Becca pushed her chair back and got up. She ran toward Sarah and gave her the tightest hug ever.
"I can't believe you're here! I thought I would never see you again," Sarah said.
"I got adopted, S," Becca broke the news.
"Shut up!!" Sarah squealed.
Damian cleared his throat, breaking the little reunion. He already stood beside Becca.
"Mind to introduce me to your friend, Becca?" Damian asked.
"Oh, yeah. Umm… Sarah, this is my Dad, Damian. Dad, this is Sarah," Becca introduced them.
"Hi," Sarah said to Damian and smiled.
"Dad, Sarah is like a sister to me. We were in the orphanage together since we were five. She got adopted about a year ago," Becca informed her dad.
"It's good to meet you, Sarah," Damian said and shook her hand.
"You two look alike, except for your hair," Damian observed.
"When we were little kids, everybody told us we were like twins," Becca said and both of them giggled remembering the time.
"I miss you so much B," Sarah said, never took her smile off her face.
"You have no idea," Becca said, shook her head slightly.
"Wait… Are we gonna go to the same school?" Sarah asked excitedly.
"If you mean Crescent Falls High, then yes," Becca answered, nodded her head.
"Rebecca, it's time to go home," Damian informed.
"Okay, Dad."
"See you later S," she said and gave her another hug.
"Your Dad is handsome," Sarah whispered in Becca's ear.
"I know," Becca whispered back.
Damian heard them, of course, and tried to hide his smirk. Becca pulled the hug and looked up at her dad.
"It's nice to meet you, err... Becca's dad," Sarah said awkwardly.
Damian chuckled. "You can call me Damian, Sarah," he told her and she nodded her head.
"Have a nice day," Damian said before turning to his daughter.
"Ready to go home, sweetie?" he asked.
"Yeah," Becca answered.
Becca looked over her shoulder to wave at Sarah as she and Damian walked toward the door.
------
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at home and Becca walked up to her room. She pushed the door open, but she was astonished when she saw a brand new smartphone with a purple case sat on the desk, along with a brand new laptop next to it. She approached her desk and traced her fingers over the laptop.
"Do you like it?" Becca turned to find Emily standing a few feet away from her and Damian leaning on the doorway.
"Are these for me?" Becca asked.
"Yes, of course. If those weren't for you, why would we place it in your room?" Emily chuckled.
"Thank you," Becca said.
"Use them wisely, Becca. We trust you," Damian told her whilst walking toward his wife.
Becca nodded "I will."
"Why don't you check your closet sweetie," Emily said, flashing her a secretive smile.
Becca gave her a confused look, but she walked across the room to her walk-in closet. She wrapped her hand around the knob and pushed open the door to reveal a big square room was already filled with new clothes, dozens of new pair of shoes, and lots of jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets all organized in the shelves. Beautiful dresses were hanging on the wooden hangers. She reached out and touched the soft fabrics.
Becca whirled around and looked at both Damian and Emily. "You bought all of these for me?" Becca asked incredulously.
"We hope you like it," Emily said, smiling at her. She leaned her head on Damian's shoulder and he put his arm around her.
"I do," Becca said, grinning widely.
"All of these," Becca said motioning to the new things in the closet, "are amazing. Thank you."
Both Damian and Emily smiled. They could see happiness in Becca's eyes and that made them happy too.
"Come on, give us a hug," Damian said, spreading his arms. Becca walked closer and pulled into a three-way hug. Becca couldn't hide her smile, she was finally felt what it's like to have a family and finally to have a home.
------
Becca walked downstairs the next morning. She had a rough night. Barks that came from a stray dog somewhere in the area kept her awake all night long. She plopped down on a chair in the dining room with a scowl on her face.
"Morning, sweetie," Emily greeted and pecked a kiss on her forehead. Becca answered her with a groan.
"Someone's in a cranky mood," Emily commented and Becca rolled her eyes.
"Rebecca," Damian said warningly.
"A dog kept barking all night long and kept me awake," Becca complained.
"I'm sorry to hear that, sweetie, but that doesn't give you the right to be disrespectful," Damian said, pinning her with a look.
"Here. Eat your breakfast," Emily said and set a plate of bacon and sunny side up in front of her.
She pushed the plate away and crossed her arms. "I don't want to eat," she said.
"Come on, sweetie. You're going to be sick if you don't eat," Emily tried to persuade her.
"I said I don't want to eat!" Becca said through her gritted teeth.
"Watch it, Rebecca," Damian warned sternly.
"Whatever," Becca said in response and rolled her eyes.
"Last warning, Rebecca. You know what will happen if you push it too far," Damian told her and gave her a look.
"I don't give a shit, Dad," Becca retorted sassily.
Damian didn't say anything. He just stood up from his seat and walked around the table and approached her. He grabbed her ear and dragged her upstairs to her room.
"Ow Dad! It hurts," she yelped and tried to free her ear from Damian's grip. He didn't even budge. Instead, his grip on her ear tightened and he landed few hard swats on her bum, giving her a heads up of what she would get as soon as they got into her room.
Damian pushed the door to Becca's room open and stepped in. He let go of Becca's ear and she immediately rubbed the pain away.
"Rebecca, what did I tell you about being disrespectful?" Damian asked her. He swatted her thigh when she didn't answer.
"Ow," Becca pouted.
"You said being disrespectful is unacceptable," she mumbled, avoiding any eye contact with Damian.
"Exactly and I thought I made it clear to you before, but clearly the light spanking I gave you just two days ago did nothing to change your behavior," Damian stated.
Becca scoffed. "Why do you even care? This is me and I'm not planning to change. Deal with it," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, I will," Damian answered, glaring at her.
"You know what, Dad? I hate your fucking rules! They are all bullshit!"
"Where does this attitude come from?" The glare never wavered. "You must really want a spanking, Rebecca, because you really pushed my button," Damian said calmly. With that, he took a seat on the edge of Becca's bed and patted his lap. "Come here," he said sternly.
Becca just stood there with her arms over her chest, didn't move an inch. She glared at Damian.
"Want to make it worse for yourself? Fine by me," Damian said and got up. He grabbed her upper arm and brought her to her bed. He sat down again and helped her bend over his knees.
He raised his hand and brought it down hard to Becca's backside which was covered by her pajama pants. "Ow!!" she hollered.
"I can't believe I have to deal with your disrespect, again. I told you being disrespectful is unacceptable and I won't tolerate it," Damian lectured, emphasizing every word with a hefty swat on Becca's backside. He landed hard solid smacks until Becca begged him to stop.
"Please stop, Dad. I'm sorry," Becca pleaded.
"You will be even more sorry when I'm done and I'm nowhere nearly done with you," Damian said calmly and with that, he yanked down her pajama pants along with her underwear.
"This is inappropriate!" Becca yelled at Damian, which earned her a hard solid smack on her bare thigh.
"Ow! Holy crap! That hurts dad!" she said, trying to rub the spot on her thigh that just got smacked.
Damian sighed. "Looks like I need to deal with your potty mouth too," he said without even giving her a break from his swats.
Becca reached back, trying to cover her bare backside. Her face went red from embarrassment. It couldn't be more embarrassing for Becca than to have her bottom exposed to get a bare bottom spanking like a little brat.
"Move your hands, Rebecca. I'm not going to tell you twice," he said in his low stern voice.
Becca shook her head no as tears ran down her face. Damian took a deep breath and held her hand on her lower back. He continued landing hard smacks, didn't give Becca's bum a rest even for one second. Becca kicked her feet furiously and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Stop, Dad. Please… I'm sorry," Becca pleaded in between her sobs.
"Do I make my point across, Rebecca?" Damian asked, finally giving her a rest.
"Yes, Dad," Becca answered while trying to control her sobs.
"So, I assume I don't have to deal with your disrespect again. Am I right?"
"Yes, Daddy, I'm sorry," Becca said. Damian made her realized she had crossed the line and she was a very sorry girl by then.
Hearing the sincerity in her voice, Damian landed his final hard swat and put Becca back on her feet. She pulled her pants back up, wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, and dropped her gaze down.
"Listen to me," Damian said, put his forefinger under her chin to make Becca looked at him, "I'm sorry I had to do that, Rebecca, but I did it because I love you. Being disrespectful is really rude, especially to the ones older than you. In the future, when you get a job and you're being disrespectful to your bosses, I won't be there to spank you, to correct you. They will just fire you from the job and you won't get the second chance. Being respectful is important, sweetie. When you grow up, you'll understand." Damian's voice softened.
Becca nodded her head. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she said sincerely.
"And you're forgiven, sweetie. Come here," he said, spreading his arms to pull Becca into a hug. For a minute or two, they stayed like that while Damian cooed sweet things to her ear and rubbed her back.
"I love you sweetie, but we need to sort out another thing," Damian announced when Becca's sobs died down.
Becca gazed at Damian with pleading eyes. She knew what Damian meant. "No. Please, Dad. I learned my lesson," Becca pleaded, almost whining.
"Sorry, Becca. You brought this upon yourself," he said, stood up, and took Becca's hand, led her to her bathroom.
He took a new bar of soap from the cabinet, turned the faucet on, and ran it under the water. Becca shot him a pleaded look when he put the soap in front of her mouth.
"Open your mouth, Rebecca," Damian ordered.
Slowly, Becca opened her mouth and Damian shoved the bar of soap into her mouth. She immediately scrunched her face.
"Keep it in for four minutes," Damian instructed and leaned against the sink.
Becca tried so hard not to gag. She stood there, obviously very uncomfortable. After the long four minutes of torture, Damian took out the soap from her mouth and let her rinse.
"Watch your language, Rebecca. I don't want to do that again," Damian said and held her hands in his. That's when he saw scars and cuts all over her arm.
"What are those?" Damian asked, to his horror. Becca quickly pulled her hands away from Damian and hid it behind her back. She gulped.
"I-i-it's nothing," Becca stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. She avoided eye contact with Damian and dropped her gaze to the ground.
"Rebecca…," Damian said and leaned over so he was on eye level with her, "Look at me." Becca slowly lifted her gaze. When her eyes met Damian's, Becca could see worry and disappointment in his eyes and she hated it. Before she knew it, her body went limp and everything went black.