I woke up at 8, somehow. That was a little late for me, but given what happened last night, I'll take it. As I made my way down the stairs, two things hit me. I had forgotten that the entire first floor was trashed, and I remembered I was supposed to go out with my employees after work. I suppose I could "mandate" another get together tonight because it was Saturday. But I obviously had some business to take care of first.
I've had a rush of thoughts since I woke up. What was going to be the fallout of what I did 12 hours ago? Did I cross the line? Because I honestly think I might have. I violently punished 5 19 year old girls, none of whom I'm related to and four of whom I'm not legally responsible for. Most of the things I did last night would probably be frowned upon even with context. I anally violated one of my step-daughter's best friends with the intent of causing immense pain that resulted in my pleasure. It didn't matter what the story was, just about anyone would see me locked up. I might even too. It was important that I stayed steady. From some of the conversations before I went to sleep, I think I was mostly in the clear.
I made some eggs, bacon, toast, the works. I was really damn hungry. It had been half an hour and I was on my second coffee when I finally heard some footsteps making their way down the stairs. I looked up and saw Robin standing there. She was wearing one of my old shirts as a night shirt, she had glasses on, and what looked like no pants. Of course. If this was Shayna, pre-punishment, this would have been a ploy to shift the power in the house. But this was genuinely confusing.
Robin seemed unflappable. It's like she compartmentalized what happened and was moving forward, just like that. I was having a hard time staying cool. I was already ashamed enough that I found this girl who could be my daughter attractive. But the kicker that she was the spitting image of Lucy made it near impossible.
"Morning Mr. Braxton," she said with a smile. "Smells really good, that's kind of what woke me up," she giggled.
"Help yourself."
"No it's okay I don't want to impose."
"Don't be silly. You're starving. And I made way too much anyway. Grab a seat."
"Thanks a lot!"
Robin piled a plate up and sat diagonal from me at the table while I read the paper. It wasn't long before the small talk was initiated. "It's really good sir! Where did you learn to make such good breakfast?"
I truthfully had no interest in small talk. After last night, in order to clarify things that each girl told me alone and explain why everything went down the way it did, I needed to know more about my stepdaughter's friends and why my house was their safe haven.
"Robin, yesterday you thanked me for giving you a home. I hope it's not inappropriate to ask why you said that?" She fidgeted a little in her seat and I could see a little cringe on her face due to her, uhhh, lower body. "Well Mr. Braxton, I grew up in foster care. I think I lived in 6 or 7 houses growing up. The last house was where I found a real family. My foster parents were so great. They encouraged me to do whatever made me happy, they helped me get a scholarship for my postgrad year, and they restored my confidence and conviction. When I aged out, they wanted me to stay. But ACS wanted that space for a younger kid. I still see them when I can, but I've been sleeping in Shayna's spare bedroom since the school year started. That is when I'm not here."
I pondered for a moment. "Yeah, I got that much from Shayna last night. I had no idea. You carry yourself with more confidence than almost anyone I've ever met. I'm sorry about last night, I think you're a nice young lady, and I know how much you matter to Jasmine. You're welcome to stay here, but it's going to be on my terms. If you break my rules, there will be consequences."
"I understand. Sir, I admit I'm a little embarrassed. I kind of enjoyed it. I've never had a man care about me. I make mistakes, and while I love who I am, I'm mature enough now that there are older and wiser people who can help me improve and learn. I hated it at the time, but I do appreciate it now. I hope I'm not out of line referring to you as kind of like a father. I know we don't know each other very well, but we all trust you. And Jasmine needs you."
I was not prepared for all of that. She was even deeper than I thought. "You know, I don't know if I'm cut out for all of this, but in some ways you ladies have been a breath of fresh air. I know Lucy would have wanted me to move on, and I'm not even close to there yet, but interacting with people helps me a lot. I'm not going to put up with a lot of the extracurricular shenanigans anymore, but we can talk about that later."
"Deal!" It's amazing how tough she was. She continued chowing down and guzzling coffee like a trucker, and I chuckled. "So who do you think will be up next?"
"If I was a betting girl, and I am, I'd say Heidi. Shayna sleeps later than anyone I know, you know Jas isn't far behind, and even if Leah gets up she always takes a long-ass shower before she does anything else."
All of that made sense. And as if on cue, Heidi gracefully floated into the kitchen, looking surprisingly stunning. She was wearing a sweater and some ratty sweatpants. "Good morning, sir. How are you?" Robin chimed in, "Heidi where did you find those sweats?! I couldn't find anything!"
"Brought 'em from home. I'm trying to wait out Mr. Schmidt. I'm sorry Mr. Braxton I hope that's okay." I don't even think this qualified me as being soft when I smiled at how sweet and innocent she was.
"No worries Heidi. Please grab a plate I made way too much food and I hate wasting it. Juice is in the fridge and coffee is in the pot." Heidi tentatively scooped some eggs onto her plate and grabbed a seat next to Robin. She savored her first bite but caught herself from expressing too much. "Amazing, right?! Why did Jas never tell us her dad was an amazing chef?"
There it was again. Her dad. 24 hours ago, I would have been a thousand times more uncomfortable, but maybe I had changed just as much as these girls had in that time.
"Her mother taught me a thing or two..." was all I could muster. I had a really nice conversation with the two early birds that went on for two hours. I looked up and noticed it was 10:30. "I think I'm going to wake up the other three." Robin and Heidi immediately locked eyes. "You might need some backup," Robin stated as Heidi giggled. "Do you want us to go wake them up? All things considered if we go they might be a little less scared!"
"Was I that scary?"
"Just a little," Heidi cackled.
"Fair enough."
"We're on the case Mr. Braxton!" Robin roared. I didn't brainwash these girls did I? I mean, I knew that these girls were the good apples here, but this was the idea when I decided to go through with the spankings. I hoped they would grow up a little and see why it happened.
Heidi and Robin bounded up the stairs. I needed to prepare for how I was going to deal with Shayna and Leah. Heidi and Robin were child's play compared to those two. Shit! If the other girls found out what I did to Shayna this delicate peace that at least existed with Heidi, Robin and I guess Jasmine could be shattered. And that could be the least of my issues.
All that said, I don't regret what I did to her. Shayna didn't know what respect meant, and because her parents seemed more than happy to drop her on my doorstop. If they had a problem with the way I disciplined her daughter, than they could come pick her up and foot the bill for how much she had cost me over the past eight weeks.
Either way, I needed to restore my resolve before the girls came back down. About five minutes later, I heard some footsteps scurrying down the stairs. "Sir, I think Shayna is still asleep and her door is locked. But Leah is getting out of the shower and I think Jasmine is on her way too". Robin's report sort of gave me a breather, but I needed to see where Shayna's head was at and if I needed to take her to take her down to my office for a physical exam.
I went to medical school for 2 years before I broke into the business world, so I had a fairly solid procedural knowledge for non-surgical treatments. I don't think I even wanted to be a doctor, it was just perhaps the best option for providing for a potential family while also helping people get better. And my entire family works in the medical field, so it had been a part of my world for my entire life.
My basement had a gym and I had a small makeshift doctor's office. I had all the medical supplies to conduct a simple exam. Last year, Lucy, bless her heart, dropped a 25lb. dumbbell on her foot and I patched it up fairly easily. Again though, if I needed to give Shayna a physical, it would be intensely personal and humiliating for her given how she acted after I finished buggering her yesterday. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.
"I'll go see if she's ok." I first went downstairs to grab some of my supplies in case they were needed. I didn't want to carry her all the way downstairs and have to explain myself to Heidi and Robin about how exactly Shayna's punishment differed from their own. I made my way up the stairs and down the end of the hall to Shayna's room here. I unlocked the door and slowly peaked in to see if she was still out. It looked like she was until my first step into the room. She rolled over and her face was beet red from crying. "I'm sorry again sir."
So far so good with regards to her behavior. "How long have you been awake?"
"I didn't really sleep sir," she was having a hard time getting any words out. "I'm starving and I can't go to the bathroom. I tried but I can't sit down because it... hurts!" she broke down. I needed to take look at her backside and her anal cavity, to make sure nothing was infected, torn, cut, etc. But first I needed to give her another coat of aloe.
As I gently glossed over welts and callouses, I asked her if there was anything else she needed before I started her rectal exam. Instead of immediately flipping out and asking why I needed to do that, she sheepishly asked if it would hurt.
"It's not the most comfortable thing in the world, but your under my roof and my protection. If anything is wrong I'll be able to treat it before something worse happens."
"But you're the one who did it sir."
I continued the process and quickly recollected all of my bad experiences with Shayna for ammunition. But before I could retort, Shayna admitted that she probably deserved it. "I don't ever want to be punished like that again, but I know now to respect your home. I hate being alone at my house. I don't even know what country mom and dad are in now. I don't think I'm high on their list of people to inform when and where they travel."