Family Tree
Chapter 1
"Are you serious? We're going to be late!" Myah McGarrett stared at her brother as he pulled into the gas station.
"I don't care." Nahele responded.
Myah frowned at him. They normally preferred blasting music during the commute to Kukui High over conversation, but when banter happened it was normally pleasant. Nahele's tone and attitude that morning were unusual for him.
"Are you okay?"
Nahele glared at her. "Look, I'm sorry you have to wait. But we're not going to get there at all, if I don't fill up."
"Because of course filling up the night before wouldn't make sense."
"You're welcome to ride the bus." Nahele slammed the door.
Myah sat back against the front seat. She didn't recall Nahele ever speaking to her in that manner and it stung. She knew it was normal for siblings to argue, but she and Nahele had only been siblings for a few months and she considered him her best friend. With school starting, she supposed other friendships were forming and that was bound to affect their relationship. She didn't like it.
When Nahele slid back into the driver's seat after refilling the car, she held out a twenty dollar bill. "For gas." she said softly.
"I'm not taking your allowance."
"It's not allowance. It's from mowing yards. Why are you being so mean?"
Nahele clenched and unclenched his jaw several times, before turning and focusing on her. "You want to cut school?"
Myah's jaw dropped. "Have you been abducted by aliens?" She reached across the console to touch his forehead for fever. He shook her off and sighed. The anger seemed to dissipate from her brother's posture and he dropped his head onto the steering wheel. Myah's heart clenched at the sight, and she whispered, "I mean… okay. I'll cut school with you." she glanced around the car as though looking for a hidden camera.
Nahele actually laughed, and shaking his head, started up the engine and pulled out from the gas station. "Okay? Just like that?"
"Yeah." Myah squirmed uncomfortably. "You're my brother. I promised to always have your back, remember?"
"Yeah. Sorry for being a jerk."
"So are we skipping?" Myah was almost excited at this rebellious turn of events.
"No." Nahele scoffed.
"I'd be happy to skip English and that stupid group project. Seriously."
Nahele only shook his head in response and cranked up the volume until music blaring made any further conversation impossible.
The reason Myah currently hated her English class was evident only a few hours later when she found out that out of the four other people in the group, only one person had done their assigned part.
"That's really cool, guys, thanks." Myah said sarcastically.
Delia was a heavy set, dark haired girl with glasses and was generally quiet, but her face showed she agreed with Myah.
Rachel, Hema and Ollie shared a collective eye roll and then Rachel giggled. "You guys are taking this way too seriously."
"It's 50% of our grade!"
"It's fine." Rachel's voice turned sly. "Delia's got it taken care of, don't you?"
"It's fine." Delia's voice was small. "I have extra time this week. I'll do it."
Rachel nodded in satisfaction.
Myah's jaw dropped. "No, you won't. Everyone needs to do their fair share. I'll take a low grade before I'll do your work for you."
"Oh… new girl doesn't care about her grades?" Hema asked, snickering.
Myah shook her head. Being freshmen, they were all technically new, but somehow she'd still gotten saddled with the title. She'd discovered that being new came with both its benefits and its struggles. "I really don't." It was true, she actually didn't care that much. She tried to put forth effort when she was interested in something or was convinced it was actually important, but at the end of the day thought she'd be happy with a passing grade.
"You guys doing okay?" Ms. Coleman chose that moment to walk by.
"Hey Aunt Carol," Rachel smiled. "We're good, I'm just reminding Myah and Delia that there's no I in team."
"That's right, babe, it's a group effort." As the teacher walked away, Rachel smirked at the rest of them.
"Any more complaints, Myah?"
Myah rolled her eyes in response.
"So, like I was saying, why do people think they only need to put gas in cars? Why not lemonade? Why not coke?" Rachel was continuing on with the idiotic conversation that had nothing to do their project.
"You're a genius, Rachel." Ollie was practically drooling over her as usual.
"If you really want to ruin your engine, definitely put coke in the tank." Myah said in a low voice. "Great plan." The bell rang and there came the immediate din of people gathering their belongings and shoving their way out of the classroom. Myah picked up her backpack and followed Delia out into the hallway. She wasn't able to catch up to her until they reached the cafeteria. "Hey Delia!" The other girl looked up in surprise.
"Yeah?"
"You want to eat outside with me?"
"Um…" the other girl shifted back and forth uncomfortably. "Won't your friends be waiting?"
"They won't care. I eat with them every day. Come on." Myah waved at a girl from the Naval Junior RotC program she had joined at the beginning of school. So far being part of that group was proving to be the highlight of her educational experience. The other kids were fun to be around, but she wasn't particularly close to anyone. She briefly wished for the millionth time that she could go to school with Sam Grover and Grace Williams but pushed that thought aside. She sat down on a bench outside and welcomed the sun on her face, while opening her insulated lunch back. It matched her black backpack that was covered in sunflowers.
"I like your backpack." Delia said shyly.
"Thanks. It reminded me of Missouri. I actually didn't realize sunflowers grew on the island as well." Myah opened up her container of lettuce and added the grilled chicken that was leftover from the previous night's dinner and then added pecans and oranges. To complete her salad she pulled a tiny bottle of hot sauce from her pack and drizzled some across the top.
"I realize this is weird." she said, noticing Delia staring. "But hot sauce on pecans… it's sweet and spicy." She set her bag of sweet potato chips to the side.
"Does your mom pack all that for you?"
"Uh… no. My mom's actually passed on. That's why I moved here."
"Oh, sorry." Delia ducked her head, and Myah felt bad. She hadn't ever heard the other girl actually ask a direct question before and it was a shame it had to be something with an awkward answer.
"It's okay. You didn't know. I live with my Uncle Steve, who adopted me. And he didn't pack this. Lunch is the best part of the day, so I prioritize it. Want half my brownie?"
"Sure, just a little piece." Delia shyly took the piece of chocolate brownie and popped it in her mouth before returning to her sandwich. "So… why'd you want me to sit with you?"
"Our group project… We are not doing all the work for those slackers."
"We don't have a choice. Like you said, it's 50% of our grade."
"Well, how much do you care about that?"
"A lot. If I want a scholarship out of here, I need to keep my grades as perfect as possible."
"Even if it means doing other people's work?"
"Yeah. Plus Ms. Coleman is Rachel's aunt."
"I heard that."
"And plus… My mom works for Mr. Coleman. If Rachel complains… my mom could lose her job."
"Oh." Myah said, deflated. That news certainly affected the landscape. "Well, I'll help more then. You don't have to do it all. We can get together after school if you want."
Delia offered a shy smile. "That would be really nice, thanks."
The courtyard offered a distant view of the parking lot and out of the corner of her eye, Myah caught a brief glimpse of Nahele. "What are you doing?" she muttered, cocking her head.
"What?" Delia asked.
"Oh, nothing… I… My brother's in the parking lot and I don't know why."
"Your brother?"
"We're both adopted." Myah said quickly. "Hey, can I catch up with you later? I need to make sure he's okay."
"How? They monitor that gate pretty closely."
"I know." Myah nodded. She eyed the teacher sitting on a stool to the side of the gate, and noted the woman seemed much more interested in scrolling through her phone than making sure the students stayed within the courtyard.
"I'll go talk to her." Delia offered.
Myah looked up at her in surprise.
"You're the first person to give me the time of day since school started." Delia shrugged. "It's the least I can do." She made her way over to the gate monitor and struck up a conversation. Myah couldn't hear what they were saying and her conscience was twinging a little harder now that there was a second person involved. Still, Myah told herself quickly, even if she got caught there was nothing about the situation to implicate Delia. Discreetly she moved along the wall and without looking back, slipped out the gate. Once free, she ran towards where she'd seen Nahele, which was near where they'd parked that morning. Rounding the corner of several large SUVs, she caught sight of her brother leaning against his car, his arms folded across his chest, glaring at the ground. He looked up at her footfall.
"What are you doing?" he asked, shaking his head. "I swear, you're like a freakin' puppy, following me around."
"Well, puppies are adorable, so I'll take that as a compliment."
"You're just annoying."
"Are we cutting school? What are you doing out here?"
"I don't know." he sighed. "I want to, but cutting won't help anything."
"Help what?"
"You're not supposed to be out here either."
"I know."
"You get in trouble at school, you'll get in trouble at home."
Myah shifted uncomfortably at the thought. "Well, it won't be just me."
"Yeah? I can walk right back in the gym anytime I need and nobody will care. How are you getting back in?"
He wasn't wrong. It would be much more obvious to enter the gate she'd left through, no matter how distracted the teacher was.
"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."
Myah glared at him. "Don't quote Dad to me!"
"I'm not. I'm quoting The Art of War. Which Dad likes to quote to us."
"I'm going to show you the art of war here in a minute."
Nahele snorted. "Yeah, you try. Come on." He typed a quick text on his phone and then turned and moving quickly led her towards the side of the building.
"Where are we going?"
"Back inside. There's a window with the lock broken from the inside here. I've got a friend that'll open it for us." They waited outside the brick building for only a few minutes, when an upper window pushed open.
"Well, this'll cost you." A boy with the reddest hair Myah had ever seen leaned out over the ledge and smiled at them. She immediately felt shy and ducked behind Nahele.
"The hell are you doing, McGarrett?"
Myah cocked her head at this. She was used to her dad being called by his last name, but it was the first time she'd heard anyone refer to Nahele that way. Her brother shrugged, but smiled in response. "Here. Catch my sister."
"Wait, what?"
Nahele locked eyes with her. "Do you want to get back inside or not?" At her nod, he continued with, "I know you can't make that climb by yourself. Let's go. J is cool, he won't let you fall."
"I'm not afraid of falling." Myah muttered. Swallowing hard, she obediently stepped onto a lower ledge and then onto Nahele's lower shoulder. Once up there she actually was a little afraid of falling, but pride forced her to ignore her fear, and she managed to grab the window ledge. She felt Nahele's friend grab her around the rib cage and easily pull her up and into the empty classroom. He was strong and there was no chance of him dropping her but it didn't make for a graceful landing. Completely mortified, Myah quickly straightened her clothing and watched as Nahele easily scaled the wall and hefted himself through the window. "You are an animal, seriously."
He laughed, his mood seeming lightened by the challenge. "You're welcome. Get out of here."
Myah wasted no time in doing so. She wasn't offended by his brisk farewell, figuring that he had to maintain some semblance of coolness in front of his friend, and he had saved her back, when technically she shouldn't have even followed him out. Myah had just enough time to run through the courtyard to find Delia standing next to her backpack and uneaten lunch. A delicious lunch wasted was probably the greatest tragedy of all, she thought sadly.
"Thanks, girl." she said to Delia.
"How'd you get back in? Is your brother okay?"
"You know, I don't even know! He was definitely frustrated about something, but he wouldn't tell me what. I thought maybe he was going to cut the rest of the day, which is why I went out there, but he said no."
"Well, that's good right? Good that you were able to talk him out of leaving school?"
"Yeah." Myah felt a little ashamed. "I guess I didn't really try to talk him out of it. I just wanted to know what was wrong and if he was leaving, I was going to go too."
"Oh." Delia seemed unsure what to think of this, and Myah couldn't blame her. In retrospect she supposed she should have tried to talk him out of cutting school both now and this morning. She'd meant what she'd told him about having his back, but wondered if that necessarily meant breaking the rules alongside him if he asked. She supposed her desire to get out of school had probably played a part in her eagerness.
"I'm getting a headache." she told Delia. "Here, give me your phone number and I'll text you tonight about our project. Or we can talk in math later." She had never spoken to the other girl, but knew they had the last class of the day together. Delia smiled in response, looking genuinely happy at the suggestion. Now that Myah thought about it, she couldn't remember seeing Delia socialize or be friendly with anyone else since school had started, but as far as she was concerned, everyone else was missing out, as Delia seemed nice.
H50 H50 H50
Steve McGarrett tapped his foot in an attempt to keep himself awake. Sitting through the governor's monthly meeting that usually devolved into politics was not his idea of a good time. When his phone vibrated, he inwardly celebrated. When he saw Kukui Highschool flash across his screen, however, he winced and gave an apologetic wave to the governor.
"Sorry sir. It's my kids' school." Stepping out into the hallway, he answered, "Steve McGarrett."
"Yes sir, this is Principal Hekekia. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm calling on behalf of your daughter, Myah." The woman's voice was firm.
Steve groaned inwardly. He supposed his first question should be regarding his daughter's wellbeing, but years spent in his line of work had facilitated a strong ability to read a person's tone, and the principal didn't sound like she had just dealt with any issues involving safety. Her voice indicated more of a carefully controlled anger.
"She's fine, but there's been an incident and I need you to come to the school right away."
"Yes ma'am. I'll be there as soon as I can."
As Steve strode towards his truck, he quickly texted Nahele, asking if he knew why Myah was in the principal's office, and then called Danny.
"How'd you get out of that meeting already?"
"Saved by the bell. Meaning the principal called and I've been summoned."
"Myah or Nahele?"
"Myah."
"Is she okay?" Naturally Danny asked the more caring question first.
"Yeah. I don't know what it's about. Principal just said there'd been an incident."
"Well… just make sure you have all the facts before laying down the law. Myah's such a good girl, I can't imagine that she'd have done anything too terrible. And you know how teenage girls can be. High school's tough."
"I know Danno. I also know my daughter. I know her heart's in the right place. She just doesn't always think before she acts. I'll call you as soon as I know anything."
Steve pulled into the highschool parking lot and was hit with a wave of memories from his school days. That all seemed like another lifetime. His primary focus had been on football and any outdoor adventure he could participate in, and that had all come to a sudden stop when his father had sent him and his sister Mary to the mainland. Torn away from everything he had ever known, to finish high school at the California Army and Navy Academy. His junior and senior years had been an entirely different experience from his first two years of high school, but Steve couldn't deny that the all boys boarding school had well prepared him for his military career. His own reminisce caused him to recall Danny's words and he considered them briefly. High school really was tough and this was Myah's first year, not only in high school, but on the island. He supposed that maybe he shouldn't be too surprised that something had happened that warranted both of them getting called into the office.
The front desk buzzed Steve in after receiving his identification and had him fill out the visitor's log and clip a temporary badge onto his shirt. The secretary gave him directions but Steve found he remembered the way. He took a deep breath before pushing the office door open and was not surprised to see Myah sitting on a folding chair against the far wall. She had her arms wrapped around one knee with her head leaning forward. Her dark hair was pulled on top of her head in a messy bun with a colorful woven headband stretching around the front. She was wearing a light denim button down shirt and sage green shorts. Steve didn't recognize the dark haired girl sitting beside Myah. He did notice that while Myah's expression was one of misery, the other girl had red eyes and was sniffling, occasionally brushing back tears.
Myah looked up when he entered the room and met his eyes with a pleading expression. He shook his head at her. The girl next to his daughter flinched and shrank back at his posture. Steve alerted the secretary to his presence, something he was fairly sure was unnecessary as she had been aware of him as soon as he'd entered the door.
"You can all go in." she announced. "Mrs. Iosua is already here." She stood and pulled the principal's door open. Steve automatically took the door from her and nodded at Myah and the other girl to proceed him in.
The room was certainly updated decor wise, but the huge desk and shelves looked the same as Steve remembered them. He didn't have any good memories of the room. He had only been there for disciplinary measures once, as far as he could recall and the other time had been for getting the news that his mother had been killed.
"Thank you for coming, Mr. Mcgarrett." The principal stood to shake his hand. She had dark skin and long black hair that hung loose but without a strand out of place. Her gray suit was simple but stylish.
Steve sat down next to Myah and couldn't help but place a gentle hand onto the back of her neck. He had less illusions than Danny did about her having landed herself in the hot seat fair and square, but at the same time, hated to see her look so scared. He supposed he should be thankful that her misdeeds generally stemmed from poor judgment rather than any form of maliciousness.
"Here, Delia." Principal Hekekia handed the other girl a box of tissue and she promptly blew her nose. Steve guessed the woman sitting next to her was her mother, although she looked native to Hawaii, while Delia had facial features that indicated only partial ancestry.
"So I'll get right to the point. The facts as we have them. This afternoon, one of our teachers… one of the girls' teachers in fact, Mrs. Cheryl Coleman, needed to leave early for an appointment. She didn't get very far due to car trouble. Her mechanic has determined that several liters of coca-cola had been poured into her gas tank."
Steve was watching Myah carefully during the monologue of misbehavior, and saw her blink at the name of the teacher and there was a slight parting of her lips when coca-cola was mentioned. His trained gaze took in Delia as well, as she gasped at the same information Myah had reacted to, and there came a fresh onslaught of tears.
Myah shot her a concerned look, and then briefly looked back at Steve. She looked extremely uncomfortable, and he was careful to keep his expression unreadable. Inwardly however the facts were spinning in his head. He didn't think Myah had vandalized the teacher's car any more than he thought the principal had done it herself. Regardless, she definitely knew something about it. He couldn't help but sigh.
"And… why exactly do you think the girls were involved?" Delia's mother, Mrs. Iosua, Steve recalled, asked.
The principal held up a phone so they could all listen to the recording. Myah's voice could clearly be heard, saying "If you really want to ruin your engine, definitely put coke in the tank."
Myah gasped at the sound of her voice. Steve didn't say anything but eyed her closely. He definitely read shock, but not guilt.
"The time stamp from this recording is from when you and Delia have English together. Ms. Coleman says that you were both upset about a group project at the time. Another member of your group says that the two of you left the classroom together and Myah, you were seen in the parking lot during your lunch hour, which is against the rules during school hours, unless you have express permission, which you did not."
"All I know is that my daughter would never do something like this." Mrs. Iosua spoke up, her voice trembling. "Myah, I'm afraid I don't know you, but I know that Delia would never jeopardize her academic performance for a prank like this."
Steve pressed his lips together and gave Myah a hard look. She ducked her head from his gaze. "This evidence is very circumstantial." he said.
"The recording isn't." The principal responded.
"No… but what's the context of the conversation?"
"Apparently this was the only part of the conversation recorded."
"Convenient." Steve muttered.
"And she was seen in the parking lot. Girls, what do you have to say?"
Myah again shot a concerned look towards Delia. "I… I was in the parking lot during lunch. I know it's against the rules, and I apologize. I was just clearing my head."
"It was a frustrating morning?"
Myah hesitated and Steve knew she knew as well as he did that she was being bated.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Is this your voice on the recording?"
"Yes. But we were just talking about alternatives to gas. I wasn't talking about trying to vandalize anyone."
"Were you frustrated in Mrs. Coleman's class?"
"Objection, ma'am."
"Mr. McGarrett, we're not in court here. I'm simply trying to get to the bottom of what happened here."
Steve gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Myah?" the principal asked.
"Yes. I was frustrated in her class."
Steve noticed both Delia and her mother tensing up and sharing a quick glance. The principal was still focused on Myah.
"Sometimes when we get frustrated, we lash out. Here at Kukui, we want to encourage communication and resolution. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Did you and Delia sneak out into the parking lot and pour soda into Mrs. Coleman's gas tank?"
Myah shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and finally gave Delia a long look and then glanced briefly back at Steve. He wished he knew what to do or say to support her, but found himself at a loss.
"I was in the parking lot during lunch. Delia was not with me. We ate lunch together, but she didn't come with me." Myah tucked her chin into her chest and stared at the floor.
"Did you pour soda into Mrs. Coleman's gas tank?"
Steve narrowed his gaze at her, knowing she could feel it, but she kept her gaze stubbornly directed at the floor. He shifted impatiently. "Myah, look at the principal when she's speaking to you."
His stern tone did nothing to improve the situation, as Myah made no move to obey his command, pulling her knees up into her chest and tucking her head down even further. "I was in the parking lot and Delia wasn't with me." she murmured. "That's all I've got."
Steve stared at her in exasperation. He'd sat through more court cases than he could count and suddenly felt a new empathy for the attorneys with clients who refused to help themselves or to even allow their legal aid to guide them. Feeling the principal's eyes upon him, he sat back with a sigh and gave her his attention.
"That's not exactly a confession, Myah, but it's certainly not a denial either." Principal Hekekia said. "I'd really like to see you come clean about this and for Ms. Coleman to receive an apology. Perhaps that can be something you can discuss at home." She gave Steve a pointed look and he could do nothing but nod. "Alright, Delia, you're excused at this time. Mrs. Iosua, thank you for your time today." She shook Delia's mother's hand.
Steve observed a quick glance between the two girls, that he filed away.
"Myah, I hope you understand how serious a matter this is. The school will be helping to cover whatever insurance doesn't cover of Ms. Coleman's car expenses since it happened on school property. I know this is your first year here at Kukui and that you've only lived on the island for a few months. I know you've been through a lot, but you're still responsible for the choices you make."
Steve gritted his teeth. He could hardly stand sitting there listening to her words. Myah's head still hadn't come up and she only seemed to curl tighter into a ball. "Principal Hekekia," he said. "Listen, I don't actually disagree with what you're saying… I just don't think Myah actually had anything to do with this. I have never known her to do something malicious like this."
"Well…" the principal hesitated. "I know with your… situation… things like this are not enjoyable. But dealing with them is part of parenting."
Steve had to give the woman credit for holding his gaze, because he couldn't stop himself from glaring at her. "Thank you." he said, sarcastically.
"Myah, you're suspended for a week. We'll make arrangements for you to get your homework. I really hope you'll think about what I said and take this into account in the future. We all care about you here, and want you to be successful. Isn't that right, Mr. McGarrett?"
"Of course." Steve gave her a tight little nod. "I'm assuming I need to sign something?"
Myah didn't say anything, but followed him out to the truck, tucking herself back into a ball against the window as soon as the door closed.
Steve didn't start the car immediately, first checking his phone. Nahele had texted back: "Myah's at the principal's?" Steve answered back only with a yes. He also quickly messaged Danny: Myah's been suspended for a week. Accused of dumping coke in a teacher's gas tank. Still figuring out what actually happened. Talk later. Setting his phone down, he started the engine and pulled out of the school parking lot. He eyed his daughter's curled up form and sighed. "You know, I can't help you if you won't talk to me. I haven't given you any reason to not talk to me, have I?"
"No." Myah's voice was small.
"Well, sit up and face me like a man." Steve knew his choice of words would grate on her, but at the moment he didn't care. As he'd suspected, Myah slowly sat up and shot him a brief side eye. "I know you didn't dump coke in that teacher's car." Myah shrugged and Steve was pretty sure he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. "Why wouldn't you tell the principal that?" Myah shrugged again and turned her face away. Steve gritted his teeth, feeling his frustration at her growing. "I am not going to tolerate much more of this not answering me."
"I don't want to lie to you." Myah's voice was small.
"Good. Tell me the truth then."
"I can't."
"You know, I'm kind of pissed at your principal, but she's not entirely wrong. If you won't even deny that it was you, then you don't leave her with much of a choice in punishing you. Or me."
That statement brought a swallow and more tears from Myah. "Are you going to spank me?"
"You're not really giving me much of a choice. You've never lied to me and I'll believe you if you tell me the truth. Somebody clearly set you up. But you need to at least give me that much."
Myah shook her head.
"Then yeah kid, I'm going to spank you when we get home." Steve's heart clenched at his own words. Myah's tone and posture told him with certainty that she hadn't vandalized the teacher's car. With every fiber of his being, he wanted to launch a full blown investigation and find out who had set her up. But he also knew he couldn't rescue her from everything, especially if she wasn't going to make more of an attempt to stand up for herself. " You have until then to tell me what's really going on."
H50 H50 H50
Myah glanced down and saw her phone lit up. Discreetly, she clicked on her messages. "Why r u in the principal's office? Is it because you were in the parking lot?" Nahele wanted to know. There were several messages from her RotC friends having apparently already been made privy to the rumor that she had vandalized Coleman's car. Rachel moved fast, she thought bitterly. Then she saw the last message and realized it was from Delia. "I am so sorry. I can't believe you took the blame for that. My mom and I really owe you. I don't know how to thank you."
Myah looked over at Steve. He was driving with one hand, his eyes narrowed and his jaw set. She desperately wanted to tell him what had happened, or at least as much as she knew. But if the whole thing ended up costing Delia's mom her job, Myah didn't think she could forgive herself. She desperately just wanted to curl up in Steve's lap and let his strength block out the world. She couldn't even tell him the truth about why she had been in the parking lot. Nahele certainly hadn't asked her to follow him out there, nor had he given her any information on why he himself was out there. She had also seen his friend J later that day when he'd given her a friendly wave from where he was standing with a crowd of football players. She certainly didn't want to jeopardize his position on the football team, especially after he had helped her out. Her cheeks flushed as she remembered him grasping her around the waist to hoist her in through the window. She hoped her residual belly fat wasn't too noticeable. Glancing over at Steve again, and watching his rigid posture as he parked the truck in their driveway, Myah decided having a cute boy touch her love handles was probably the least of her worries at that moment.
Steve paused at the sink inside to empty an entire bottle of water down his throat and then looked at her, the unspoken question on his face.
Myah's heart was pounding in her ears, but she shook her head. He sighed. "Okay. Your call kid. Let's go." He took her arm and led her into the living room.
When he made move to sit down on the couch, Myah protested. "Dad, here? What if Nahele-"
"He's at work." Steve said shortly. He grabbed her wrist and toppled her unceremoniously across his knees. Myah winced at the feeling of his knees against her belly and in anticipation of the punishment to come. Steve wasted no time, and Myah yelped as he smacked her bottom hard, several times in a row. She supposed she should be thankful that as far as she knew, he hadn't followed through on a previous threat to obtain a paddle to spank her with. With each swat adding to the building fire in her backside, however, Myah wasn't sure a paddle could be any worse than his hard right hand felt at that moment.
"You want to tell me why you're getting punished, young lady?"
Myah really didn't. In fact, she supposed the fact that she hadn't been forthcoming with him was part of the reason she was getting this spanking. A particularly hard smack had her yelping and curling her toes, and she assumed Steve had gotten impatient. "I… I just… Because I won't… because I didn't… Daddy, I don't know what to say." Myah's last sentence was spoken with desperation. "I know why I'm getting punished, I just don't have the words."
Steve exhaled, sounding equally frustrated. "If you get in trouble at school, you get in trouble at home."
Myah recalled Nahele saying the same thing and thought sadly that she'd have to let him know he was right.
"Now just so we're clear, I don't think you caused the trouble at school, but if you're not willing to be straight with me, I have no choice but to follow through as though you did, and beat your butt. You got me?"
"Yes, sir." Her voice was thick with tears.
"Alright. Stand up and unbuckle."
Slowly Myah pushed to a standing position and unbuttoned her green shorts, her eyes closed with embarrassment. Steve wasted no time and pulled her back over his lap and with his other hand tugged her shorts down to her knees. He hesitated and suddenly guessing what he was thinking, Myah gasped in horror. "Please no. Dad, please no."
"I know you won't like this, but I think I need to make a point here." Myah started crying again before he even started spanking her, as she felt him quickly tug her underwear down to just below her bottom. When he actually did resume spanking her, Myah realized her underwear had provided a lot more protection than she'd thought. She squealed as Steve alternated his swats, slow and steady between her bare butt cheeks. She had no doubt that her bottom was going to be bright red after this, and she was rapidly moving past her embarrassment to wondering how much more she could take. Not that she could control that in any way, as Steve's other arm was locked around her waist.
When he finally stopped, she felt as exhausted as though she'd run a marathon. Steve gently rubbed her back and then helped her right her clothing before she stood up. Myah gasped at the feeling of her shorts being pulled back up over her tender backside. Steve reached up and pulled her down to sit in his lap. Myah grunted at the position, as he made no allowance for her freshly spanked bottom.
"Sit still." Steve told her dryly and Myah leaned against his chest, doing her best to ignore her sore bottom and to allow her heart rate to return to normal. Steve rocked her and they sat in silence for a minute. "You okay?" he asked, finally.
Myah thought it was funny that he always asked her, considering he was directly responsible for her discomfort, but at the same time felt reassured at his tenderness. Sometimes in the midst of getting punished she questioned it, but in reality she knew he never did it out of spite or ego, and would likely prefer not to have to do it at all. This time was a little different though… she wasn't exactly coming out of things with a clean slate, considering she still had no intention of telling him her suspicions about the car vandalism.
"I'm okay. Are you still mad?" she asked softly.
"No." He pulled her head close and nuzzled her hair. "I still want you to tell me what exactly is going on, but you made your choice. I'm not promising I won't be looking into it on my own, though."
"Dad…" Myah stared at him. It hadn't occurred to her that he would actually look into things himself, but then again now that she thought about it, he'd been in full on detective mode since he'd stepped into the principal's office.
"Enough." Steve tapped her lightly on the chin with his index finger. "If my daughter is getting bullied, I won't stand for it."
"I'm not getting bullied. Not really."
"We'll see." Steve dropped a kiss on Myah's head. "I need to wrap up a couple things for work. You have homework?"
"Yeah. I'm feeling very unmotivated at the moment though."
"Well, get motivated." Steve gave her firm swat to propel her forward and Myah let out a yelp of discomfort. "I'll grill burgers a little later. Can you make a salad?"
"Yeah." They parted ways and Myah slowly made her way upstairs where she flopped on her belly onto her bed, scrolling through her messages for a second time. She didn't know how to answer most of them, and settled for sending a text to her best friends, Sam and Grace. "Bad day at the office. I'm going to need girl chat tonight." She also messaged Delia: "It's okay. This definitely came out of left field. I don't want your mom to lose her job. Let me know when you want to start working on our project. You can come to my house if you want. My dad's cool." At least he was cool when he wasn't spanking her bare bottom, Myah thought irritably. Considering how much she adored Steve, she wondered for the upteenth time why she couldn't manage to stay out of trouble.
Thankfully, Myah only had a chapter to read and a study sheet to fill out for science and then she fell asleep. The sound of feet on the stairs woke her up a couple hours later, and wondering at the noice, Myah exited her room. She saw only Steve at his desk, but heard voices outside. Curious, she stepped outside to investigate and was surprised to see Nahele and his friend J. Since school had started, Nahele had had a couple of other friends over and they spent most of their time playing video games, or playing basketball outside. She wondered when he had started hanging out with J. Not surprisingly they were tossing the basketball back and forth by the hoop on the side of the house. Myah turned to go back inside. She found that with the exception of Nahele, she felt shy around teenage guys and was unsure how to interact. She was also afraid of embarrassing Nahele and wanted to avoid that scenario if at all possible.
Nahele apparently didn't share her sentiment, and catching sight of her, yelled, "Hey!" He threw the basketball at her and Myah caught it against her belly, before tossing it back.
"Come here." Nahele said, and Myah slowly joined them.
"Hey." J gave her a little chin up in greeting.
"Hi."
"So what is going on?" Nahele asked in a low voice. "I know you didn't dump coke into Coleman's car. Why do they think it was you?"
"Somebody recorded me saying dumping coke in a gas tank would ruin the engine. I wasn't saying I would do it, just that that's what would happen if you did that. And someone saw me in the parking lot today."
Nahele's eyes narrowed. "But you were with me the whole time. Did you tell Dad that? I'll tell him right now."
"It won't help. You'll just be in trouble too then." Myah protested. "Or they might think you had something to do with it."
"Who took the recording?" J asked.
"I'm not sure. I have a couple of suspects." Myah pursed her lips together, thinking back to the three other deadbeat members of her group that had been present for that conversation.
"Did you tell Dad?"
"No. I can't. The girl I was with, Delia… she could get in trouble too, if I do. And if it's the people I think are responsible, then they could raise hell and Delia's mom could lose her job. It's not worth it. I'll just take the blame."
Nahele sighed. "Did you get suspended?"
"Yeah. All of next week. And you were right." Myah nodded to Nahele. "Apparently if you get in trouble at school, you get in trouble at home too."
"So did you get grounded too?" J asked.
"Uh… no…" Myah wanted to die of embarrassment as realization dawned on both boys' faces.
"Aw, crap." J said.
Nahele immediately shoved him. "Don't mess with her about it, man." he said warningly. "Our dad's cool, but getting whipped by him is no joke."
Myah wished she could disappear and wondered if it was possible for the day to get any worse. She wished she'd taken a look in the mirror to ensure any reddened skin was hidden by her shorts. "Like you would know." she muttered at her brother.
Nahele laughed and shoved her lightly. "Hey, I've gotten it once. It's not my fault being a brat is your M.O."
"I thought we weren't going to mess with her." J grabbed the ball and tossed it to Myah, who managed to awkwardly catch it. "Play with us."
"I've got to make a salad." Myah managed to elbow Nahele in the ribs as she turned away, and squealed when he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her off her feet.
"Get out of here then, brat."
"Jerk." she straightened her shirt after being set on her feet.
"Will your dad still be cool with me staying?" J asked.
"Yeah. Course." Nahele said.
"Okay. My old man doesn't do anything but yell when he gets pissed off at me, but pretty much everybody knows to avoid him for a couple days afterwards."
Nahele shook his head. "He's not still mad." He glanced at Myah to confirm, and she nodded. He continued with, "I told you he's cool. Even if you get punished, that's it. He doesn't hold a grudge afterwards." He paused and then said, deadpan, "Myah would know better than me."
Myah's jaw dropped. "Oh, my gosh." she complained. "I thought you were going to be sweet. You're supposed to protect me."
"I'll offer to take your suspension for you."
"Did you dump coke in that car?"
"No."
"Then you're no good to me. Later." Myah stalked off, turning her nose up at her brother. She noticed J seemed to have relaxed and actually appeared to be enjoying their banter. Rounding the corner away from them, she paused to remove a piece of grass from her bare foot. Without meaning to, she overheard part of the boys' conversation.
"She must not have gotten it too bad, if she's in that okay of a mood." she heard J say.
"Oh, I'm sure she got it plenty hard, but like I said, Dad doesn't hold grudges afterward."
"Mine does. Getting grounded is like drawn out torture."
Myah heard the boys resume their basketball game and she continued on back into the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to hear Danny's voice intermingled with Steve's from the study but stayed in the kitchen to mix up the salad. She saw the burger patties had already been formed and were chilling in the fridge, waiting for a quick grill. She had just finished putting together the oil and parmesan for the dressing recipe Steve had taught her, when both men joined her in the kitchen.
"Hey trouble." Danny greeted her. "What's wrong with you, huh?" He gave her a quick kiss on the head.
"I don't know." Myah answered honestly, and rested in his side hug for a moment.
"Well, I've got you on Tuesday, so there's that."
"You what?"
"Yeah." Steve was in the process of removing the tray of patties from the fridge. "I've got to sit in on several meetings for the governor this week, so lucky you, you get to spend a day with each of the team. Danno on Tuesday."
"Uncle Danny, please tell me it's bring your daughter to work day so I can hang out with Grace."
"Nice try, MJ. I've got all sorts of dusty paperwork to keep you busy."
"Great." Myah made a face at him. "You're not supposed to be a mean uncle."
"Well, you're not supposed to be getting suspended." Danny responded pointedly, but his words lacked heat.
"That's true." Myah shrugged in acquiesce. "I'll pencil you in for Tuesday."
H50 H50 H50
Author's Note: Happy Saturday H50 family! I had an unexpected day off due to forgetting my CPR renewal date and needing to get that done before I can work. If Steve was my boss, I'd totally let him spank me, lol. Anyway, thank you all SO much for all your reviews and feedback regarding Mommy Issues. I cannot tell you how much I love connecting with you guys over our shared love of the McGarretts and the team. As you see, summer finally ended and high school has begun. I've been doing my high school research with some episodes of Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars, for realism purposes, haha. I know I only touched on it a little in this chapter, but I'm hoping to delve a little more into Nahele, and am also looking forward to Myah getting a "day in the life" with each of the team members. I know I'm switching POV on occasion, and hope that that doesn't get too messy. Anyway, thank you as always for coming on this journey with me. As always, let me know what you like, what you don't, and what you wish for.