The Bitter Truth

Chapter 12 ~ Rules

Once again, the conversation was interrupted, and all eyes shot to Saija, her hands over her mouth in shock at the broken dish on the ground.

    As the ball started rolling away from the scene of the crime, Ronny angrily stormed toward it to hold it captive.

    He needed to be quicker on his feet, though, as Saija sprinted forward and snatched it up.

    He gripped her arm, ordering, "Give it here! Ya done lost ya privilege with it."

    She squirmed and tried to avoid him as he tried to pry it from her fingers.

    "Now, Saija!" he boomed, but she refused, shaking her head vehemently and whining. 

    Having enough, he stopped reaching for it and landed a thunderous smack to her rear end with the palm of his hand. She squealed in surprise and looked up at him with horror as he chided.

    "Ya gonna listen now?! Hand it over!"

    Instead of handing it over, she let out a bitter grunt and then aggressively flung it straight at his face. The ball bounced off his forehead and went flying towards the hanging pots, causing one to topple over off its hook and crash to the floor. The entire kitchen resounded with the echoes of metal clattering against the hard concrete surface.

    When the clattering finally ceased, Ronny was at his wit's end. He picked her up like a sack of potatoes under his arm, marching straight for the counter. He then bent her, squirming and kicking body over the counter, and reached for the wooden spoon sitting nearby.

    Holding her down with his left arm, his right hand went directly to spanking at a rapid pace. Her feet kicked as she screamed, and the cracks of the spoon mingled with it, filling the kitchen with the all too familiar scene of a good thrashing.

    A couple dozen later, she was sobbing, and he quit spanking, "Ya gonna heed what I say?!" 

    Her head bobbed up and down with emphasis.

    "Say it!"

    She froze, not muttering a word, not moving a muscle.

    "Saija, I already know you can speak. Now say it!" 

    She still refused.

    His hand whipped back with much more force than he was previously using and crashed upon her backside with a booming thunderclap.

    Her voice pierced a horrendous shriek, and Arliss roared, "Enough, Ronny!"

    Startled, Ronny tossed the spoon to the counter and gently set her back on the ground, his sore eyes never leaving Arliss.

    Once on her feet, Saija sprinted full force to Klaus and crashed into his arms, cuddling up in his lap and burying her face in his neck.

    Klaus sat there rigid, his eyes open wide, shocked and unsure of what to do. His hands slowly wrapped around her, comforting her, then glancing up at Arliss.

    Ronny spit out, "When did ya grow so soft, huh! If that was me ya'd still be tanning my hide for that bullshit!"

    "Ya was a hoodlum street rat that needed discipline and guidance, not a traumatized little girl!" Arliss growled back, his arms dropping to his side.

    "Traumatized?! She had an orphanage where they fed and cared for her. I had nothing!! I was starving!!"

    "And that's why I took ya in, Sonny! What ya sayin' that I raised ya wrong?!"