Julie's pov

"You know I can't let this go unanswered. Right, sweetheart?" Mike stated sternly, without breaking our embrace.

"I know, but why you gotta ruin everything?" I smiled coyly while hugging Mike even tighter.

"I can't have you thinking it's okay to run away from your problems, now can I?" Mike raised one eyebrow, indicating he was quite serious about this. "Seriously, what were you thinking, Julie?"

"I don't know. I guess I wasn't really thinking. I just needed to get away."

"What possessed you to go to Tristan, Julie? You know we broke up, right?"

"He's super sweet and I knew he wouldn't make me come back here right away." I decided to press my luck. "Why exactly did the two of you breakup, anyway?"

"That's none of your concern, Julie."

"Alright, I'm just sayin', I think Tristan still misses you and would like to get back together."

"It's not that simple."

"I don't think he's seeing anybody right now, if that's what you're worried about."

"Look, Julie, my relationship with Tristan is in the past and I don't want to hear another word about it." Mike's frustration was becoming evident.

"He's such a nice guy and you seemed so happy together. I just don't understand why you can't be that way again."

"Any dealings I had with Tristan in the past or have with him in the present or future are none of your business. This topic is not up for discussion. Period. Now do I make myself clear, Julie Elizabeth, or do I have to unbuckle my belt for you to get the message?"

"No sir, that won't be necessary."

"Good. Now, let's discuss your punishment." Mike gave me the disapproving dad glare before breaking the bad news. "I'll be keeping your phone for five weeks."

He held out his hand so I relinquished my phone. I would just get a burner phone anyways so I didn't really care.

"And don't even think about getting a burner phone, Julie..." he said, as if reading my mind. "...because if I catch you with one, you'll pray for death over the spanking you'll receive..."

Not gonna lie, I was low key scared of Mike's threat.

"...and if you think I'm kidding, you can ask Lisa."

Mike's words sent a chill down my spine as I flashed back to Lisa talking on her trap phone in our closet right before I took off. Shit, I'll have to check in with her later.

"Am I clear?"

"Uh huh," I responded without thinking, as I was still picturing what happened to Lisa.

Mike cleared his throat loudly as he glared daggers at me while standing with his arms crossed, waiting for a more appropriate response.

"I meant to say, yes sir." I quickly amended my reply seeing Mike's stern posture, knowing what kind of discipline he was capable of administering.

"And since now I know you're a proven flight risk, you'll be spending the next five days under my constant supervision and always within eyesight, aside from school and bathroom time of course. One day for every hour you were gone. Understand?"

"Ugghh!" I couldn't help voicing my displeasure with Mike's cruel and unusual punishment.

"I could ground you for five weeks instead, if you'd prefer, Julie." Apparently my opinion didn't go unnoticed by my guardian. "Or perhaps you'd prefer I spank you for five straight minutes as an alternative?"

"No sir, I'll stick with the first option." Maybe this won't be so bad, I thought. Stacey and Shane actually became a lot closer after she suffered the same fate with him.

"That's what I thought. Go get changed into your pajamas and bring your sleeping bag and toothbrush as you'll be sleeping here for the next five nights."

Early the next morning as soon as I exited his bathroom, Mike held out his cellphone in front of me, indicating I should take it.

"Shane's landed in London and he'd like to speak to you." Sensing my hesitation, Mike motioned again for me to take the phone, saying, "You can't avoid the Admiral forever, Julie. You're going to have to talk to him eventually about you running away."

I reluctantly took Mike's phone.

"Hello," I said quietly.

My heart just about broke hearing Shane gasp as he heard me speak.

"Oh, thank God you're okay, Julie. I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry, Shane," I choked out, as I immediately started to tear-up upon hearing the concern in his voice.

"I'm just glad you're okay, luv. We'll talk about it when I get home. I'm going to give you the biggest hug as soon as I lay eyes on you. I was so scared when we found out you were missing."

"I didn't mean to worry you, Shane. I didn't know about Grandfather or I never would've..." I let my voice trail off, unsure of how to finish my thought.

"Oh." I could practically feel through the phone the cloud of despair that enveloped Shane. "Listen, I'll be home in five days, sweetheart, and then I'll sit down with you and your sisters and we'll talk about Grandfather. Alright?"

"Ok, Shane," I said sadly, knowing the emotional turmoil he must be experiencing as he anticipates his father's passing.

"You and I are going to have a lengthy discussion as well in private about you running away," Shane said sternly.

"Yes sir." I recognized that tone and knew it demanded one and only one response.

"Don't be surprised if some of that conversation takes place over my knee, luv. Understand?"

"Yes sir." I swallowed hard knowing very well what I was facing.

"You had Mike and I worried sick, Julie. You put yourself in harm's way by taking off without letting anyone know your whereabouts and I cannot and will not let that go unaddressed. Am I clear, young lady?"

"Yes sir." Somehow I felt relieved Shane was going to punish me. I guess my guilty conscience needed that. I'm sorta glad Shane still cares enough to want to deal with me with all he's got going on right now with his dad.

"Alright, I have to run, luv. I'll see you in five days. Before I go, let me talk to Mike for a minute. Ok?" Shane paused. "I love you, Julie," he said with so much compassion, I couldn't hold my tears.

"I love you too, Shane. Please tell Grandfather I love him."

"I will, sweetheart, I promise. Now please behave yourself and be good for Mike while I'm gone."

Five days later

Julie's pov

"Boy are you a sight for sore eyes." Shane dropped his bag and held his arms out wide open, welcoming me with a hug. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me so tightly, I could hardly breathe.

After greeting my sisters and taking a few minutes to get cleaned up and have a bite to eat, Shane called me into his room so we could speak privately. Sitting me down on his bed, he began to lecture.

"You know better than to hide your feelings and run from your problems. We don't do that in this family. We face our feelings and tackle the tough situations head-on." Shane tilted my chin up so I had to meet his gaze. "Talk to me, sweetheart." He brushed my hair aside with his fingers and gently slid the back of his hand down the side of my face. "Tell me what went through your mind when you decided to take off."

"Didn't Mike already tell you everything?" I asked, somewhat annoyed that Shane was pretending like he didn't already have this intel.

"I'm not asking Mike. I'm asking you and I expect an answer."

"You know, I had cleaned our entire bathroom when you and Mike yelled at me for lying on my bed and listening to music." Somehow hearing my argument outloud made me realize it didn't carry quite the weight or importance I had previously assigned to it.

"I'm sorry, luv. We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and we should've let you speak your piece but I don't think that's the reason you ran away. Now is it?"

"No, it's just one example of how unfair you and Mike are. You spanking me twice just for reading a text from Mike is another example," I said quite haughtily.

"I thought we discussed that already, Julie. You weren't spanked for reading a text from Mike. You were spanked for disobeying me and you know that. Don't you?" Shane wasn't having it.

"Well, you have to admit the two of you always go harder on me than Stacey, Lisa, or Carrie. Well Mike more so than you but still," I replied indignantly.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Julie, I really am. However, you aren't privy to all the punishments your sisters face and I know they don't always share those details, so don't be so sure you have it worse than everyone else. Besides, if that's how you felt, you should have come to us or Dr. Evans or Dr. Curtis instead of running away. Am I correct?"

"You wouldn't have listened, you never do," I whined, and pouted like a three-year-old.

Kneeling down to my level, Shane held my hands in his.

"I promise to be better at listening first and reacting second, Julie, if you promise to be open about your feelings and never to run away ever again. Do we have a deal?"

I sighed, not really believing anything would change and knowing there was really nothing I could do about it.

"Yeah, I guess," I answered halfheartedly.

"I love you, Julie, and that's why I need to make sure you never do something so irresponsible and dangerous ever again."

My heart skipped a beat and then began pulsing rapidly as I watched Shane let go of my hands and reach for his belt buckle. He stood slowly and slid his belt through his pant loops without ever taking his eyes off me.

"You're going to receive one stroke of my belt for every hour I worried about where you were and if you were safe." Shane looked at me sadly. I knew I put him through Hell and I deserved every bit of what I had coming to me but that didn't mean I had to like it. "Fourteen strokes by my calculation, then we're going to continue the discussion with a lengthy spanking over my knee. I think that's quite fair, Julie. Don't you?"

When I didn't respond, Shane continued, "Lower your pants and underwear and bend over my bed."

"Fine, you're gonna do whatever you want anyway," I scoffed, looking down as I unbuttoned my jeans. I pulled them down along with my underwear, baring myself and lying over his bed. From experience, I knew the belting would be the more bearable of the two punishments as Shane's hand inexplicably delivered a much more painful spanking than any strip of leather I'd ever encountered. I learned over time to dread his spankings by hand over any other implement, including his Admiral's belt. Even though that heavy piece of leather packed quite the punch, it was nothing compared to Shane's hand across your bare bottom, especially when he was pissed.

Shane raked his fingers through his hair before shaking his head and rolling his eyes in disbelief.

"You know, Julie, you're really not in a position to be disrespectful right now. Are you?" Shane tapped his folded belt against my backside. Slapping my left buttcheek harshly with his hand, he sternly ordered, "Answer me properly from now on, Julie. I think that's the least you could do, considering I spent eight and a half hours on a plane worrying myself sick about you."

Ouch. Shane's harsh words certainly hurt worse than his slap. I didn't appreciate the guilt trip but I guess I earned it.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry."

Shane didn't waste any time laying down the fourteen strokes on my bare behind. I clutched his sheets tightly, twisting them in my hands as he hit precisely the same spot just below my waistline repeatedly, without any delay inbetween strokes.

"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts," I cried out, as I turned on my side to shield my bottom from further assault.

"It doesn't hurt half as much as not knowing where your teenage daughter is and whether she's okay or if she's ever coming home," Shane stated coldly, as he continued to belt my extremely sorry behind.

"I told Stacey I was safe," I mumbled into his bedding, as my tears soaked his sheets.

"We didn't know where you were, Julie, or if that was even true. For all Mike and I knew, someone could've forced you to send that text or taken your phone and sent it themselves." Shane was shouting now as my remark clearly only served the purpose of angering him more. "So don't tell me I knew you were safe, Julie, because I knew nothing of the sort." Shane punctuated his words with the last three strokes of his belt by striping angry red welts across my upper thighs.

He put his belt back on and sat down on his desk chair.

"Over my knee, Julie," he said, patting his lap.

"Please don't spank me, Shane," I pleaded, as tears ran down my cheeks. "Please, Shane, I promise I won't run away ever again. I promise, please."

My pleas fell on deaf ears as Shane was determined to teach me a painful lesson on the perils of running from your problems.

"Now, Julie!" Shane spoke sternly, exerting his dominance. I knew there was no point in arguing or resisting any further as it would only prolong the inevitable. I slowly shuffled over to where Shane sat, my pants and underwear still bunched up around my ankles.

Shane guided me over his lap and rubbed my already slightly reddened bottom as he spoke.

"Tell me why you're receiving this spanking, luv." He continued to pat and rub my bottom as I tried to find my voice amidst my sniffling and erratic breathing.

"Be because I I r ran a away," I stuttered, my breathing quickening as I started to panic anticipating this painful spanking.

"Calm down, luv, and slow your breathing." Shane tried to soothe me as he rubbed my upper thighs but I continued to hyperventilate. "Julie, listen to me." Shane patted my bum until he had my attention. "Tell me what you're afraid of, sweetheart."

Trying to catch my breath, I gasped and gulped in big pockets of air.

"You're g g gonna hur hurt m me." I struggled to push myself off Shane's lap as I desperately tried to take a deep breath, feeIing as though I was suffocating.

"Julie luv, I'm not going to hurt you." Shane ran his hand gently down the length of my back, all the way down to my knees and back up again, slowly increasing the pressure of his touch as he repeated the soothing motion. "I'm going to spank you as a reminder not to do something foolish like running away ever again but I'm not doing it to hurt you. I'm doing it because I care about you more than you'll ever know and I want you to make better choices in the future. Can you understand that, luv?"

"No, you're going to hurt me." I was full on sobbing at this point, completely freaked out by my lack of control over my own body and emotions. I pushed frantically on Shane's thighs, desperately trying to escape and get some air.

Recognizing this as more than just anxiety over a punishment, Shane made a mental note to discuss this with Dr. Evans. He reached down and pulled my jeans completely off before slowly sliding my underwear back up over my bottom. He sat me up on his lap and swayed me gently as I clung to him for dear life. My arms were clasped tightly around his neck as I gasped and cried into his chest.

"You're okay, Julie, you're safe," he repeated calmly and slowly, as he patted my bottom.

Shane continued to soothe me until my panic subsided.

"Don't hurt me, Shane. Please don't hurt me," I repeated softly into his chest, as my sobbing reduced to sporadic sniffling.

"I won't hurt you, luv, I promise." Shane stroked my hair lovingly as tears suddenly escaped from where they welled in his eyes.

He couldn't help but feel Julie's crippling anxiety was his fault. Having served in the military, he recognized some of the symptoms of PTSD that Julie displayed, most likely as a result of the time he lost control and belted her severely at the park. The thought that he was the cause of her distress was more than he could bear.

"God, please help my baby girl and please forgive me," he prayed.