"Hey Justine, catch!"

That phrase was the only warning I got before Charlie tossed his football across the living room. I tried to oblige him, but didn't manage to get my hands anywhere near the ball as it flew by.

Its flight was finally stopped by its impact with a picture frame on the wall. The frame housed a nice photo of Charlie and me that was taken less than a year prior to this. Charlie stood motionless, except for his jaw dropping at the realization of what just happened, and what it would likely mean for him. The same thought raced through my mind, and I couldn't bear it. I needed some time to think about how to handle this.

"Charlie," I began. "Why don't you take the football, and go see if one of your friends wants to toss it around in the park?"

Charlie picked up the ball, which had thankfully landed clear of any broken glass.

"Make sure you have your phone on. I'll text you when it's safe to come back home, okay?"

"Okay." he replied nervously.

"Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

I could see in his face that he doubted what I told him. He made his exit, and I began the clean-up process.

Since our father had passed away, mom had to take on all of the disciplinary responsibilities in our household. I suppose one could say that her discipline was quite effective as the behavior leading to it was seldom, if ever repeated.

Her preferred instrument was a navy blue leather belt that hung in her closet. This belt was slightly wider than would typically fit through belt loops. I'd guess it to be about two inches wide, maybe a little more. It packed a vicious sting that tended to stay with us a while after the spanking was done.

Whenever one of us was to be spanked, the other sibling would usually be sent outside to allow for privacy. There was one time, however, where that didn't happen. Charlie was usually the one being sent outside as he was more inclined to follow house rules to the letter. I, on the other hand, often needed more guidance.

On this particular day, mom must have forgotten that I was in my room. Through my closed door I could hear her giving Charlie a talking-to as she led him down the hallway to his bedroom. Our rooms were right across the hall from each other and I could hear the jingling sound of the belt buckle just before his door was closed. My heart sank and I silently wished him the best, as I held back tears. What I heard next broke me inside.

Charlie screamed and sobbed as the first couple of strikes landed. Then I heard mom fussing at him to hold still. She resumed and paused a few more times as Charlie kept moving. She became frustrated after the first couple of attempts and began to start over every time he would get out of position.

Although I didn’t sob out loud, I buried my face in a pillow and quietly cried for my brother. The spanking continued until Charlie stayed still long enough to take about ten in a row. I heard mom storm out of his room and slam the door. I understood then that he just couldn't quite take a spanking like I could.

For me, the whole ordeal would be over in about a minute. Charlie suffered through ten minutes of it. I made myself a promise that day that I would never let that happen to him again. I thought back to that promise as I cleaned up the broken glass, then put the pieces of the frame, and our photo on the coffee table. As much as I didn't like it, I knew what I had to do.

It was a school holiday for us, but mom still had to work. I checked the time and knew she would be going on her lunch break soon. I took out my phone and sent her a text.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I did something really stupid. Charlie and I were goofing around and I picked up his football and tried to fake like I was throwing it. Except I accidentally released my grip and tossed it across the living room. I broke the picture frame with that photo of me and Charlie. I know what has to happen now, and I really am sorry."

Mom replied, "I'm sorry too sweetie. We'll take care of it when I get home."

"Mom, how many?" I asked.

Mom always kept her word, so I had hoped to get her to commit to a certain number of licks. That hope was quickly dashed by her reply.

"We'll see."

While I wasn't looking forward to this I found some small comfort in knowing that I'd had a lot of practice taking what she dished out. In fact, I had enough experience that sometimes I could take it without tears, albeit with a fair amount of loud groans, and some screaming. I had a couple of strategies for this.

Firstly, I always tried to keep my breathing as steady as possible. This kept panic responses under control, and helped reduce the pain slightly. To that end I also made every effort to keep my body as relaxed as I could. Muscle tension always intensified the pain.

To handle the psychological part I always told myself that I deserved the punishment. This would help me to accept it rather than resisting it in my mind. When my mind was settled on it, that made the physical part a little easier to endure.

On this particular day I had to trick myself a little to make that work. Since I hadn't actually been the one who broke the frame, I had to tell myself that I deserved it for lying to mom. It also helped that I felt like I was protecting Charlie. Don't get me wrong, these things didn’t make the spanking very easy to take, just somewhat less difficult.

I added one more coping strategy as well this time. I decided to make the whole thing as easy as possible for mom. Maybe she would make things really quick if no additional effort was required. After I finished cleaning up in the living room, I did a few additional chores that I wasn't asked to do for good measure. I also called a local frame shop and got a price for a replacement frame.

Later that afternoon I made my preparations. First, I went into mom's room and got out the belt that she was going to use. I set the belt down on my bed. Then I moved two of my pillows to the edge of the bed and stacked one atop the other. These were the pillows I'd bend over when the time came.

I also took a twenty dollar bill out of my purse and laid it on the bed next to the belt. I then took off my shorts and panties and laid them on the bed as well. Mom always spanked me on the bare bottom. I took a picture of all these things and sent it to mom. I included a text message as well.

"Everything is ready when you get home. Charlie is visiting a friend, so we'll have privacy too."

"What's the twenty dollar bill for?"

"To cover the cost of a replacement frame."

"I appreciate that. We'll get it done as soon as I get in."

"Thank you mom. I'll be in my room waiting."

****

I heard the front door unlocking, and when it opened I called out to be absolutely sure.

"Mom?"

"Yes sweetie, I'll be right there."

I left my bedroom door cracked open and bent over the pillows on my bed. As an added precaution I crossed my arms underneath me to make sure I didn't accidentally reach back during the spanking. Mom came in about a minute later.

"Okay, " she said. "Let's get this over with."

She picked up the belt and I braced for impact.

"Alright Justine, here it comes."

With that warning she landed the first lick. I inhaled sharply. The first one always seemed to catch me off-guard, no matter how prepared I was. I had a couple of seconds to process that burning sting before the second one landed on top of it. I grunted loudly through gritted teeth. Mom continued at that pace and I let out my expressions of agony.

"Ah!"

"Ow!"

"Uuuh!"

My backside now felt like it was on fire. After about eight licks, mom gave me a few extra seconds to catch my breath while she delivered a short but stern scolding.

"No more throwing things in the house, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," I said meekly.

"Two more."

My relief at that statement was short-lived. The final two seemed like they were even harder than the previous, and I let out loud enough screams that mom would have no doubt her point was getting across. Afterwards, she set the belt down and told me to stand up. I got up slowly and rubbed my sore backside for just a moment before mom hugged me. She held me close for a couple of minutes and then offered me some sunburn cream to help with the pain. I gladly accepted.

Later that afternoon, I texted Charlie and told him that it was safe to come home. I also told him not to mention anything at all about the broken frame, and told him it was fine and he was in the clear. When we sat down for dinner that evening, he seemed to notice me squirming in my seat a little. When mom had her back turned for a moment, he looked at me with a worried expression. I looked back at him and nodded. I put my finger to my lips to remind him not to say anything. He never did.

The End

© Paul Tecres 2023