Rachel startled at the knock on her door, her heart jumping into her throat. She heard her mom ask if she could come in and Rachel opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. The door opened tentatively and Shelby's head appeared around the edge of it. Her mother then pushed the door open the rest of the way and Rachel's eyes fell on the wooden hairbrush clutched in the woman's hand. Her heart stopped and her stomach plummeted.
Shelby didn't miss the color draining from her daughter's face. Taking pity on her, she moved towards her girl with slow steps. "How about I brush and then braid your hair, hmm?"
Rachel nodded mutely as her heart began to beat again. She let her mom steer her over to her desk and sat in her swivel chair at the woman's prompting. Shelby stood behind her and started to brush her hair. Rachel closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.
The rhythmic motion of brushing and then fixing her child's hair into a loose braid for sleep calmed Shelby just as much as it did her daughter. She tied Rachel's braid off with a hair tie and then set the brush on the girl's desk. She placed her hands on Rachel's shoulders and felt the girl stiffen beneath them. Spinning her child to face her, she tilted the teenager's chin up and met anxious brown eyes. Her own expression softened and she reached out to cup Rachel's cheek, her thumb caressing smooth skin.
"C'mon, Rach. I think you've waited long enough," she spoke softly. Rachel's eyes grew bright as they glistened with brewing tears. Shelby's heart ached at the sight, but she held her hand out for her daughter expectantly.
Rachel chewed at her lip, the familiar burn building in the bridge of her nose while her throat tightened. A single tear slipped from her right eye, tickling her skin as it crept down her cheek until it fell in a tiny wet droplet onto her navy blue t-shirt. She took her mother's hand, not fighting the moment she was brought to her feet. She shuffled behind Shelby as they moved over to her bed; her heart pounded as her mom turned and sat on the edge of it and drew her in between her knees.
Shelby's hands rested on either side of her daughter's hips, keeping her close. She hoped it provided a bit of comfort for her girl, as well. Rachel shifted, practically buzzing with nervous energy. Not wanting to prolong her daughter's suffering any longer than she needed to, Shelby dropped her hands beneath the girl's too-big t-shirt, hooking her fingers into the waistband of her panties. Wide eyes snapped up, Rachel's expression a mixture of surprise, embarrassment, and remorse. Shelby ignored all of it, lowering her daughter's underwear to mid-thigh. Her child's squirming inadvertently dropped them further until they landed in a puddle at Rachel's feet. The teenager's face burned a vibrant red but Shelby didn't give her any more time to think; she upended her child over her knees in one fell swoop.
Rachel was aware of her pulse rushing inside her ears, dampening all other sounds as she was taken over her mother's lap. Her torso hit her mattress with a gentle thump while her legs dangled over the edge of the bed, her toes nowhere near touching the floor. The position made Rachel feel young and little and she squirmed and couldn't stop a nervous whimper from escaping as her bottom was finally presented to the room. Shelby's hand came to rest against bare skin and Rachel stiffened under that silent promise.
Shelby sighed, rubbing her daughter's bottom as she gathered all of her strength to get through the next few minutes. Rachel needed her to be strong right now and not let on just how much she hated this, too.
Rachel jumped when her mother cleared her throat and then patted her bottom firmly. She shifted uneasily, not surprised when Shelby's right arm wrapped over her back and her hand clamped around her waist in a secure hold. She whimpered again as her mom readjusted her, tucking her closer into her own body. Still, the move gave Rachel a sense of safety and she didn't hate it. She did hate when her mother's hand stilled only long enough for Shelby to ask, "Why are we doing this, Rachel?" Then, that hand was lifting and Rachel squeezed her eyes shut. Her breath left her in a whoosh when it landed.
"Ah! Ow! Ouch! M–Mom!" she yelped, twisting her hips back and forth at the sudden onslaught. "Ow, that—Ouch! Oohoo, that hurts! Not so—AH—h–hard!"
"You need to answer my question, Rachel. Why are you getting this spanking?" Shelby's hand never wavered, continuing to clap down in even intervals as she covered her daughter's bottom with the first layer of heat.
Rachel whimpered and kicked, finding it difficult to focus on anything but the growing sting Shelby was swiftly and expertly imparting. She did have enough thought left to decide that her earlier assessment that this spanking wouldn't be so horrible was dead wrong! This was the most horrible, awful spanking she'd ever come up against and it had barely begun!
Her self-preservation kicked in right around the time her mother's hand traveled down to her sit-spots and gave that area her undivided attention.
"Ow! Mommy, I—Ah! I'm g–getting—Ouch! Because I—I disobeyed you! Ow, ow, ow! And stole your passes—Owwhoww! OW! I forged your na–name! Oh, Mommy, please! I skipped school and—Ow, noo! The Uber was dangerous! Please, I'm sorry! MoOOm, I'm sorry!"
Shelby blew out a sigh of relief when Rachel finally answered her. She rewarded the girl by returning to the fullest part of her bottom and set about turning pink skin more rosy.
"And you knew better, didn't you?" Shelby asked, holding Rachel close as the girl kicked and squirmed.
"Yes, yes! I did! I'm sorry!" Rachel squealed, the burning behind her eyelids beginning to rival the burning down below. "I won't do it again—I promise! Please stop!"
Rachel's tears started and it took everything in Shelby not to stop then and there. This was the point during their last spanking that Shelby had slowed and then did stop not long after. Now, Rachel's tears marked the moment Shelby would need to step things up.
"You've made that promise before, young lady," Shelby forced her words to be stern as she peppered her child's cheeks in quick succession. "You promised me during your last spanking that you would pick the right choice when faced with a decision between that and what you know to be wrong. And here we are again, dealing with the same issue barely two months later."
"Oh ow, Mommy, please! I–I made a mistake—Okay! Okay—Ouch! A lot of them! I get it now! I've learned my lesson—honest!"
"What lesson is that?" Shelby asked. She snapped her palm down against Rachel's sit-spots again, reigniting the dwindling embers.
"That—Ouch! I need to—oohoohoo—obey your ru–uules! I don't get to—Ow! Ow, ow! Do what I want when you—oohoo, ow—tell me something else! Mom, pleEEASE! You can stop now!"
"I don't like this any more than you do, Rach," Shelby said. "But this is also a lesson you need to learn and learn well. I don't want us to be back here in another couple of months. This isn't over until I say it is. Is. That. Clear?" She emphasized her final words with hard swats.
"Yes! Yes, ma'am, Mommy!" Rachel cried, balling her fists in her blankets to keep from reaching back. Her daddies never liked that and Rachel had a sneaking suspicion her mom wouldn't either. But oh, was it hard! And Shelby wasn't making it any easier as she targeted the same exact spot several times over! Rachel's left hand danced across the bedding, moving closer and closer to her bottom.
"Owww! Ow! Mom that—Ooh, ouch—OW! Really hurts!" she wailed, and finally, her hand reached Shelby's leg. Desperate fingers grabbed at her mother's soft lounge pants and held on tight.
Shelby's heart throbbed with every one of Rachel's pained cries, but still her hand cracked down, over and over and over again. By now, the fullest part of Rachel's bottom radiated heat and glowed a pretty ruby red, while her sit-spots sported a color several shades lighter. The start of her thighs were as-of-yet untouched. Shelby focused her hand there for her next round.
Rachel reacted immediately, bucking and flailing. "No—Ow! Please not—Ooohoh, ouch! Not there!" she begged, twisting her hips as much as she could (which wasn't much at all). And through it all, her mother's hand continued to connect with painful sparks that set fire to her skin.
"Yes, there," Shelby answered, watching as faint pink handprints sprouted up on her child's thighs. She was being cautious here, but knew from experience that even a light touch felt like an anvil to such a sensitive area. "I need you to remember this lesson and think back on it long after this little red hiney of yours stops stinging."
"MooOOm!" Rachel shrieked, mortified. She could feel her face turn molten and wondered for just a second which set of cheeks burned brighter right now. "I'll remember! Owahoww! I swear I will!"
Shelby nodded—her daughter would. Her hand stilled then and she rested it against heated skin, letting Rachel catch her breath.
Rachel sagged in relief that the spanking was over. She was crying and it had hurt, but she wasn't bawling and she had survived. Now, she wanted up and for her mom to hold her.
Rachel got one of her wishes—Shelby set her on her feet. But her mom was still wearing a serious look and she held Rachel's arms just below her elbows. It kept her from wobbling on shaky legs but also from reaching back to soothe her sore bottom. Rachel pouted, her tears falling in steady streams down her cheeks.
"M–Mom? Wha—"
"We're not finished," Shelby revealed, shocking her daughter. Disbelief and betrayal also played out across her teenager's face. "Go and get my hairbrush and bring it back here, please."
Shelby watched as confusion slowly morphed into understanding as Rachel realized what her plans were. A flash of outright horror flickered across the girl's features and she tried to take a step back, but Shelby still had a firm grip on her arms.
"Mommy, no, please!" her child gasped, shaking her head and staring back at her with big, beseeching eyes.
"Go on, Rachel. We're almost finished," Shelby said, her firm tone belying her reservations.
"No, no, please! I've learned my lesson! You don't have to—I don't want—"
It was Shelby's turn to shake her head. "I know you 'don't want', but this is what you need. Go on, now." Shelby turned her child towards her desk and popped her bottom to get her moving.
"I don't!" Rachel argued, stepping forward only to get out of her mother's swatting range. She turned to face Shelby properly, stomping her foot without really thinking about it. Words tumbled out of her mouth without much thought, too. "I won't! You can't! It's not fair, Mom!"
"Alright then," Shelby said simply. Rachel's eyebrows shot up in surprise and then a glimmer of smug satisfaction flashed across her features. Her daughter thought she had won; that was fine. Shelby's own eyebrows rose in answer and Rachel's expression was suddenly unsure. She didn't give her child any further time to process, her hand darting out to snag Rachel's wrist. With a quick tug, she brought the girl back to her side and used her momentum to yank Rachel off her feet.
Rachel sucked in a startled breath that ended in a strangled yelp as she fell over her mother's knees again. There was no time to process or even whine before Shelby picked up where she'd left off, her hand falling fast and hard against already-burning skin.
"Ow! OW! Mom! Nooo, please!" she begged, her feet kicking up quite a fuss at her mom's renewed efforts.
Shelby pulled her daughter close, her hand a blur as it rose and fell. "Remind me again—why are we here, Rachel Barbra?" She had to raise her voice to be heard over her child's increased tears.
"Ow! Ah—Ouch! Mommy, I—OW! I di—disobeyed you!"
"How?" Shelby prodded, her palm offering incentive.
"MoOOMMmy!" Rachel wailed as she tried to claw her way off of her mother's lap. It hurt so much! Shelby's hand moved to her sit-spots and start of thighs and Rachel thrashed like an angry fish. "Okay! Okay, Mom, I—OUCH—"
"Watch your tone, young lady," Shelby warned, popping each of Rachel's thighs sharply. She then returned to the girl's sit-spots for another go-round.
"Yes, ma'—Ow! S–Sorry! I went to Funk Da—AHEY, ow! When I wasn't supposed to!"
"That's right," Shelby confirmed, rewarding her child by slowing her hand. Her swats were still hard but it allowed Rachel to settle slightly. That was good—she needed Rachel to be able to understand and actually process her next question. "I specifically told you something and what didn't you do?"
Rachel was aware enough that her mom had slowed down on her rapid-fire spanks, but it still wasn't easy to think when her butt could rival the heat from the surface of the sun. Her ass throbbed with a pulse all its own that doubled as a timer counting down the seconds she had left to answer. What did her mom mean? She'd told Rachel she wasn't allowed to go to Funk Day; Rachel had ignored her and gone anyway because it's what she wanted to do. But what didn't she do?
And then it hit her.
Rachel burst into full-blown sobs. "I didn't listen to y–you!" she cried, letting her body go limp across her mother's knees. "I'm sorry! I prom—Ouch—promise I won't do it again!"
"Okay," Shelby said and stopped spanking. She set Rachel on her feet once more, holding her child's arms at her sides as she had previously. "Let's try this again. Go get my brush and bring it back to me."
Rachel gasped, not quite believing they were back to this. Another wave of shocked anger coursed through her body and she was overcome with the unfairness of it all! She was sorry. She didn't need to feel the brush on her already so sore backside—her mom had more than made her lesson clear! Rachel got it.
Shelby could see her daughter's thoughts plastered all across her face. She sighed and dropped her hands, giving Rachel this time to work things out for herself. Shelby was prepared to step back in if that's what Rachel required of her, but she more than understood that her kid needed a minute.
Rachel let out a choked little sob as she stood before her mother, her thoughts tumbling. Her shoulders slumped as she realized her anger was not directed at her mom or even this punishment. Rachel was angry at herself. And as much as she didn't want to do what Shelby was asking, she understood that's exactly what had gotten her into all of this trouble to begin with.
"Mommy," she whimpered, her eyes darting from her mom, to her desk, and back again.
Shelby could see how much her daughter was struggling, but she kept her face calm and understanding and firm. She waited and watched to see what her girl would do.
Shelby only had a nanosecond of warning before she had an armful of sobbing teenager. She wrapped her child up in a fierce hug, letting the girl hide away for a moment.
"I'm sorry I didn't li—listen to you! So, SO sorry!" Rachel wailed, her voice muffled against Shelby's shoulder.
Shelby rubbed soothing circles on her daughter's back as she shushed her. "I know you are, baby," she murmured. "And you can show me that by listening now. C'mon, bug. We're almost done and then it'll be all over and I will hold you as long as you want." Her hand moved down to her child's bottom, patting gently. It was still more than Rachel could tolerate as she hissed and danced away from Shelby's palm.
Rachel pushed herself up and met her mother's gaze through a sheen of tears. Chewing at her lip, the teenager then let out a resigned sigh. "Yes, m–ma'am," she whispered with a hard sniffle, swiping the back of her hand across her face. She turned and shuffled towards her desk and the dreaded brush waiting on its surface.
When she got there, Rachel did a double take. Had that hairbrush always been that big?! Throwing a panicked look over her shoulder, she met her mother's eyes. Shelby just stared back at her, an outpouring of love and patience radiating from her. Rachel's lip wobbled but she felt her tension receding (only slightly, but it was enough). Sucking in a deep breath, Rachel reached out, her fingers curling around the handle of the heavy wooden hairbrush that had absolutely grown in size again when she wasn't looking.
Rachel was a pitiful sight as she slunk back over to Shelby, holding the hairbrush away from her body as if it were a dangerous creature poised to strike. Shelby supposed it was just that, especially once it was within her own grasp. Holding her hand out, the mother wasn't surprised at the sad, pleading eyes that begged her not to follow through. Still, Rachel reluctantly passed the implement over with a shudder. Her hands then retreated, clutching her sore bottom protectively as she shifted at Shelby's side.
Laying the brush on the bed next to her, Shelby reached out to secure a gentle grip on Rachel's elbow and tug her that much closer. Rachel whimpered and more tears escaped. Shelby offered her child a sad smile, rubbing the girl's arm now in comfort.
"I'm proud of you for listening and obeying me even when you really don't want to. I know how hard that is to do, Rach, and I appreciate your effort here. It definitely isn't going unnoticed, kiddo," Shelby said, her daughter blushing from the praise. Then Shelby's voice dipped and Rachel stiffened in response. "This right here is what you should have been doing all week and what you normally would do. Now, I'm not sure what made this week or this instance different, but lying and stealing and sneaking around—doing everything you could to get around my very clear rules—is why we are here and why I'm going to finish your spanking with a dose of the hairbrush. I need you to remember this and not be tempted to repeat this behavior—ever. Do you understand all of that?"
Rachel jerked her head up and down a few times, not trusting herself to speak. Shelby answered with a nod of her own, taking Rachel's elbow once more. Rachel's heart leapt into her throat as her mom shifted, planting her feet apart and drawing Rachel into the space between her knees.
Shelby met her daughter's eyes with a determined set to her own. "I love you, Rachel Barbra Berry. I don't love the behavior and choices you've made this week. There's one last point we need to address and then we'll put this to rest for good," she said, guiding her child up and over her right thigh.
Rachel gasped as she began to fall forward and was forced to give up her protective shield in favor of catching herself before she face-planted into the mattress. She felt her mother lift her hips further over her outstretched thigh, then wrap her right arm over and around Rachel's back, effectively trapping the teenager behind a Shelby-sized wall.
"No, Mommy!" Rachel's protest came too late, her mom's left leg already swinging down over both of her own to pin them in place.
Shelby ignored her, reaching for the brush. Sweeping the hem of Rachel's t-shirt up to once more expose her daughter's naked backside, Shelby took a moment to survey the reddened skin. Satisfied that her child would be no worse for wear after this last bit of spanking, she tapped the smooth back of the hairbrush against clenching cheeks.
"Tell me again, Rachel—why did you do all of this?"
"I—I wanted to be part of the Funk Day tradition! I thought it was unfair and I didn't listen and broke a bunch of rules and I'm sorry!" Rachel offered in a rush. She just wanted this to be over.
"I believe that you're sorry, kiddo," Shelby said, her soft voice warring with the firm taps she continued to plant on Rachel's backside. "I need you to understand though: in your insistence to be part of something you had no place being, you missed out on something you were meant to be a part of. I told you as both Coach Corcoran and Mom that you weren't allowed at Funk Day. You didn't listen—you lied and stole passes and forged my signature, skipped class and left school, caught an Uber to another school and snuck in there. And was it everything you hoped it would be? Was all of this worth it?"
The air whooshed out of Rachel's lungs as if she had been punched. Her mother's words hurt more than any part of her spanking had so far. A million thoughts flashed through her mind. She wanted to apologize (again); she wanted to tell her mom that no, it definitely wasn't worth it; she wanted to promise that she would never, ever, do anything bad again as long as she lived! But when she opened her mouth, she didn't say any of those things.
"I d–d–didn't even get to sing!"
Shelby wasn't sure what she expected her child to say, but it wasn't—No, actually, this didn't surprise her. And it wasn't a shock when she found herself wanting to laugh. She could find humor in her daughter's antics later (much later); for now, she needed to be stern.
"No, you didn't. And you're lucky you'll still be singing the solo on Sunday. Your actions have consequences, Rachel. I need you to start thinking things through before you act on them. Just because you want to do something doesn't mean you should."
Rachel's crying had gone up an octave and the girl nodded frantically along to Shelby's words. The mother took a deep breath and made a few last minute adjustments to make sure she had her daughter well and truly trapped. Satisfied, Shelby gave her child one final warning tap that was just shy of hurting before raising the brush for real. "Hold tight, kid."
Shelby's words had barely registered in Rachel's brain when she heard the thunderous crack of wood against skin. The sound alone shocked her and she felt herself flinch from the impact. It took another second before the pain set in. And when it did, Rachel howled.
"AHhahOWW! Oh! Oh, ouch! Gah—AH! M–Mom! Noooo! Nooo, oowww!"
Shelby closed her ears but not her heart to her daughter's cries, her own tears close to the surface. She'd managed to deliver four measured swats to her child's glowing bottom so far. She had ten more to go if she followed through with her original plan—and she did plan to.
Swats five and six cracked down on Rachel's left sit-spot, and Shelby watched the skin blanche and then turn an angry scarlet. Rachel sobbed and arched her back, her legs trembling under Shelby's hold.
"Nooo–oohoohOOH! Mommy, please! I—I can't—Owhowow! It hur–UURTS!"
Shelby squeezed her eyes shut for just a moment, silently agreeing with Rachel's sentiment. She'd never before given much thought to the old adage: 'This will hurt me more than it hurts you', but now Shelby knew with certainty—It really and truly did. It wasn't enough to stay her hand, however, and swats seven and eight landed one after the other on Rachel's right sit-spot.
"Owhowoww, nooo!"
Rachel's cries grew hoarse and then nearly silent as nine and ten caught the tops of her thighs. At eleven, her body went slack and she lay spent over her mother's knees. Equally worn out, Shelby delivered the final three swats in rapid fire, tossing the brush away as she finished.
Shelby had her own tears to contend with as she took in the state of her sobbing little girl over her lap. Rachel's bottom was bright red and radiated heat. Shelby knew it burned (and would well into the next day if her own experiences on the receiving end were anything to go off of). She just hoped her precious girl had learned her lesson and wouldn't need a repeat any time soon—or ever.
Rachel continued to cry her heart out, too focused on the burning, throbbing pain to realize her mom's hand (and that awful hairbrush) had stopped falling. It took even longer for her to register that that same hand was now easing her discomfort rather than adding to it. She began to squirm then and Shelby helped her to her feet. She met her mother's eyes cautiously, worried there'd still be anger or disappointment present. Instead, all Rachel saw was an outpouring of love.
"I'm sorry, Mom! I'm sorry I was b–bad! I'll be good, I swear!" she promised wetly.
"Oh, honey," Shelby cooed, easing her child onto her lap the correct way this time. "You aren't bad, sweet girl. You made bad choices, but it's all over with now. You're forgiven. It's all done. I love you, baby. Mommy's got you."
The mother kept a steady stream of soft reassurances going, her hand providing its own comfort as she rubbed up and down her child's back as Rachel's tears ran their course. And when those tears became sniffles and then hiccups and Rachel started to squirm, Shelby once again set her daughter on her feet.
Rachel's hands flew behind her to clutch at stinging heat as she whimpered and then whined, "Oww, Mommy." Lifting the back of her shirt, Rachel twisted around to inspect the damage. She gasped and then snapped sad eyes back to Shelby.
"Don't give me that look," Shelby said, almost pleading. Those piercing eyes were enough to break the mother's heart.
Rachel's bottom lip jutted out in a fierce pout and one foot lifted off the floor in a quick stomp. "It really hurts!"
Shelby laughed then and shook her head as she got to her feet. Her baby was adorable. "I know it does," she said, wrapping Rachel up in a hug. "That's kind of the—actually, no—The. Whole. Point, kiddo."
"But it's so much worse than last time," came Rachel's muffled complaint, her head buried against Shelby's chest as it was.
Shelby sighed and gave Rachel a quick pat on the back before easing them an arm's length apart. "So was your behavior." Rachel grimaced and looked down, her cheeks coloring in shame. Shelby reached out to tilt the girl's chin up. "Last time really boiled down to simple, childish mischief—and you came and told on yourself right away. Your actions today went well beyond that, Rach. They were deliberate and you meant to keep all of it hidden from me. That's not okay. So yeah, this spanking was worse—it needed to be. I just hope the lesson sank in for you; I don't want to have to do this again but I will if that's what you need from me."
"You won't—I don't! I learned, I swear! I'll never disobey you again!" Rachel vowed in a high-pitched, breathy panic as her hands moved to protect her backside. Her face was both earnest and imploring.
Shelby's heart melted, an overwhelming wave of adoration washing over her. She moved to brush the few strands that had fallen out of her daughter's braid back from the girl's face, her thumb tracing the shell of Rachel's ear as she finished. "I appreciate the sentiment, honey, but you can't keep that promise—and I don't expect you to," Shelby's voice was soft, with just a hint of amusement. She smiled warmly at her kid. "You're allowed to get into trouble, bug. Even big trouble. All I ask is that you learn and grow from it, so we don't have a repeat of the same behaviors."
Rachel's stomach fluttered and she shifted from foot to foot as her hands swung forward to tug and twist at the hem of her shirt. Her thoughts tumbled one over the other, wriggling themselves into messy knots. She'd already repeated some of her behaviors, she thought, as her mind drudged up the memory of last May's spanking from her daddy for disobeying their rules.
"But—" Rachel's voice cracked and she swallowed hard, her eyes darting up to her mom's before looking away again. "What if I d–don't? Grow from it, I mean?" Her heart thundered inside her chest as she raked her top teeth across her bottom lip.
Shelby tilted her daughter's chin up again, freeing the girl's lip from its toothy cage. "Then we repeat the lesson until you do. That doesn't bother me, kiddo. You will have to decide how many sore, red bottoms you're willing to nurse for it, though."
"MooOOm," Rachel groaned as she took a step back from the woman, her face flaming. "I don't want any sore—that!"
"I know, baby," Shelby soothed. "But you've paid for your poor decisions today and it's all over. We don't need to borrow trouble here, kiddo—I believe you when you say you've learned your lesson." Rachel's eyes were suspiciously bright as she looked up.
"Mommy," the girl whimpered.
Shelby could see the writing on the wall—Rachel was getting worked up again and she wanted to avoid that at all costs. She knew her kid was exhausted—mentally, emotionally…physically. What her girl needed now was bed (...and cuddles).
"C'mon, honey, it's bedtime, I think," Shelby said gently, bending down to scoop up her daughter's discarded panties.
"Nooo. Not yet," Rachel whined, sounding a decade younger than her fourteen years. Her eyes swam with tears, but she didn't argue as her mom helped her back into her underwear. She hissed as the fabric raked across her sore bottom, dancing on her feet as Shelby finished tugging them into place. She was given a kiss to her forehead before her mother turned to pull her blankets back.
"Mommy, please. I don't want to go to bed yet."
"I know, but you're tired, bug. It's been a long day. C'mon," Shelby encouraged, patting the mattress in invitation.
Rachel sniffled and bit her lip. She was trying hard not to cry again but several tears escaped anyway. She was tired, but she wasn't ready to be put to bed yet. She hit her mother with the saddest look she could muster. "But I haven't spent any time with you today where I wasn't in t–trouble." Her voice cracked as she swiped at her face. "And you said you'd h–hold me," she added, accusing.
"Oh Rach," Shelby breathed, her own voice hitching. "I'm going to hold you, baby. But let's get comfy in bed, okay? Then I'll hold you as long as you want me to."
Rachel's tears came more readily now, overwhelmed with emotions as she was. She gave a shaky nod and then climbed into bed on her stomach. She scooched over to give her mom room to join her and then velcroed herself against the woman's side the moment Shelby settled in. Shelby pressed a kiss to Rachel's temple as the girl wriggled to get comfortable. With her head pressed against her mom's chest, Rachel closed her eyes and let the steady thump-thump of the woman's heart soothe her. She breathed out a deep sigh as Shelby's hand rubbed her back in a lazy up-and-down motion. And when a soft lullaby rumbled through Shelby's chest and throat as the woman started to hum, the worn-out teenager was no match for the gentle vibrations that lulled her to sleep.