by Allysa Hart
Keith took them firmly and kissed her knuckles. “She doesn’t have a choice, honey. I’m pulling rank. Isn’t that what you’d want in this situation? You need to allow me to take the lead and trust that I have everyone’s best interest at heart.”
His question changed her perception of the situation. He was right—it would be exactly what she would desire and need. “I do trust you. What’s your plan, Uncle Keith?”
Chapter Four
Katelyn turned her face away from the door when she heard the knock. She tried to feign sleep, but Rose knew her too well.
“Katie, it’s bath time. Let’s go, lazy bones. Time to get up.” The cheery disposition was annoying, and she even had the audacity to pull the covers down to the foot of the bed.
“Rose, please go away.” Katie tried to get the blankets back, but they were held out of reach.
“That’s Auntie Rose to you, little girl, and you don’t get to tell me to go away. You have two choices; get up and get your tail into the bathroom, or Uncle Keith can come in here and give you a spanking and then you can still get a bath. Your choice. I am going to run the water. You have two minutes to obey.” The command was straight forward and left no wiggle room.
Katelyn sat up and stared at Rose’s back as she left the room. The frustration built like a geyser in her body until the pressure was too much. She exploded. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’m not playing this game anymore! Not now and not ever. I don’t have Daddy, and without him, it will not happen!” Flopping back onto her bed, the anger rolled through her body and filled her with something other than numbness for the first time in weeks. She wasn’t sure what was more frustrating; the fact that Rose was taking over or that she was fighting back. It would be so easy to let go and let them lead, but she couldn’t. It didn’t feel right to allow herself to feel the freedom of her little space without Daddy. Who would protect her? Who would guide her? No, without him, she would leave all of that behind.
Rose answered from the other room. “Watch your language, young lady. This isn’t a joke or a game. You have one minute, so I suggest you listen. Uncle Keith is getting ready for work, and if he has to deal with you, then he will be late, and you will be one unhappy little girl. I promise you that.” By the time she finished speaking, she was back in the room observing Katelyn with one eyebrow raised in an open dare to disobey.
Katelyn crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Rose. “Stop now. I can’t do this, and you know it.”
“You can and you will. Your uncle and I are going to help you. We love you dearly, and we’re all going to get through this together, but you are going to need to trust us.”
The stern look on her face and commanding stance spelled no nonsense, but Katelyn was unwilling to budge. This situation was no longer consensual, and there was no way she was going to allow herself to be bathed, spanked, or treated like a child. She was not a little anymore, and they needed to accept that Katie was gone and was never coming back.
“You need to listen to me, Rose. Katie died with Mark. Period. I am not that little girl, and I never will be again. I can’t. It betrays his memory and what we shared.” Her voice shook with the outward confession.
Rose faltered, unable to hide the sadness in her eyes. Her lower jaw trembled as some of her own grief trickled through. “We all lost Mark, Katie. He was as much a part of us as he was of you, and many of those memories that you shared with him were also shared with us. If it weren’t for him, we would never have had the chance to love you as our own. Likewise, if it weren’t for us, he would never have known about this dynamic. The four of us shared this unique life together, and I know damn well that he would be devastated if he knew you abandoned the very thing that he loved and nurtured most in you!”
She took advantage of Katie’s shocked silence and visibly pulled herself together. Raising her eyebrows, she set her mouth in a hard line and spoke in a voice that was suddenly, low, calm, and resolute. “Our little girl did not go anywhere. She is in bed, being very naughty, and she is about to have a sore bottom if she isn’t up in three seconds. One.”
“Rose, Stop!”
The urgency in the girl’s voice did nothing to alter Rose’s quest for obedience. “Two.”
“Seriously. I am not playing!” Katelyn felt the panic rise in her chest. She needed to regain control of the situation. Counting never led to good things.
“I have already told you that this is not a game. You know what happens if I say three. This isn’t new to you.” Rose was not relenting
“Oh, my God!” Katelyn shrieked as she pounded her fists on the bed. “Why aren’t you listening to me?” The control slipped from her frantic grasp as her pleas fell on deaf ears.
“Three. I will be back with your uncle.” In classic Rose fashion, she bobbed her head with eerie calmness and left the room.
Katelyn sat slack-jawed with bewilderment. She was frustrated with Rose’s refusal to understand and was determined to disallow the situation to continue any further. Upon hearing the heavy footsteps coming down the hall, she instinctively sunk into the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. A familiar feeling of anticipation flooded into her body and her control melted into the mattress that cradled her.
“Would you care to explain why you aren’t being a good listener, young lady?” Keith stood in the doorway, looking formidable in his blue patrol uniform, hands planted on the weapons belt around his hips.
Katie gulped, subconsciously reverting to her little self despite her vehement protests. In a tiny voice, she mumbled, “I don’t want to take a bath. I’m not a little girl and just want to be left alone.”
“We’ve tried your way, and it’s not working. Lying in bed and wasting away is not going to cut it. Not on my watch. So, from now on, we are doing it our way. Hear me? Auntie gave you a chance to mind her, and you refused. You know the consequences in this house when you don’t follow the rules.” His jaw was set as he circled the bed to get to her.
Knowing him well, and recognizing what that expression meant for her backside, she scooted away and fell off the bed. Standing quickly, she put her hands up in a placating manner. “Now, wait. Wait just a second. This is not acceptable. I will not allow you to spank me. This is not consensual anymore. I’m an adult, and I refuse to allow you to touch me.”
Keith grunted. “It’s cute that you think you have a choice. Do you have a safe word?”
Katie’s mouth fell open. The four of them had spoken about safe words many years ago, and it was a mutual consensus that in their type of dynamic, none would ever be applicable. “That’s not fair!”
“No? I believe that you were the one who specifically said that you wanted things to be like you were a real child when you were in your little mode, and you said yourself that kids don’t have safe words and don’t get to make the rules. Right?”
“That was different!” She stomped her foot.
“No, it is not. I am your uncle, and that has not changed. I love you and want what’s best for you. As head of this house, I’ve made the decision to help bring you back to where you feel safe and familiar. That includes your aunt and me following through with our rules and promises. You’re getting spanked and then you are taking a bath.”
Katie stomped her foot again and pointed to the door. “I am not getting spanked, and I am not taking a bath! Get out!”
She barely released the last word before her wrist was firmly gripped and she was tossed face down over her uncle’s lap. As her panties glided down her backside, she screeched and swore with indignation and anger.
Keith wasted no time in peppering her backside with swift, stinging slaps accompanied by a firm scolding. “When Auntie tells you to do something, you will be a good listener and do as you’re told immediately and without arguing. If I’m not here, I will tell her to take a spoon to your naughty bare bottom. But be warned young lady, you will be going over my knee as soon as I get home to finish up what she started if she has to discipline
you. This is how things are run under this roof, and you know it.”
Katie was spitting mad. Refusing to respond to the lecture or the spanks, she fought with all her might to dislodge herself from his hold. Her tiny body was no match for Keith’s strength, and he continued the spanking without missing a beat.
“Daddy loved you more than anything in this world, and he asked us to take care of you if anything ever happened to him. He was my best friend, and I made a promise to him. No one will get in the way of me keeping that promise, do you understand me? No one. Not even you.”
She could hear Keith’s words choking in his throat as he spoke. Between the sounds of his misery and the crisp smacks, Katie could not hold back the tears. Sagging over his lap, she began to weep from the very depths of her soul. Keith lifted her into a protective embrace and was joined by a second set of limbs. Entangled in the arms of the two people who shared her pain, she felt safe. She cried, finally feeling the loss, the fear, the sadness, the regret, and the anger. The feeling of their tears mingling with hers reminded her that she wasn’t alone and she felt some of the hardness from inside melt graciously away.
When the tears subsided, Keith carried her to the bathroom and set her down gently on the edge of the tub. Rose handed him a warm washcloth and he began to clean her face. Little sobs escaped periodically, but sitting there on her sore naked bottom with her uncle kneeling in front of her and her auntie running her a bath, she felt contentment start to trickle into her aching heart.
“Are you ready to be a good girl for Auntie now?” Devoid of the energy to argue, Katie nodded. Keith kissed her forehead. “Good girl. Make sure you don’t forget what I said about following directions while I’m gone.”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered through her sniffles. She listened to the murmur of voices outside the bathroom door as the couple said their goodbyes before Keith left for work. Her chest tightened as she remembered the last sleepy kiss Mark had given her that final morning. More tears fell unchecked down her cheeks as she raised her fingers to her lips, trying to remember the feel of his mouth upon hers.
Rose came back in just as she was wiping her eyes. “It’s going to be okay, baby. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but it will be better one day. I promise. Come on, let’s get you in the tub.” Gently pulling the shirt over Katie’s head, Rose took her hand and helped her step into the hot water.
Katie sank into the steam and drew her knees to her chest letting the lavender scented liquid soothe her tense body. Laying her head on her arms, she was vaguely aware as Rose flitted around the bathroom putting things away and taking out a clean towel and washcloth. Her eyes felt heavy and tired, so she closed them for a few minutes as she soaked and listened to Auntie’s sweet voice hum a familiar song.
A basket filled with Katie’s bath toys was taken out from under the bathroom sink. For a split second, a sliver of excitement jumped in Katie’s belly as she thought of beating Auntie at tic-tac-toe with her bath crayons or drawing silly pictures all over the walls. The excitement quickly fizzled as past baths with Daddy came to the forefront of her mind. Tears again drained down her face, and she turned away when Rose knelt next to the tub.
Rose’s soft fingers glided through her hair. “I know you’re sad, honey, but Daddy would not want you to waste away in your bed. He wants you to be happy and healthy. That’s why he counted on us. He knows we will help you get through this and be that vibrant little girl again.”
Turning back to face Rose, she scowled. “I’m not a little girl.” Her arms involuntarily tightened around her knees.
Rose’s expression and sarcastic smile empathized her words. “No? Are you telling me that you’re not sitting on a tender bottom while Auntie gives you a bath? I could be mistaken, but that’s what it looks like to me. Tilt your head back so that I can wash your hair.”
Katie moaned and obeyed. Her tears blended with the warm water cascading over her head, thankfully allowing them to go unnoticed by Rose. As the shampoo was massaged into her hair, she was able to shut off the noise in her brain and relax. She needed this love and attention. She thrived on it, but there was a constant war going on inside her head. She could not live like this without Daddy. How could Katie even exist without a daddy to love her and take care of her? Eventually, she would have to go home to the big empty house, and no one would be there to play with her, to love her, or to be her best friend.
“After we’re finished, we’ll have some lunch and then go for a walk. A bit of fresh air will do wonders for us both.”
Katie didn’t argue and allowed Rose to lead her. She didn’t have the strength to fight anyway, nor did she want to risk another session over Uncle Keith’s knee. Washed, dried, and dressed in a My Little Pony shirt and soft purple yoga pants, Katie sat at the table as Rose combed and braided her hair. The aroma from the food on the stove made Katie’s tummy growl.
“Either you’re hungry, or you have an angry bear living in there,” Rose observed.
Katie shrugged with disinterest. “I might be a little hungry. Just nothing feels like it will stay down.”
“I understand. Let’s try anyway. It can’t hurt anything now, can it?” Rose mixed the milk, cheese, and butter into the drained pasta and pulled out Katie’s favorite plate set. It was orange with lime green patterns all around
“Thank you, Rose. I appreciate all that you’re doing. I’m sorry I’m making things so hard. I don’t mean to. It’s just so difficult.”
“You’re welcome, honey, and I do understand. But, what are you to call me?”
“Can we just not do this right now? Please?” Katie stumbled over her words as she stared at the table.
“Since when have we allowed you to decide when or if you are going to obey? It helps your brain be where it needs to be when you call me by the name you gave me. What was that and why?”
“Auntie, ‘cuz I love you, and you treated me like a cross between a mom and a big sister,” Katie muttered.
“Has that changed?”
“No.”
“Would you rather stand in the corner until you get rid of this stubbornness?”
Katie hated the corner almost as much as she hated being spanked. She sank in her chair. “I’m sorry, Auntie Rose.” Katie kicked herself for fighting her natural inclinations. Was it just her being stubborn? If so, why?
“Thank you. Now eat up. After you’re done, we’ll go out and get some sunshine.”
Katie ate slowly but was able to finish her entire plate.
“Good girl. Would you like some more?”
“No thank you. I’m finished.”
“Okay, take your plate to the sink, go potty, and put on your shoes.”
Katie did as she was told without even thinking. She looked at herself in the mirror as she washed her hands and shook her head. How had they moved her back to this place so quickly, especially when less than an hour ago, she had been convinced that she would never reach little space again? With a deep resolute sigh, she shut off the light and left the bathroom to get her shoes.
***
Rose subconsciously patted herself on the back as Katie left the table. She knew it was going to be difficult to encourage the grieving girl to reach full regression with her head so clouded with her loss, but she trusted Keith’s judgment. He firmly believed that bringing Katie to accept that unique part of her personality would reinforce that she was loved and adored and that she would know that her future held hope.
A major concern was Katie’s reaction to the news regarding the adoption papers. Of course, with Katie being an adult, it wasn’t a legal contract but more of a gesture to reinforce the girl’s permanent position as part of their family. The formal arrangement had been Mark’s last way to show his wife that she would be cared for even though he was no longer physically present. Rose held a sliver of hope that Katie would embrace the adoption and permanently move in with her and Keith.
“Do we really have to go outside? I’m tired,” Katie said as
she entered the room.
“Yes, we have to go. Fresh air will do us both good.”
“Fine, but can we please stop with the little stuff, Rose?”
At the sound of her name, the older woman frowned and pointed to the corner. “Go.”
“What? Why?” Katie’s stunned expression showed her confusion.
“We’ve already had this conversation. Five minutes in the corner. Now go.”
“But…”
“Six minutes.”
“Rose!”
“Ten minutes.”
With a very unladylike noise, Katie stomped to the corner where she crossed her arms and seethed with anger. Engulfed in total immersion of the dynamic allowed her vulnerability to surface and gave Rose the chance to prove that Mark’s death had not changed who Katie was or the commitment she and Keith offered her.
Approaching the fuming little corner dweller, Rose gently uncrossed Katie’s arms and guided them to their proper place behind her back. “This is how we stand in the corner. Next time I have to remind you, you will also stand with your naughty bare bottom on display.”
Katie wisely stayed silent.
***
Crazy! This was absolutely insane. Katie searched her memory and recalled the last time she was this pissed off. It had been when Mark had disciplined her for overspending only to discover that it was his purchase that caused the confusion. For the first time since his death, thinking of him didn’t make her cry. He had apologized and generously spoiled her in return. That was the week he had taken her to see the Lego Movie and loaded her with sweets and buttery popcorn. He hand-delivered a big bouquet of tulips directly to her office and made all the ladies swoon. Both sides of her personality had been thoroughly cared for after that mistake. She realized that she needed both sides of herself and could neither be just Katelyn nor Katie separately and that one side could not exist without the other. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Rose tell her she could leave the corner. A hand placed on her shoulder disrupted her thoughts.