Chapter 4

“That you?” grunted Colin as his wife came in the front door of the house. The man was watching some racing on the television, a can of beer in his hand. He didn’t get up to greet his wife, but then he never did. Not when there were more important things in life.

“It’s me,” said Ariel from the hallway, slipping off her coat and looking at how many marks there were on it. A good coat that would need to go to the cleaners. If Mistress Tabitha said she could. That was one thing Ariel now understood: there were all sorts of decisions she couldn’t make any more. The price of love, the girl had said at some point, was not making any decisions.

Actually, that wasn’t quite correct. The girl had actually said; “From now on you do what I want, cunt, and no arguing. That’s if you want me to be interested in you.” Ariel supposed it amounted to the same thing because it was like having someone to love you.

The woman’s sixteen-year-old daughter came down the stairs. Serena stared at her mother, registering disapproval at how filthy she was. “You look a mess,” said the girl, taking in the sight of her mother.

“Oh, really?” Ariel said and checked the mirror. Yes, it was true her hair was mussed up and her top now dry if somewhat stained but she was mostly checking to see if there was any of Martin’s semen in her hair. The lad had jetted not one but two large loads in her face as the woman had knelt in the back of the store and finished by wiping his cock on her hair. Fortunately, it looked as if she had managed to get it all out before she arrived home.

“We’re waiting for our meal,” said the girl as she followed her mother into the kitchen.

“I’ll get on with it,” Ariel began to say but Serena caught her mother’s arm, wrinkling her nose as she did so.

“You stink, mother. What have you been doing?”

“Oh, there was an accident at the mall. In a store. No one hurt, just some mess.” She blushed a little as she said it, hoping that was the end of it. Normally she thought, Serena didn’t want to spend a minute in the kitchen if she could avoid it.

“No, that’s...” Serena leaned in closer and sniffed. “That’s pee!”

“No, it was a cleaning liquid. Yes, I know it’s an awful smell.”

“And you are walking funny. Like...” The teenager hesitated. “Like you have a sore bum.”

“Sat on it rather hard, at the shop. Didn’t mean to.”

“But you said no one was hurt.” Serena narrowed her eyes at her mother. She still hadn’t let go of the woman’s arm.

Ariel gave a weak gesture. “Not seriously. Just me being clumsy I suppose.”

“No,” the girl snapped. “Not that. You’re lying. I can tell when you lie.” At that Serena astonished her mother by using her free hand to slap her mother’s backside.

“Ow!” Gasped Ariel, tears suddenly running down her face.

“I think you should show me your fat arse, mother.”

“No! It’s okay. Just a bruise—”

She got no further as Serena grabbed the hem of her mother’s skirt and hauled the stained skirt up to the woman’s waist. “Fuck,” said the girl as she stared at her mother’s backside. Her mother wasn’t wearing any panties—Tabitha and Delilah had agreed that they should be given to Martin as a present and the woman had shed her ruined tights before coming home. She was naked underneath and Serena could see the woman’s rear was covered with vivid red and blue stripes.

“What in fuck’s name have you been doing?” The girl demanded. She touched her mother’s marked bottom and brought another squeal from the woman.

“Please don’t,” sobbed Ariel.

“I’ll do what I fucking want,” said the girl. She usually resisted using the F-word in front of her mum but she didn’t care now. “So, who did this? Go on, tell me or I’ll call dad to have a look.”

“It was ... a game. I met someone I know and they...” Ariel trailed off. Whatever she said would be no good. She knew it. She had hoped no one come near her when she got home but that hope lay in ruins.

“Okay, then upstairs now. Talk to me up there.” Serena indicated the stairs. “Tell me the truth and I might not tell dad.”

Ariel nodded and followed her daughter upstairs. In the privacy of the girl’s bedroom with the door shut the girl sat on the bed and told her mother to stand in front of her. Ariel obeyed.

“Tell me from the beginning,” demanded the teenager. “And don’t drip tears on my carpet.”

“Please, Serena. If I do, promise you won’t tell anyone.”