Julie's pov

As soon as I saw Mike and Shane walk out of the auto repair shop, I knew that Lisa was in for a world of hurt. What a dumbass. I told her she would never get away with that story about how Mike's car got damaged. Oh well, not to be a bad sister or anything, but better her than me. I'm already on thin enough ice with Mike as it is and I really don't want to fall through.

I couldn't hear what they were saying but by the look of things, Shane was trying unsuccessfully to calm Mike down. He grabbed Mike's arm, holding him back and Mike turned around ripping his arm from Shane's grasp with a look of fury on his face so intense, I think I peed my pants a little and I'm not even the one in the most trouble right now.

After some wild gesturing and heated yelling on Mike's part, my two guardians finally got in the car. Shane slid in behind the wheel without saying a word.

Mike however, entered enveloped in a fog of hostility and turned to me barking his accusation, "You knew the truth about this, didn't you?"

I quickly and adamantly shook my head, indicating I in fact did not know as I sunk further into the backseat, hoping it would engulf me as it transported me to Narnia.

"Are you lying to me, Julie?" Mike was so pissed, I seriously didn't know what to do. I was terrified of lying to him again but I was even more scared to tell the truth. I looked wide eyed at the back of Shane's head, hoping somehow my Jedi mind trick would force him to turn around and get me out of this extremely uncomfortable position I currently found myself in as I sweated profusely.

Instead, without turning around, Shane looked at me in the rearview mirror and commanded, "Answer him now, Julie!"

I swallowed audibly, trying to garner enough saliva and nerve to respond. Apparently, my kinetic powers of persuasion needed some work.

"Truth about what? I don't even know what you're talkin' about." I went with the old fallback response, denial.

"My car, Julie. Do you know how my car was damaged?" Mike was clearly frustrated.

"No," I lied.

Mike continued to glare at me.

"Are you sure?" he asked, unconvinced.

"I don't know exactly. I mean, I wasn't there," I replied evasively.

"Stop fencing with me and stop lying, Julie. Did you know where Lisa was going that night?" Mike glared at me, daring me to lie again.

"Yes, I knew where she was going." I looked away as I answered to avoid seeing the anger plastered on Mike's face.

Mike rubbed the back of his neck trying to alleviate some of the tension building in his muscles.

"Do you know how my car was damaged?" Judging by his tone, Mike had run out of patience.

I looked out the window, hoping to see my knight in shining armor riding by atop a white horse on his way to rescue me but instead, all I saw was a pile of tires and a sign promoting a special on new brake pads. I sighed, resigned to my reality.

"Yes, I know how your car was damaged," I mumbled softly, head down.

I jumped about a foot in the air when Mike slammed his hands on the dashboard of Shane's car so forcefully I swear the entire car shook. Shane gave Mike a look and he held up his hands in an apologetic gesture.

"When we get back to the Center, while Shane wakes up your sister, you will accompany me to my room without argument or complaint. Am I clear?"

I nodded, keeping my head down to avoid meeting the ice cold look in Mike's eyes.

"You'd be wise to answer Mike properly now, Julie, as I don't think he's currently in a terribly accommodating mood." Shane glanced at me in the rearview mirror again before starting his car to begin our journey back to the NJC.

I swallowed again to combat my dry mouth.

"Yes sir," I said, looking Mike in the eyes, instantly regretting it as his animosity shattered the force field protecting what tiny bit of dignity and bravery I had in me.

The ride back couldn't possibly have been any quicker, even if we had teleported. I all too soon found myself face to face with Mike in his room.

Lifting my chin to lock my gaze, he said in an eerily calm, yet chilling tone, "Go into my closet and bring me my new belt."

Despite my best intentions to remain stoic, tears welled in my eyes as I turned my head away from him.

Stepping out of reach, heading towards his closet, I mumbled loud enough for him to hear, "It's not fair, ya know."

I could practically hear the vertebrae in Mike's neck snap as he whipped his head up.

"Excuse me! What did you just say to me, young lady?"

My hands tightly clenched by my sides, tears now flowing freely, I whirled around and shouted what may very well have been my dying words, "IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR!"

Mike quickly closed the gap between us, grabbing me by the arm with one hand and gripping my face tightly.

Squeezing my cheeks, he growled, "Pray tell, Julie. How am I not being fair by punishing you for lying to me? More than once I might add, keeping in mind of course, a lie of omission is still a lie. And now we can add cursing onto your list of recent transgressions."

"I DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING! THIS IS BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT." My anger was definitely overriding my mouth's filter. "WHAT DID YOU WANT ME TO DO, FOR CHRISSAKE? RAT OUT MY OWN SISTER?" I snarled, as Mike still had yet to release his pressuring hold on my cheeks.

Letting go of me, Mike barked, "YES! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE because I have no doubt you knew what she was up to long before she left. I don't know yet where she went last night and I'm not even going to ask you because I'll be extracting that information straight from Lisa's lying mouth. I do, however, have a very strong inkling that wherever she was, whomever she was with, and whatever she was doing, put her in an unsafe and potentially dangerous situation and if you could have prevented that, you should have come to me IMMEDIATELY. You know DAMN WELL when it comes down to your safety, I do not compromise."

Mike turned his back to me, rubbed his forehead out of frustration and exhaled loudly before facing me again with his hands on his hips.

Shit, I truly underestimated just how pissed he was. I don't think I've ever heard him curse in front of any of us before.

"You didn't have to lie to me in the car either, Julie, and you certainly know better than to use that kind of tone and language when speaking to me. SO, GO GET ME THAT BELT RIGHT NOW! I'm through defending my course of action to you and I'm certainly not going to entertain anymore of your nonsense questioning my impartiality. AM I CLEAR?"

The only thing clear was that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If I hadn't been going to work with them, Mike would've had to find another target for his misplaced anger and I wouldn't be standing before him bearing the brunt of it right now.

Unhappy with my hesitation, Mike reiterated his request, "ANSWER ME NOW!"

"Yes sir," I responded, without even thinking, going into autopilot mode for self-preservation. I went into his closet and picked up the thick leather belt we had just purchased. Hesitating, I held it in my hands and inhaled sharply before forcing my feet to walk me back to face Mike.

Knowing I certainly couldn't change Mike's mind, I decided to just keep my mouth shut. I still think it blows that Carrie and my cousin both knew what Lisa was up to as well and I know they're not going to be punished for their, "lies of omission," but I'm certainly not going to bring that up to Mike. I don't want to get them in trouble. It just sucks that I'm always the one paying the price when I'm not the only guilty party.

I held the belt out to Mike but instead of taking it, he reached for my waistband and unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans, tugging them beneath my hips. I blushed, embarrassed at this age to be undressed by my guardian. Grabbing his desk chair, he propped his right foot up on the bottom rail, removed the belt from my hands, and draped me over the flat surface he'd created between the knee and thigh of his right leg.

Holding the belt in his right hand, I felt his dominant hand in the waistband of my panties as he slowly peeled them down below my hips, revealing my naked vulnerable butt. Mike rubbed my bottom before patting both cheeks.

"You're receiving this spanking for lying, Julie. You know I don't tolerate dishonesty."

Switching the belt over to his left hand, Mike swiftly slapped the thick stiff leather across my pale backside. He quickly turned my flesh a rosy red as he striped my bottom repeatedly. This new belt certainly hurt a helluva lot more than his other ones. Mike laid five harsh strokes across precisely the same spot, leaving a wide painful welt in its wake.

Yelping in pain, I struggled to free myself from Mike's hold, the burning on my bared backside becoming too intense to tolerate. Mike wrapped his right arm around my waist to hold me in place as he spanked me with his hand directly over the welt his fierce leather strap had borne.

"Mike, please!" I begged for mercy, biting my lip while he spanked my sit spots rapidly with his open palm.

Pausing the spanking, Mike rubbed my assaulted cheeks before squeezing my left buttock tightly as he lectured, "Are you sorry you lied to me and withheld information, Julie?"

"Yes sir!" I cried out in agony, as Mike's hand gripped a particularly sore and sensitive area on my ass cheek.

Mike spanked my previously untouched thighs with his firm hand, causing me to writhe over his leg as I attempted to escape the pain he so expertly and effortlessly inflicted. He continued to spank my thighs until their hue rivaled the shade of the ripest red tomato.

"That's for your inappropriate language. Don't ever speak to me that way again."

In all fairness, I guess I had that coming.

"Five more strokes of the belt, Julie. Count 'em out followed by, I'm sorry I lied to you sir. Got it?" Mike asked.

He slapped the belt across my sit spots and I hissed through clenched teeth, "One, I'm sorry I lied to you, sir." I clutched Mike's leg as I counted, recited and struggled my way through the remaining four strokes of this awful spanking.

After the last stroke, Mike casually tossed his new belt onto his bed. He gingerly placed my panties back over my sore inflamed bottom.

Patting me over my underwear, he said, "Stand up, Julie."

I stood and faced him, my jeans still below my hips and tears streaming from my red swollen eyes. "I really am sorry, Mike. I know you're disappointed in me." I honestly hate disappointing Mike, more than anything. I constantly feel like I'm letting him down and it hurts me in a way I can't even articulate.

Pulling my jeans up, zipping and buttoning them, Mike took pity on me as I grimaced from the friction of the unforgiving denim against my punished backside. He wiped the stray tears from my cheeks.

"I know you're sorry but next time, you need to do the right thing and come to me if you know one of your sisters is going to do something that could jeopardize their safety."

Lifting my chin to ensure eye contact, he continued, "I don't want you to think of it as ratting out your sisters. I want you to think of it as protecting them. I understand you probably can't distinguish the difference at this stage in your life but know there is one and as your guardian, I don't have the luxury of dismissing your misbehavior solely based on the precipitating underlying motivating factors. Understand?"

The look on my face must have been priceless because I had no fucking clue what Mike was talking about but I didn't want to get my ass beat again for saying the wrong thing or being disrespectful. So, I just stood there like an idiot with my mouth agape and a blank look on my face.

After a minute of awkward silence, I finally said, "I have no effin' clue, Mike."

Thankfully, Mike took pity on me and my ignorance as he shook his head and laughed.

"Come here, sweetheart," he said, motioning me into his open arms. Hugging me tightly before pulling back and cupping my face in his hands, he said, "Just don't lie to me anymore, okay? Whether it be a lie of omission or a bald faced lie, just don't do it, Julie."

He hugged me again when I responded, "Yes sir." It always felt so good to be in Mike's strong embrace, especially after a spanking. Even though a part of me hated him for inflicting such pain and humiliation on me during a punishment, a bigger part of me needed to know that he still loved me and I was forgiven.

The girls' room

Shane's pov

I lightly knocked on the girls' door, waiting for a response before entering in case anyone was awake. When I didn't hear anybody answer, I quietly walked over to Lisa's bed. Pulling her comforter off, I slapped her behind, waking her from a peaceful slumber.

"Ow! What the fuc..."

I quickly put my hand over her mouth, "Shhh! You'll wake your sisters."

Smacking my hand away, Lisa spat, "Get off me." She clearly did not appreciate being woken up this way.

"You have ten minutes to be showered, dressed, and in my car ready to go to work with Mike and I at the Foundation." I slapped her bottom again harshly, the echoing sound loud enough to cause Carrie to stir from her deep sleep. "Get moving!" I whispered angrily, giving her bottom another smack as I stood to leave.

Shit! Mike knows, Lisa thought to herself as she rubbed her bottom and got out of bed.