Subject: STORY: A Mark of Courage Pt. 1 (ALEX SERIES) no spanking
From: "Jessie Walker" <sapphire77@hotmail.com>
Date: 3 May 1999 21:25:56 -0700
This story started out to include the spanking of a minor, but took a different turn. If you are only reading for the spanking aspect of it, read no further, this story does not have any spanking in it. Appropriate to the group or not, I have decided to post it. This is a story of fiction. All rights reserved. Comments and feedback are always welcome. Thanks-Jessie
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The day promised nothing but bliss. The two women lounged naked in bed, enjoying each other only as two lover's can.
Anne was propped up on one elbow, her long auburn hair tumbling over her bare shoulders, smiling at Vic. She reached out and lazily traced a finger around Vic's nipple. Their lovemaking the night before had been urgent and passionate. Anne was now ready for something far more luxurious and sensual.
She leaned down and kissed the now hard nipple working her way up Vic's long and elegant neck and finally finding her partner's open mouth. Their tongues intertwined time and time again.
"God, I love you," Vic breathed.
"Then show me how much," Anne said with a twinkle in her eye, trailing her finger lower and lower down Vic's body, making her lover shiver with pleasure.
"We have all day," Anne said slipping her hands between Vic's legs. "Alex isn't due back from Jane's for 5 hours yet."
"Hey," Vic said in a husky voice, "I thought I was supposed to be the one showing you how much I love you."
"First, let me show you," Anne said smiling.
The phone rang jarring both women out of their passion. Anne stopped her crusade on Vic's body and stared at the phone.
"I suppose we should answer it," Vic said sighing. "It could be Alex." Anne nodded, tears filling her eyes.
"Hey Babe, it could be absolutely nothing," Vic said cupping Anne's face and kissing her on the forehead. She reached for the phone and watched as Anne got up from the bed and stood looking out the window.
"Yes, uh-huh. <Big Sigh> Okay, I see. I am sorry. We will be right over." Vic hung up the phone and walked over to the window. She leaned into Anne and wrapped her arms around the other woman tightly. Anne leaned back and put her head against the strong shoulders. Vic kissed the side of Anne's head tenderly and the two stood there rocking, no words spoken.
Anne broke the silence first. "Don't tell me…that was Jane's mom telling us we need to pick up Alex."
"Ding Ding Ding, and you lovely lady, win the grand prize for guessing right on the first try," Vic said trying to smile and heading over to her dresser.
Anne laughed bitterly. "You know, this parenthood thing sucks a big one sometimes."
Vic walked back over to Anne half dressed. She turned her lover around and looked into Anne's blue eyes. "Yes, sometimes it does. But there are a lot of good things about it too and we need to hold on to that right now when things are rough."
Anne nodded and took a deep breath. "I just feel like we don't have any time for us anymore."
"I know. Sometimes we don't. And I am hoping that once Alex is better adjusted we will have more time. But for now it is going to be tough and we are going to have to muddle through the best we can," Vic said sliding into a pair of jeans and tucking in a flannel shirt. "That was Jane's mom saying that the girls got into a fight and Alex bit Jane pretty hard. Hard enough to cause a good amount of bleeding so she is going to take Jane to the hospital. I told her we would meet her there."
"Oh, for God's sake," Anne said. "What is wrong with her lately? I am at my wit's end with that child."
"Anne, we knew that Alex had problems when we decided to take her in. She is having a rough time now."
"Well, she isn't the only one." Anne said glaring at Vic.
"Suit yourself. Stay here and pout like a child," Vic said heatedly. "I am going to pick her up. Sounds to me like she is upset. And the same could be said for you too, you know. I don't know what has gotten into you lately either. You would think that you were jealous or something."
Anne walked past Vic into the bathroom slamming the door.
Vic shook her head sadly and went downstairs and out the door.
Alex sat subdued on the ride home. Vic had met Jane's mom at the hospital. She had apologized profusely for Alex's behavior and told the other woman to have the bill sent to them. It had looked like Jane was going to need 10 stitches to close the wound. Alex hadn't said a word.
Vic headed for home aware of the growing silence. She kept glancing at the little girl sitting across from her. Alex seemed to be almost in a trance.
"Suppose you tell me what happened," Vic said finally.
Silence.
"Alex, I am talking to you. I would like response please."
"I HATE Jane…that is all! She is stupid and I don't care," Alex said vehemently crossing her little arms over her chest and sticking out her chin in defiance.
"Well, it is okay to not like someone and it is certainly okay to be angry with them, but it is not okay to bite them. You really hurt her Alex. She is going to need stitches because of what you did," Vic said a little exasperated.
"Wasn't nearly hard enough." Alex mumbled, a permanent scowl etched across the fair face.
"That is enough of that Young Lady. Do I make myself clear? From what I am hearing you are not at all sorry for hurting Jane. She is supposed to be your best friend. Now what happened." Vic said sternly.
Alex's scowl deepened and she said in a huffy voice, "She wouldn't let me play with her legos."
Vic's red flags were slowly rising. "Are you telling me that you bit her because she wouldn't let you play with her legos?"
Alex nodded and mumbled something.
"What was that?" Vic said leaning in closer.
"She was saying stuff. Stuff about my mom." Alex said.
"What kind of stuff Sweetie?" Vic said getting a clearer picture and being oddly relieved.
"Doesn't matter. I don't care. I hate her anyway," Alex said, her lower lip in a perfect pout.
"I would really like to hear what she was saying sweetheart. But if it is too painful for you, I understand. You don't have to tell me. I can tell that you are still mad. And it is okay to be mad, but it isn't okay to bite people." Vic said looking at the granite face.
"I don't care," Alex said glaring, "I don't care what you do to me. You can spank me all day long and I still won't apologize for biting her!"
Vic sighed a big sigh, wishing that Anne were here with her now. And sighed again thinking about her sulky partner at home.
They pulled into the driveway. Alex bolted out of the car and into the house slamming the door. Vic walked into the house and saw no sign of Anne. She heard Alex slam the door to her bedroom upstairs.
She walked into the kitchen and put on some water for tea. She stood looking out the kitchen window. The teapot whistled and Vic poured some boiling water in the cup, watching as the clear water became muddied. She sipped the amber fluid and sighed knowing what she must go do.
She walked up the stairs, into the bathroom, out again, and knocked on Alex's door. No answer. She opened it and saw Alex at her window. The little girl stood looking out. The leaves shivered in the wind. Vic sat on Alex's bed.
"Alex, it is time for your spanking," she said softly. The little body didn't move, although Vic thought she saw a slight tensing. "Alex," Vic spoke again, "I don't know what happened today over at Jane's, and I may never know the whole story, but I do know that it is NOT okay for you to go around biting people. And that is why I am going to spank you today. Do you understand that?"
No response. Vic quietly got up and went over to where the child was standing. She crouched down on her knees and looked at the side of Alex's face. The child had a blank expression on her face, staring at nothing.
"Alex? Alex?" Vic said trying to bring life back to the little face she loved so much. "Sweetie, it is Vic. I can see that you are off in a faraway place. But I want you to know that I am right here. Right beside you okay. Can you feel my hand?" Vic squeezed the tiny hand in her bigger one. Still nothing.
She knew that Alex got like this at times. She sat down in the rocker and rocked back and forth waiting for Alex to come back from the place that she visited sometimes. The door swung open and Anne walked in. Vic put a finger to her lips. Anne nodded, knowing right away what was going on. She looked at Vic and motioned with her head towards the door. Vic nodded.
Anne walked over to Alex and stroked the little girl's cheek. "Hey punkin, I need to talk to Vic for a little while okay? We are going to go into our bedroom for a few minutes and we will be right back. Okay sweetie? Try and come back." Anne said kissing the little blonde head.
The two women left the room and walked to their own room across the hallway. Anne spoke first. "I am sorry I acted like such an asshole. I let you down today and I am really sorry." Tears flooded her eyes.
Vic embraced her lover and held her close. "Yes, you were an ass, but I love you anyway. You are forgiven. I am just glad to have you here now with me." She filled Anne in on what was happening.
"That doesn't sound like Alex at all," Anne said perplexed after hearing the story. "Alex gets angry and has tantrums sometimes, but hardly ever takes it out on others.
"I know," Vic said agreeing. "I just don't know what is going on with her. She hasn't had one of these episodes in a long time. Maybe mentioning a spanking was too much for her," Vic said, her voice cracking.
"Hey you," Anne said gently, grabbing Vic's hand. "Alex knows the rules. What she did today was awful and she may have a good reason for it or she may not, but it doesn't change the fact that she hurt Jane and that she needs to know that is not okay. A spanking will help remind her. I don't think that is out of line at all."
Vic nodded, comforted for the moment. "We should probably get back and check on her. It has been more than a few minutes. More like a half hour."
Anne stood up and helped Vic out of the chair. "I am going to put on some hot chocolate and I will bring it up when it is done. Maybe that will help," she said walking down the hall.
"Good idea," Vic said smoothing back her short brown hair and stretching. "I have a feeling we might be in for a long haul."
Vic walked into Alex's bedroom and noticed right away that the child was not by the window. In fact, she wasn't in her room at all. Vic walked to the bathroom to see if she was in there. No Alex. She went downstairs sure that Alex must be somewhere in the large house, and hoping that she was with Anne. She walked into the kitchen and asked if Anne if she had seen Alex.
"No," said Anne with a frown. She and Vic went around the house calling Alex's name and looking the house over from top to bottom. Panic finally set in when Anne said, "You know, when I came downstairs to make the hot chocolate the front door was wide open. I figured that the wind blew it open. But maybe Alex went outside."
Both women ran outside. They searched the neighborhood all over and talked to one neighbor who said that she had seen Alex riding her bike. "She had a backpack on and seemed to be in a hurry," the man said to the women. "I waved and said Hi, but she seemed to have other things on her mind."
Anne and Vic wasted no time jumping in the car and driving up and down the streets. After an hour of active searching they went back to the house hoping that maybe there would be a phone call waiting. But when they arrived home there was no message.
"Should we call the police?" Vic asked dejectedly.
"You know, call me crazy, but I think I might know where she is," Anne said running a hand through her auburn hair. "I am going to go check and you stay here in case she shows up." Vic nodded.
Anne jumped in the car and drove off headed for the past.
The old house showed its age. The shutters were hanging on with their last bit of courage. The paint was peeling, leaving a diseased look for all to gawk at. Anne walked up what was once the pathway, but now was nothing but weeds. She wrapped her jacket around herself tighter and made her way up to the front door, which was wide open.
She stepped cautiously in. This is where Alex had spent the first 6 years of her life. Anne tried to imagine a little girl growing up here. It might have been a nice home if Anne hadn't known the secrets that went on behind these walls. She shivered and tears came to her eyes as she walked from room to room, thinking of the atrocities that happened to a little girl she loved very much.
Finally, she came to the staircase that would take her up and up, hopefully to Alex. She quietly made her way up the long staircase. With only an instinct, she made her way to the bedroom at the back of the hallway. The door was slightly open. She pushed it gently. It creaked its welcome.
Anne's throat caught in her chest as she gazed upon the little blonde girl sitting in the middle of the room, tears streaming down her face. In her little seven-year-old fist, she held a purple crayon.
Anne couldn't hold back her tears. They slid silently down her cheeks as she walked over to Alex. Alex said nothing, but took Anne's hand with her other free hand. She led Anne over to the far wall and pointed to a small purple X on the wall.
"Sometimes my mom left me for days and days and I would be scared and cold and hungry. But mostly I would be scared, and I would come up here and stay in my bed and I would touch this X that I made on my wall, and I would know that I was alive. And sometimes when my mom's boyfriend would come up here when my mom was away, and he was doing stuff to me, I would stare at that mark and know that nothing could hurt me. As long as that purple mark was there I knew that I was alive and not dead like I sometimes thought. Pretty silly huh?" Alex said smiling crookedly.
Anne brushed the tears from her cheeks and tried to find her voice. It came as a whisper. "No, not silly, but very very brave. I am so glad that you had that purple X." Anne wanted nothing more than to pick Alex up and hold her tightly, taking away every single pain and trauma this child had suffered, and run far from this place. Yet, she knew that what was happening right this minute needed to happen, no matter how hard or difficult.
"I'm sorry I came here without telling you. But I needed to get my crayon. I hid it before I left and I just need it." Alex said, her voice cracking.
Anne nodded. She watched as Alex turned her little back on her and fingered the mark that had kept her alive. She watched as the little girl's shoulders started to shake and heard the great wracking sobs.
"Alex," she said very quietly. "I am right here baby. All you have to do is turn your head and know that you are not alone anymore."
Ever so slowly, Alex turned her little body. Anne crouched down and opened her arms. The little girl ran into Anne's arms. Anne fiercely wrapped Alex into a bear hug and together they sat in a room filled with pain and rocked back and forth as Alex said a final farewell to the spot of her very survival.
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