Page 40 of Arrow

Emilee took a deep breath, her Daddy's words echoing in her mind. She looked at Catie and Mia, her blue eyes sharp but not unkind.

“My Daddy says grace is when someone owes you penitence for what they’ve done but you forgive them without making them pay,” Emilee said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. “So, I'm gonna give you both some grace. I forgive you, but I won't forget how you treated me.”

Catie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Mia's lips parted, but no words came out.

Emilee continued, a hint of her usual sarcasm creeping in, “You're right, we won't be braiding each other's hair anytime soon. But we can coexist without all this drama. Deal?”

“Deal,” Catie nodded, relief evident in her voice.

Mia wiped at her eyes. “Thank you, Emilee. Really.”

As Catie and Mia turned to leave, Emilee called out, “Hey, Mia?”

Mia paused, looking back hesitantly.

“That girl from high school? She doesn't define you anymore. Her words weren’t true and you should evict her from living rent free in your head.”

Mia's lips curved into a small smile as she followed Catie out of the coffee shop.

Emilee slumped back in her seat, suddenly exhausted. “Well, that was about as fun as a root canal.”

Makenzie reached across the table, squeezing Emilee's hand. “Em, that was incredible. I'm so proud of you.”

“Seriously,” Trinity chimed in, “you handled that like a boss.”

Delilah nodded enthusiastically. “You're amazing, girl. And we want you to know, you're part of our friendship group. No question.”

Emilee felt a warmth spread through her chest, chasing away the chill of her past. “Thanks, ladies. I might need a shirt that says 'I told you so,' though.”

They all laughed, the tension finally breaking. As Emilee looked around at her new friends, she felt something she hadn't in a long time – a sense of belonging.

“Do we want to talk about the way Mia looked?” Delilah asked.

“You mean her swollen eyes?” Emilee followed up a question with a question.

“Come on, girls, we know damn well why she looked like that. It’s not like none of us have ever had a session over our Daddies’ laps that didn’t end up with swollen eyes and a sore butt the next day.”

“I haven’t,” Emilee said. “Arrow’s only spanked me twice in the last couple of weeks and both times was with his hand. It’s never hurt for more than an hour.”

“Arrow?” Makenzie gaffed. “Uncle Arrow accompanied me to The Citadel when my Daddy was out of town and let me tell you… if I had a quarter for every time he threatened to spank me… I’d be rich.”

“Maybe I’m just better behaved than you,” Emilee said with a slight shrug.

“Or maybe, you are in the honeymoon period,” Delilah countered.

“The correct word is, yet. You haven’t been spanked like that, yet.” Trinity said. “Believe me, I have felt Mia’s pain several times over. I’m just glad her Daddy took the situation seriously. She needed a wake-up call. Hopefully, she can get back to being the sweet girl we all knew.”

Emilee's phone beeped, the sound that played when someone used the Find My iPhone app. She searched in her purse until she found it. Crap. She’d forgotten to take it off of silence. Arrow must have pinged it, trying to find her.

Daddy: Where are you?

Daddy: Why aren’t you answering your phone?

Daddy: Little girl you are in so much trouble.

“Shit,” she muttered, her fingers flying over the screen.

“What's up?” Makenzie asked, leaning forward with concern.

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