Cinders

~17~ Belt~2

Mom just stands there for a moment, looking at both of us. You can tell she's trying to wake up and function. After a good 10 seconds, she finally comes to life. She looks at Taylor, ignoring my gaze.

"He snuck out again, didn't he?"

Taylor doesn't say anything, but I see him nodding out of the corner of my eye.

Mom sighs and shakes her head. At least she isn't screaming yet—that's a good sign. Or is it actually a very bad sign? I'm too nervous to think rationally right now.

She moves out of the way, still holding the door knob, as she motions for both of us to come inside. Dang it. I was hoping she'd send him on his way. Once she's inside, she shuts the door and starts flipping on the lights.

Taylor finally let's go of my arm, and goes to the bar, resting his elbows on the counter.

I know mom extremely well, but even Taylor can't miss the horrified expression on mom's face once she sees herself in the light. She must've forgotten what she was wearing. She looks down at herself for a moment, trying to think of what to do. Suddenly she says "I'll be back," and goes to her room quickly.

Taylor lets out a soft chuckle, looking down and shaking his head. He liked what he saw, and he thought her embarrassed reaction was funny. This guy's got it bad!

While we're waiting on mom to get back, Taylor goes over to the couch and sits down. Fantastic. He's staying a while.

When mom comes out, she's got a pink silk robe wrapped around her. It isn't your typical bulky mom robe—it's still tiny. It's covering up what it needs to, though.

"Ok, I need a minute. You need to go to your room," mom says, looking hard at me. "You better be awake when I get in there."

I nod, but say nothing as I go to my room quickly. I sit at my desk and turn on the computer, enjoying my last few minutes while I can still use it. I'm waiting for a lot longer than I thought I would. I can hear mom and Taylor talking in the other room, but I can't make out what they're saying. I don't feel like listening either. All I know is I'm getting the paddle, and probably even worse this time.

After quite a while, mom comes bursting in the door. She doesn't even knock, this can't be good. I turn around slowly, afraid to look at her.

I finally look at her, with a lump in my throat. "How bad's it gonna be?"

"You know..." she says as she comes over closer to me. "I'm too tired to lecture you tonight. I'll save that for tomorrow morning. Stand up."

Before I can even think about what I can say to get me out of a spanking, I see it. In her hand is a belt. What the hell? Mom's only ever used the paddle. What kind of joke is this? Is this Taylor's belt? The irony of that is thick. He did promise me he would introduce me to his belt.

"Where did you get that?" I demand

"Taylor's letting me borrow it," she says as she motions for me to stand.

I don't stand; I'm pissed. Taylor tells her she should use the belt on me and she thinks 'oh, that sounds like a swell idea. Let me just beat my child with a leather strap like we're in the freakin' Middle Ages.' Hell to the No! I'm 15. I'm almost an adult, and my mommy thinks she's gonna hit me with that? That's funny.

"YOU CAN'T USE THAT ON ME!....If you want me to stand up so you can hit me with that, you're gonna have to make me," I say, crossing my arms and lowering my voice. I'm dead serious. Normally I'm afraid of my mom, but she went too far this time.