NAOMI'S POV:

I haven't crossed Mr. Davis yet this morning; he wasn't at breakfast and I, unfortunately, was assigned to restocking the pantry in the kitchen so I was mostly isolated from everyone else. I was hoping we'd run into each other this morning so I could gauge his mood, which would determine the severity of my punishment.

Yesterday keeps replaying in my head; taunting me as if it were trying to engrave itself into my brain. I've read about characters in my books who've had breakdowns, giant moments of pressured emotions coming down on them all at once...but I never thought something like that would happen to me. I like to think of myself as a pretty well-put together person.

My dad is an alcoholic and my mom would starve herself from the stress she suffered. Neither of them made their vices abundantly noticeable in front of my brother or I, but they also did not do a great job at hiding it. I once saw my mom vomit from her insecurity of planning my grandma's birthday celebration. Both of them did a great job of assuring me that I was someone who had a bright future, someone who was going to make everyone proud, to be someone worthwhile....

But this bitter coldness I feel now is consuming me, and I fear that it will stick with me forever now.

"Naomi." Mr. Patry said somewhat loudly as he emerged from around the corner, leaning his shoulder against the door frame. "Are you finished in here?"

I nodded, "Yes sir." Putting the last box on the shelf, I turned to face him.

"Mr. Davis is asking for you, you better head up there." He motioned upstairs, giving me a lifeless look

"Right." I said quietly, more to myself than to him.

I scooted myself past him, trying not to look into his stern demeanor before I was about to be confronted with another. Everything in the Academy seemed dark today, as if it were under a lingering spell that haunted us all. Or maybe that was just my perspective of it now.

I can't stand to be here on my own. I can barely sleep at night because I try so hard to not forget what my parents' voices sound like. The same question prowling through my dreams: Is there nothing I can do to make it better?

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MR. DAVIS' POV:

I have to make sure my words mean so much more than they did before. I won't let Naomi leave my office until she is somewhat at ease. For months I've been asking myself if there was something I can do to start the healing...there has to be. She can't hear the truth, she's not ready for it yet and I am not ready to render that to her.

*Knock, knock*

"It's open." I tried to say clearly.

She opened the door, her attention shifting immediately to my desk where I normally sat, but this morning she found me instead by the punishing bench. Not surprisingly, she did not look as eager as I was to begin. She looked frail and compromised, her eyes were red from her crying and there was a light that disappeared from her persona.

"Good morning Naomi, did you sleep okay?" I asked sincerely.

She nodded, clutching the bottom of her blouse in her shaking hands, causing it to crinkle. "Yes sir."

"Let's begin, shall we?" I asked nonchalantly, watching as her discomfort turn into utter fear. "I don't think I should have to tell you that by forging my signature, you lied because you did not tell me the truth, and you lied to your teacher because he believes that I signed it."

I pulled out a guest chair and took a seat, maintaining eye contact with her as I rolled up my sleeves and spread my knees.

"M-Mr. Davis, please don't..." She began to cry, but I interrupted her plea immediately.

"No. Pull down your pants and your underwear and get over my knee." I said steadfast, motioning for her to come forward.

"W-what're you going to use?" She asked, folding her hands together against her chest.

A low sigh escaped my mouth, "Do as you're told Naomi."

She nodded, reaching down to her waistband, she undid the button and then the zipper on her pants. She pulled them down to her knees and then shuffled over to where I was before lowering her underwear to the same height.

I could see goosebumps forming on her arms and thighs as she looked down at me, a pleading in her eyes that matched her morose face. She leaned forward but pulled back in hesitation, only when I shot her a warning look did she fulfill her command.

I shifted some so her face was closer to the ground and her waist was elevated. It wasn't long before she winced and began apologizing, a common habit of hers before a punishment.

"Please don't do this..."

"Naomi, it's the beginning of a slippery slope of bad choices. By forging my signature, which you did because of your legitimate anxiety of being abandoned," I paused to pat her lightly on her back, "this fear that you have will eventually consume you. You'll start making decisions based solely on this fear, most of which will be harmful to you in some way."

She whimpered as she felt me twist and grab something from my desk. I made sure to grab it with my left side to prevent her from being able to discover what it was.

"You don't ever, ever forge my signature or keep something like that from me. If the administration felt it necessary for a guardian's signature, then it clearly is something that should be brought to my attention. Am I understood?"

She nodded. "Y-yes sir."

"If you don't stop to reassess your decisions and try to circumvent the consequences, I promise you it will be a lot worse for you. Not only will it impact your life, but you'll find yourself over my knee more often than you or I would prefer."

Covering her eyes with her palms, she sniffled and shifted, anxiously awaiting the first blow.

I sighed, raising my hand and shifting my balance in the mix, feeling her jolt and flinch, I patted her on the back. "Get up and take a seat on the couch."

"W-what?" She asked, peeking back at me.

"Take a seat." I motioned toward the couch.

High strung, barely functional, she made her way off my lap and dressed her self quickly, probably afraid I would change my mind. She then made her way to her normal designated spot and sat down on the edge, shoving her hands to the inside of her thighs as she tried to calm herself.

"I just want to reiterate from yesterday:" Waiting for her eyes to meet mine, I remained calm but somehow apprehensive as I knelt down in front of her. "I will never, never leave you, no matter how hard things get. I would not do that to you."

"I'm sorry...I don't know what's wrong with me." Her voice broke, she was trying to mask the shrillness of it but was unsuccessful.

Turning a chair beside her, I took a seat and rested my weight on my knees as I leaned forward.

"Naomi, everything that has happened has caused you to feel self-conscious which is giving you anxiety about your future."

She looked down, picking at her fingernails as she tried to ignore the unwanted attention she was getting.

"Nothing is wrong with you." I emphasized. "You are a wonderful child; you're extremely bright, compassionate and creative. I would bet my life that your parents did not leave you because there was 'something wrong with you'."

A tear fell from the corner of her eye, quickly sliding down her cheek and then falling onto her lightly colored blouse.

"I enjoy every minute I get to spend with you Naomi. I want to be someone you can trust, someone you can come to for anything."

Nodding, "Thank you."

"Listen carefully," I reached forward for her hand. "please do not ever be afraid to tell me that you need help. If you, by your own standards, fail or you're not doing as well as you expect yourself to, or as well as you want, you can always come to me. You can admit that to me."

"B-but what if you get mad? What if you expect more out of me? What if I fail...?" She stopped to gasp as she was frantically panicking.

"Naomi." I interrupted as she caught her breath. "It doesn't matter. I know it feels like it should but I am telling you that it doesn't. We're human Naomi."

Her lips pursed as her skin turned bright red.

"Everyone, everywhere, needs help at some point. You never need to feel embarrassed or ashamed for asking for it because you will never get any judgment from me."

Her breathing had finally settled and it was the small, sincere look she granted me that had me somewhat convinced that she believed me. That was all I could ask for right now.

"I love you Naomi."

She reached forward, wrapping her arms around my neck before whispering: "I love you too."