Weeping Willow (Spanking Story)

Chapter 15, Part 1: Owen's POV

All weekend, I tried to stop Penny and talk to her, just to explain my side of things. I hated how distant she felt, and I knew she probably regarded me as the world's largest asshole considering what I had done the other night.

I still couldn't believe it—believe that I had called Ben and gotten my sister into major trouble. As much as it sucked to be the youngest and deal with three strict older brothers who treated you like you were five instead of fifteen, it was at least nice having someone close in age who knew exactly what you were going through. It was an unspoken pact that Penny and I were always on the same side, especially when the other side was our brothers. What I had done was an ultimate betrayal to our sibling pact, I knew, but I couldn't quite bring myself to completely regret it.

I knew what it was like to see Penny cry, over a skinned knee or lost toy. That made me want to cry, too. I knew what it was like to see Penny hurt, and it made my heart ache with pain, too. I knew what it was like to see someone hurting Penny, when Mom slapped her across the face for stealing the macaroni noodles to make her a necklace, and I wanted to do anything to trade places with her. I knew what it was like to see Penny depressed, like she had been the past few months and she resided more and more in herself than in the living world with me.

It was for all these reasons that I didn't want Penny going on dates, didn't want Penny wrapped under the arm of some sleazeball, somebody who didn't deserve her. No one deserved Penny. My precious little sister, who had been through so much and was practically my best friend, deserved someone who could make the world turn for her. And after all of the Zach nonsense from a few months ago, I would do anything to keep Penny from being hurt like that again.

And that included making that phone call to Ben, despite what it would do to our relationship.

I'd seen her hurt, depressed, distraught—but I'd never seen that flash of hatred in her eyes as I betrayed her. It cut through me as soon as I was away long enough to clear my head, when the rush of the confrontation and of my first date had worn off. Much like the morning after a wild night, the more I calmed down, the more I realized I had majorly fucked up.

Penny refused to even so much as walk in my direction. Saturday morning when I stepped into the bathroom to brush my teeth while she was washing her face, she abruptly left the room and finished brushing her teeth in Cooper's bathroom down the hall. When she was out of her room, she avoided me as if I were some strange figure in an alley on a walk home late at night.

Cooper told me to leave her alone, that she'd get over it eventually and that I had done the right thing. I wasn't so sure I agreed with that. I don't think I'd done the right thing, even thinking about the whole situation objectively. Penny was only a year younger than me and at a perfectly reasonable age to date. But, to me, there was a huge difference between some random 14 year old girl and my 14 year old baby sister.

I didn't even know what I would have said to her, but I would have done anything to end this silent treatment.

I texted Leah, as I was still technically grounded too and couldn't see her, asking if I'd really fucked up as Penny seemed to think. She'd reassured me that Penny was making a way bigger deal than it really was, and said that Penny should be more understanding to where I was coming from. I was just trying to protect her. I was always trying to protect her.

On Monday morning, I became excited at the prospect of getting out of the house when I remembered that this was the first day of my week in ISS. I ran my fingers through my hair, and strongly considered playing sick. I knew it wouldn't fly with any of my brothers, though. I was terrible at playing sick. One time, I tried to heat up a towel on a portable furnace to put on my forehead to make it feel hot and accidentally set it on fire. Needless to say I got my ass handed to me for that one and I still wound up having to go to school.