish it. It was quite a change, and one that had Shelby beaming in pride at her child.
"Yeah, baby, let's get it over with," Shelby said as she pulled back. Rachel nodded, squeezing her eyes shut and sending a torrent of tears down her face. "I'm proud of you for accepting the consequences, Rach."
Rachel sobbed as she was tipped back over her mother's lap, this time at more of an angle so her upper body came to rest on the mattress while her legs dangled over the edge. Shelby pinned Rachel's legs with one of her own and the girl whimpered at the implication, but then Shelby's hand came to rub circles on her back and trailed down to ease some of the sting her hand had left. Rachel relaxed the tiniest bit.
"I'm going to use the brush now, Rach. Hold tight," Shelby warned her child as she reached behind her for the object. She could feel Rachel stiffen across her lap and her heart went out to the girl.
Rachel grabbed for a pillow and smushed it beneath her, wrapping her arms around it in a tight hug. She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for the first swat from her mother's hairbrush. When it came, Rachel shrieked. It had hurt enough through her jeans last night, but even that now paled in comparison to the fiery burn searing bare skin.
"Ow! Owhowoww, Mommy! OW, Mo—Mommy! OUCH!"
Shelby could feel her own tears brewing and she swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. "Almost d-done, baby," she rasped, trying hard not to let her emotions show. She cracked the brush down across Rachel's sit-spots, watching as the skin blanched before darkening into a rich crimson.
"OwAHOWW, nooo! M—Mommy, please! OW! S-S-Sorry! I'm sorry!" Rachel cried, going limp across her mother's lap. Her bottom burned and her heart ached—she was ready for this to be well and truly over now. "I know you d-d-don't want to he—hear it but I am—OWW! 'M sorry!"
Shelby had tossed the brush aside the moment her child went limp over her knees, finishing off with a last little bit from her hand—but even that was finished now. Tears burned and blurred her vision, and her heart ached at her daughter's broken sobs.
Rachel continued to offer incoherent apologies, not even realizing that the spanking had stopped. She was too lost in the burning, throbbing pain and being upset with herself for getting into such a mess in the first place. It took several minutes for her brain to register the sound of her mother's voice, and longer still for the words to make any sense. Rachel then became aware of the gentle hand whispering over sore skin and easing the worst of the pain.
"Shhh. Shhh now, baby. That's it, take deep breaths and calm down." Shelby's voice was low and soothing as she coaxed her child through her tears, and her hand offered gentle comfort after its hard correction.
"Is it o—over n-now?" Rachel's voice came out hoarse and gravelly, and she was ready with more tears if the answer was somehow 'no'.
Shelby sucked in a ragged breath as if she had been punched hard in the stomach. "Yes, it's over now," she all but whispered as her hands slid beneath Rachel's underarms and lifted her up. The girl's feet barely touched the floor before Shelby was easing her back onto her lap—face-up this time.
Rachel buried her face in her mother's shoulder and cried out the rest of her tears while Shelby hummed a soothing lullaby and let her own tears fall. Shelby wasn't sure how long they had stayed like that, but eventually there was a knock on the door that startled the mother back to reality. The door opened just as Shelby's hand moved to tug down her daughter's shirt to preserve her modesty, and Hiram poked his head inside.
"Oh, sorry," the man said hurriedly. He had caught the quick movement as Shelby fixed Rachel's shirt and saw a glimpse of the bright red bottom his child sported. He felt his own face grow warm and averted his eyes so as to not see anything else. "I thought maybe you'd both fallen asleep."
"We'll be done in a few minutes," Shelby told the man as her hand came to rest against Rachel's bottom. Rachel wriggled and tucked her head further into the crook of Shelby's neck.
"Okay," Hiram nodded. "Rach, Daddy and I got you some of that avocado toast you like so much from that vegan bistro. It's waiting downstairs for you."
Rachel let out a small grunt in acknowledgement and Hiram ducked back out, the door shutting with a loud click. The girl waited an extra few seconds before tentatively raising her head.
"He—He didn't see my—" The girl couldn't finish her sentence, too embarrassed by the mere thought of her dad seeing—that.
"No, baby. I had you covered," Shelby assured, patting the girl's bottom lightly. Rachel let out a sigh of relief and then her stomach growled loudly. Shelby laughed and set the girl on her feet. "C'mon, let's get you decent and then we can go downstairs and have breakfast. I didn't eat anything yet either," she added as she leaned down to pick up her child's discarded clothing.
Rachel hissed as her underwear was returned to its proper place, trapping the heat within its cotton confines. Her mother held out her sleep pants next and Rachel shook her head as she backed away. Those may have been her favorite, baby-soft pajamas pants but they were also flannel. Why Rachel had decided on that pair this morning was beyond her, but she wasn't about to put them back on now—her butt would surely combust!
Shelby watched on in amusement as her child all but waddled over to her dresser, her hands continuously fussing with the edges of her underwear, and rummaged through her bottom drawer until she came out with a pair of lightweight mesh shorts. The girl eased them up and over her bottom and then rubbed for a moment. Rachel's hands fell to her sides as the girl let out a huffy sigh; it was all Shelby could do not to laugh at the action—her kid was adorable.
Rachel turned to face her mom and didn't miss the amused little smirk the woman was trying so hard to hide as she came towards her. She rolled her eyes and let out another huff but let Shelby steer her from her room. The two padded down the stairs and through the living room, into the kitchen where her dads were sitting at the breakfast nook.
It appeared none of her parents had eaten breakfast with the full-on smorgasbord spread out on the table. Shelby took a seat next to LeRoy, and Rachel smiled as she pulled out her own chair and saw the small pile of pillows waiting for her.