"Yeahhhh!! Girl's night!!" Violet giggled as she shoved Chloe through the beaded door. The air in my room was thick with smoke and sad-sounding indie music. Mixed with the low purple light it oozed tranquility... polar opposite of family meeting nights.
I welcomed my blue-eyed companion as I puffed on a joint. "Do you smoke?"
"Bro, she's an artist, of course she does."
Chloe nodded, plopping down on the soft rug next to me. I passed her the weed, heart jumping as my phone dinged with another message from Gabe.
"Who the fuck are you texting? You've been on that thing all night!"
Blowing out a gray cloud, I could only say, "Fuck Toby."
"Oh. Then I don't feel sorry for you. Shouldn't of told him."
I ignored the urge to snap at Violet as I watched Chloe take a shallow puff, coughing a little when she exhaled, then passed the blunt to Violet. "Bro, don't go tellin' Sergeant Douche we corrupted you or some shit," she laughed while taking a hit, blowing out through her nose.
"Toby fucking told Gabe everything and that I'm still not caught up." I didn't have any proof of this, but who else would've told him?
Violet almost choked on the smoke. "Whaaaat? What the fuck? Toby doesn't even like Gabe. Why would he blab to him?" Then went back to smoking.
"I don't know." Though I had my suspicions that it was because I'd given him the go-ahead a few days ago when he came to me about the Vanessa-Violet situation. And because after seeing Violet's submissiveness during the family meeting, Friday I was craving that same feeling. Then at work I was stupid enough to tell Toby again how far behind I was, and he reminded me of his threat to be punished in front of everyone. Oof... that thought made my stomach hurt. He hadn't told me he'd actually tell Gabe, though! Ugh... if only I'd just asked for it straight up... then I could've gotten it over with when I was in the mood. "Whatever. Fuck him." Rolling my eyes I tossed the phone aside and accepted the joint from Violet.
"What did you do?" Chloe asked.
I didn't have time to answer because my phone blasted a classical music tune, vibrating in sync with the violins (I guess Gabe hadn't liked my smart ass reply to his text-lecture). Swearing under my breath, I passed the joint back to Chloe and nervously answered.
"Why is it so dark? Turn the light on so I can see your face." Gabe’s voice sounded stern, but not as harsh as he was with Violet (or basically anyone else).
"Bro, seriously? You answered a video call? What the fuck..." Violet growled, waving at Chloe to stop smoking, which she ignored.
I turned on a brighter light, nearly blinding myself. Then I glanced back at my scowling friend, shaking his head at me.
"Why haven't you caught up on paperwork?" Gabe fussed.
"I've been busy..."
"Getting high and gossiping with Violet? Is she there right now listening to the scolding I'm about to give you?"
He always knew how to make me blush. I looked down and gave a weak nod.
"Clo's here too!" Violet added, scooting into view of the camera. "You still workin'? I'm glad you never FaceTime me, I wouldn't answer that shit."
"I wouldn't waste time video calling you, I'd come straight over with a bag of implements."
"Ooooo, so scary," she teased.
Even though Violet tried to take the attention away from me, it wouldn't work with Gabe. He knew her too well. "The doc spanked you a week and a half ago, and you still haven’t caught up on your paperwork. Is that true?"
I chewed on my lower lip, still looking down, squirming. "I haven't had time."
"Bullshit." There was an intense silence as I continued avoiding eye contact, Violet pondered whether or not to intervene, and Chloe enjoyed her high. When Gabe had enough of making everyone uncomfortable, he said, "Tonight is your final warning. If you don't get started on it tomorrow, we'll discuss at our next meeting."
Now I looked up. "What?? Noooo!! That's not fair..."
"Ooooo I didn't know she could get in trouble, too." Violet slapped me on the arm. "Better get your shit done, sis."
"Tomorrow's my day off! That’s not fairrrrrrr!" My eyes welled up in tears.
"Make time." His tone was still softer than he was with the others, but that didn't stop my theatrics.
"But... I won't have time, and I'll just not go to the meeting."
Gabe's sigh was so loud that it felt like he was in the room with us. "Violet, get the wooden school paddle."
Violet and I protested simultaneously, but it didn't matter. When Gabe sets his mind to something, it happens.
His tone was normal-harsh again: "It wasn't a question. Get it now unless you want me to use it on you Thursday night." When Violet opened her mouth to argue, he added, "if you don't, I'll have Chloe do it. She knows how to obey."
The high didn't prevent Chloe’s face from burning. Violet glared at her and sighed. "Fine."
And I shrieked when Violet stood. "Wait, no!!! Gabe... this isn't funny!! I'm serious I won't have time....." He didn't respond, so I got more nervous that I actually started crying, lower lip poked out, which only intensified when our friend came back with a vicious-looking paddle.
"Stand up, drop your pajamas, and bend over the bed."
This was utterly the most embarrassing thing ever... being spanked by my friend who was basically my little sister? At Gabe's direction, on a video call that literally anyone could hack into?! I needed to get out of this, even though it'd be impossible. But I'd try anyway. Chewing on my fingernail, I shook my head.
"Young Lady, I'm losing my patience." His sharp tone mixed with the scary look he gave finally prompted me to stand.
"I don't wanna," I whimpered, but let my pjs fall to the floor, exposing my black cotton panties with a picture of grumpy cat saying "NO!" on the butt. Then I laid the top half of my body on the bed, bottom sticking up, legs straight. The phone rested against the wall and I covered my face to avoid Gabe's scowl... until he barked at me to look at him.
"Are you embarrassed?" he wanted to know.
"Yes," I muttered, burying my face in the bed again.
"Imagine if we have to bring this up in the meeting.” He paused to let that sink in. “You don't want that, so find time to finish your work." He glanced up at Violet who was standing over me, arms folded. "Give her ten swats, make them count but don't use full force. Do not use this as an opportunity to get revenge."
"Or else what?"
"You'll see the humiliation I'm capable of when you get back from Seattle."
Chloe began coughing madly, causing everyone to stare at her, including Gabe, who shook his head disappointedly.
“Why are you corrupting that kid? And you both know better than to have that shit out while on a call with me.”
Now he and Violet were arguing, and Chloe stubbed out the joint in the ashtray, then curled up in the corner, hidden.
No comments:
Post a Comment