The Help~(Completed♡)

Black Sheep

Damon's P.O.V.

"I don't know that I'd be too fond of him either.", I chuckled, "Is-Is that who tells you all this stuff?"

"Mostly.", she nodded, "My mom just kinda goes with it. Like she does with everything."

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But, that includes you. If you choose to have the same opinions as your parents, that's fine. But I need to know. I won't have you betraying or hurting my family. But you can have your own opinions. I had complete opposite opinions than my parents but they never knew that. I faked it around them."

"Were they okay with you being... um-"

"Gay?", I chuckled. She nodded. "I'm not sure. They're dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Not a bad thing. They really hurt us kids for a long time."

"I'm so sorry.", she said, much more sincere thanks the last apology. I narrowed my eyes,

"Why are you more sorry about the abuse than their death?" She looked away,

"I-I don't know. I just think it'd be worse to be abused than to be without parents. I think Rowan and Harley are good people because of you." Her phone rang as she glanced at it before lighting up, "One sec." She answered it, "Daddy?"

"Hi baby!", I heard from the other end, "How are you?"

"Fine. Are you okay? Where are you? I miss you.", she rambled.

"I miss you too.", the man chuckled, "I can't tell you where I am but I'm fine. You're mom said in her text that you got in trouble at school again. I... don't wanna spend whatever time we have lecturing you so just promise you'll add it to the list?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Listen, I'm-", static cut him off.

"Daddy? Hello?" The line went dead as Jessica slumped, "I love you.", she whispered before slowly hanging up the phone, staring at it sadly for a few seconds.

"Jess? Is everything okay?" She smiled sadly,

"Y-Yeah. Yeah. Um- that's-that was my dad. I-I have to take his calls when he calls or I don't know when I'll talk to him again. He's in the army."

"I'm sorry. I'm sure that's terrible kiddo."

"Yeah. I just miss him." She glanced up at me, "Are-Are you- I um- are-"

"Hey, just say it kid."

"No it-it's dumb. I already know the answer anyways."

"Hey, I love dumb questions." She smiled, laughing a little at my famous line.

"Are-Are you still mad?"

"No. I was never really... mad... upset? Very. But I'm not now. Talking things out helps everyone, right?" She nodded,

"So a-are you gonna- um- uh-"

"Jessica." She glanced at me and back down,

"Like- s-spank me."

"I-I should. But, no, I'm not going to spank you."

"Y-You’re sure? I-I'd understand. I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you love." She perked up at the nickname, "And I never discipline when I'm angry or even upset usually. A punishment out of anger is abuse. And you should never be hit out of anger."

"My dad says if you don't discipline while angry, you'll go too easy on them."

"That's total bullshit." I paused, "I thought your dad was deployed."

"My bio dad is. I live with my mom and step dad. I-I just got used to calling my step dad 'dad'. Just in case."

"Does-Does he hurt you?"

"When I mess up he punishes me."

"And how often is that?"

"I don't know. A few times a week? It's a punishment. It's my fault."

"Abuse is not your fault."

"He-He doesn't abuse me. He s-spanks me just like you do to your kids."

"Oh, really?", I asked, gesturing to her wrist where a fading bruise lay.

"He-He pulls me around sometimes. He's never abused me."

"I don't believe that. You're timid and you were really scared when you thought I'd spank you. Have you ever been spanked at school?" She frantically shook her head,

"No. And I don't plan on it. D-Dad said I'd regret it."

"And you don't want to test that because you're scared."

"I-I guess."

"If I tell the kids they'll regret something, they're intimidated and scared of what they know the consequence will be. You're scared because he's taken things too far before and you have no idea what the consequence could be."

"I-I guess. And I just hate getting spanked. It-It's just so violent and hatred filled."

"It's not like that in our house. It shouldn't be like that. In our home, Ash and I don't spank the kids unless we're completely calm. And it's never out of anger. It's out of love and care and worry."

"How can you hit someone because you care? That doesn't even make sense."

"Yes it does. It means I care about their future and well being. When kids make mistakes, they need to be corrected. Discipline helps kids not repeat the same mistakes. If I spank one of the kids for drinking outside the house, they usually don't do it again at least for a long time. If I don't, they'll make a habit of it and get hurt. It can seriously effect their future. Rosa and Ellie getting suspended effects their future. That's a big part of why they get disciplined. It's to keep them safe or healthy. Whether that's in the moment or in the future, it's for their benefit."

"So, it's only to help them?" I nodded,

"Kids need structure and discipline. But, above all else, they need love and support. And I get the feeling you don't have a lot of that at home and if you ever need any, my family has plenty to go around."

"T-Thank you."

"Of course."

"Can I go? I left my stuff in history."

"Sure kid. I'm glad we cleared this up."

"Me too. And I am really sorry about what I said before."

"I forgive you. But it'd mean a lot to me if you apologized to Rosa and Ellie too." She nodded,

"I will."

"Thank you. I'm always here if you need to talk, alright?"

"Thanks Mr. Stines."

"Anytimes."