Half a Heart

19. Reminder (P)

Peter's POV

During fifth hour, I did what I had been doing for a few weeks; I went to the gym to work out and went to the math class during eighth hour. Dad wasn't thrilled that I was skipping basketball and math, but so far, my grades and skills hadn't suffered enough for him to say too much. It was leg day so we did a whole bunch of exercises that focused on legs. Cody was in charge of fifth-hour workouts. He worked us hard.

For lunch, I had been alternating between eating in the laundry room with all the people who play basketball and Dad's office. Today, I ate in Dad's office. Bryson and Auston came and joined. Auston and I have been having more issues than normal lately. Mom and Dad are about fed up with us constantly fighting. So far we haven't gotten physical. The only reason is the second we do, we get an automatic wear-out. I'm not feeling up to that yet.

I was eating a ham and cheese hot pocket when Dad got a phone call. He answered and judging by the look on his face, he was very unhappy. He stormed out of his office. My brothers and I looked at each other with confused expressions and shrugged. Auston moved from the floor into Dad's chair. We continued talking about the upcoming state tournament when Dad burst through the door, dragging Mason by his arm.

"Dad, stop," Mason pleaded as he tried to drag his heels and yank his arm out of Dad's hold.

Dad continued to pull him into the room. He stomped over to the couch where Bryson and I were sitting. He swatted the side of my leg with moderate force, "Move over," he gritted out.

I scooted over and rubbed my thigh slightly. Dad began to rain harsh smacks all over Mason's ass.

"Dad, not here. Please," he begged.

Dad's office was not soundproof. The door was cracked slightly and there were people right across the hall. I felt awful for Mason and embarrassed for him. It was no secret how the Harris boys were dealt with when they misbehaved.

"Little boy, this is just a preview of what you're getting when we get home," Dad said rather loudly as he upped the tempo of Mason's behind.

Bryson and I exchanged a look. Dad was smacking Mason really hard and fast. Mason had started to cry out. Bryson got up and shut the door. Auston was sitting at Dad's desk with wide eyes. None of us had any idea why Mason was getting his ass busted. It was a tense few minutes until Dad finished. Mason had finally submitted to his spanking and he laid over Dad's lap, sobbing.

Dad let him up. Mason wiped his eyes and tried to stop counting.

"Honestly, I need a moment. Go stand in timeout until the bell rings," Dad closed his eyes and brought a hand up to pinch his nose.

Mason started crying a little more after that but made his way over to the indicated corner. We each had our turns standing in the corner of Dad's office and it was one of the worst things.

"Boys, I would suggest you find somewhere else to be for the rest of lunch," Dad said quietly.

"Yes sir," we replied quietly as we gathered our stuff to leave.

As we walked out, I glanced at my phone. There were only five or so minutes left of lunch so I decided to start slowly walking to my sixth-hour class. The first thing I noticed when I walked out of the gym was Taylen. The sun hit her hair and made it shine. I had to look away quickly. I hadn't forgotten what I had let slip through my fingers. By the time I had made it to the high school, the bell had rung. I went into the building and started doing my college work.

The rest of the day went as smoothly as it could. On my way home, I stopped to get gas at the station Savannah works at. She and I had been hanging out on occasion. As it turns out, I actually really like her; I'm just not ready for a relationship and probably won't be for a while.

Now I know what you're thinking. She has really changed. She apologized to me and she tried to apologize to Tay. Tay shut the door on her, though I didn't blame her. I was dreading the day Tay found out that Sav and I were talking. She wouldn't be thrilled and would probably hate me. Even though I didn't want that to happen, I needed to live my life. You're only seventeen once.

I hung around the store until she got the rush. I left and continued on home. When I got there, Dad and Mason were not downstairs. The other two triplets and Mom were sitting at the table in silence.

"Hey guys," I said awkwardly.

"Hey baby, did you have a good day?" Mom asked.

She was glad that I decided not to mope around all the time. She worried there for a second, but I ended up making the right decision.

I nodded in response to her question and kissed her cheek. I sat down at the table and made a plate. There was still a lot of awkward tension as I started to eat. I realized why when I heard a yelp. I looked at Mom with questioning eyes and she nodded at me.

There were several 'thwack's that I assumed were from the paddle. I only had the paddle twice I think. Both times were awful and I was in a lot of pain from it. Mason was in obvious pain as he yelled and cried. The triplets that were not getting their ass handed to them flinched each time we heard anything.

Several minutes later, Dad dragged a still sobbing Mason down the stairs. He placed Mason's nose in the corner and pulled his pants and underwear down to his knees. He came into the kitchen still upset.

"You boys had better be angels from here on out. I do not want to give another spanking that severe ever again," he walked out the back, slamming it shut behind him.

We all looked at each other silently. Mom got up and walked into the living room. She touched Mason's shoulder. He turned around and fell into her.

"I'm sorry, Momma," he wailed.

"Shh, I know, baby."

"Dad hates me."

"Shh, no he doesn't. He is just upset with your actions. Let's go upstairs and get you into bed. We can talk about it later."

She bent down to help him take his pants and boxers off. His entire backside and thighs were a deep red. They went up the stairs and I looked at my brothers for an explanation.

"Someone snitched about him vaping again," Bryson explained.

"Oh. Who told?" I asked.

"We're not sure, but it was Mom who called and told Dad."

I knew at that moment exactly who it was. Mason and Tay are friends. She would want to protect him, though she wouldn't go about it in a normal fashion. It was her who texted or called Mom to let her know. I always loved that quality in Taylen. She wanted to protect those who she cared about, even if it meant they got in trouble.

Later that night when I went to my room, there was a box on my bed.

"Mom, what's this box?"

"Taylen brought that over a few days ago. I forgot to give it to you," she replied.

Curious, I went over and opened it. It was all the stuff that I left at her house. All the stuff that was in my drawer. She was moving on and removing me from her life. I spent some time going through the box. I almost started crying when I saw the pictures of us at the bottom of the box. It was a reminder of how much I still loved her.

A/N: I'm about to do my sister's hair and makeup for this Daddy-Daughter dance in a few hours and she is already driving me crazy. Apparently, her mom wants it done a certain way, but I'm the one doing the work. I don't like her mom and I will do it how I want since I am the one doing it, just saying.

P.S. we plan on updating Made to Fly later today, if things go according to plans.