Chapter 9 - Lisa's weakness
Tracy was finished in less than 10 minutes. She struck hard, but was not in any mood to prolong the strapping. Lisa made it through the punishment without crying, although her expression clearly reflected the pain of having taken a severe punishment over the bruises left over from the previous day's paddling. Her bottom now was in bad shape, covered with cruel welts and deep red in color.
Tracy tapped her hard on the shoulder. "Get up. Come with me," she snapped.
Lisa struggled to push herself up and painfully followed the pledge mistress past the kitchen and back to the sitting room. Kathleen was still kneeling, a solitary and very forlorn figure hunched in the corner. Her hands were cuffed behind her back and her eyes still covered by the blindfold. It was clear that she had been crying the whole time she was left alone.
Tracy took off Kathleen's blindfold and unlocked the handcuffs. She helped Kathleen stand up, but then pointed at the floor to let both pledges know that they needed to kneel so she could talk to them.
"Pledge Kathleen, I'm cutting your punishment short, because Pledge Lisa informed me that she was partly to blame for what happened on the exam table. I have dealt with her, and except for your re-test, and I consider the incident resolved."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Pledge Lisa, we need the bathrooms cleaned before you go to bed tonight. There's an inspection manual sitting on the desk of the office. I expect you to use it and make sure the bathrooms comply with what's in there. Each bathroom has a cleaning log stored under the sink. Once you've cleaned the bathroom, make sure you fill in the time so you won't get blamed if anyone comes in after you and leaves a mess."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Alright. I want you two to wait in the pledge room while we have dinner. You're still under punishment restriction, so you'll be missing dinner. Once we're done, I'll have Pledges Cherine and Bernadette go get you so you can get started on the bathrooms. You can use the pledge showers while you wait. With the way you two smell right now, I'd take advantage of that if I were you."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Stand up!"
Lisa and Kathleen quickly rose to their feet.
"You are dismissed."
"Yes, ma'am."
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Lisa and Kathleen went into the basement while Bernadette and Cherine took their places at the table with the sophomores. The two unpunished pledges felt both very nervous and very guilty that they were enjoying dinner while their companions were going hungry in the basement, but fortunately that did not diminish their appetites. They assumed, quite rightly, that there would be plenty of evenings they would be going hungry themselves sitting in the basement following a punishment.
Kathleen was consumed with guilt over what had happened to Lisa. As soon as they made it into the pledge room she began crying and profusely apologizing. Lisa responded not by trying to tell Kathleen that she forgave her or that "everything's OK", but by holding her fellow pledge while she finished crying. Lisa knew that what Kathleen needed was not to be reassured with words, but by being held.
She led Kathleen to the sofa and sat down. She took her companion's hand and drew her into a sitting position next to her. Kathleen cried into her shoulder as Lisa held her and comforted her. Finally, she recovered enough to speak:
"I...I can't do this! I thought I could, but I can't! I want out! I just can't handle it! I'm sorry!"
Lisa didn't say anything, but began stroking Kathleen's short dark hair. That seemed to calm her down a bit. She gently brushed away the tears from her companion's face, which calmed her down even more. Lisa moved from brushing away the tears to caressing her cheek, which quieted Kathleen even more. Lisa realized that she had discovered something important about her companion, that she could be soothed and reassured by being touched.
Kathleen snuggled up to Lisa, seeking an emotional shelter from the traumatic events of the past three days. Lisa put her arm around Kathleen's shoulders and allowed her face to rest against her chest. She knew that if she could comfort her fellow pledge long enough without being interrupted, the crisis would pass.
Lisa was grateful for the moment of silence, because her own emotions were in turmoil. She realized that she had reached an important turning point in her life, because to keep Kathleen in the pledge group, she would have to develop a relationship with her and allow her to become emotionally dependent. It seemed that only Lisa could provide Kathleen with the motivation and support that would convince her to stay in. She would have to assume the role of Kathleen's mentor and protector. Ultimately there would have to be more to the relationship between the two women, but the question was, how much more?
Lisa felt an emotional tug towards Kathleen, but was experienced enough in life to know why. Both women were frightened, isolated, tired, and under a lot of emotional stress. They were totally dependent on the whims of Tracy and Heather for every detail of their existence, including their most basic human needs. They faced three months being cut off from the outside world. They had no one to turn to for comfort except each other. Lisa's need to watch over someone else was as important as Kathleen's need to seek protection. Lisa realized she needed Kathleen every bit as much as Kathleen needed her.
Lisa knew that another issue was likely to come up between herself and Kathleen, and that was sex. It was Kathleen's sexual fascination with Lisa that got both of them in trouble in the first place, and the sexual issue was certain to re-surface. How would she handle that, when the moment came?
Lisa decided that Kathleen had calmed down enough for them to shower. She squeezed her companion's hand and suggested they get cleaned up, since the others would be returning shortly and the bathrooms still had to be cleaned. Kathleen did not resist. She quietly followed Lisa to the shower stalls.
The two women began soaping themselves, but Kathleen was sending non-verbal signals that she wanted her companion to soap her back. Lisa didn't see the harm in that. She agreed to gently soap Kathleen's entire back, including her welt-covered bottom. As Lisa's hands gently circled soap over her companion's tender backside, Kathleen put her hands on the wall and arched her back. She wanted more. She wanted Lisa to touch her, to run her fingers over the most sensitive area of her body. She wanted to feel Lisa's finger to massage and then press into her bottom-hole. If Lisa only would do that...
Lisa did go much further than she originally intended. She soaped the most intimate part of Kathleen, thoroughly cleaning her vagina and bottom-hole. Kathleen gasped with delight, something that Lisa found very erotic. The pull now was much stronger, not only was Kathleen falling in love with Lisa, but also Lisa was becoming increasingly attracted to Kathleen. She realized how much she enjoyed touching and caressing her...
No...no, this can't be happening. You've go to stop it, now. You can't do this to her! The small voice of restraint, that voice of reason and morality, resonated in Lisa's thoughts. You've got to stop this, now!
Lisa backed away, only to have her companion embrace her. Kathleen put her face to Lisa's chest and held her tight. That embrace, along with the sensation of Kathleen's skin in contact with her own, buried Lisa's doubts. She realized just how good it felt to hold her. It was too late for that voice of reason to intervene in Lisa's life. Just three days after meeting her, she had fallen into a relationship with Kathleen.
Lisa's heart pounded as Kathleen pulled her head off her chest. She looked at Lisa with a very intense expression. Her eyes glistened with desire and her mouth was slightly open. Lisa knew that the moment had come. They now were lovers. All they need now was to exchange their first kiss. Kathleen closed her eyes and leaned forward...
