Family Business

Arguing

Claire's pov

My uncle and I were quietly sitting in the living room. I'm still mad at him for sending Sofia away but I'm also tired of being alone in my room and since I'm grounded I can't watch tv or go outside, so my choices for entertaining myself are quite limited.

I was half-heartedly reading Where the Red Fern Grows for my English class and Uncle EJ was sipping his tea while skimming through the morning paper. We heard a loud knock on the front door, expecting Alfred to handle it, we each carried on reading, unaffected by the momentary interruption.

When we heard a second knock, more loudly this time, I started to stand up saying, "I'll get it," before my uncle grabbed my arm, halting me.

"No, you won't," he ordered coldly.

"Master EJ, I'll be there momentarily," we heard Alfred call from the kitchen.

"Nessun problema (No problem), Lorenzo. Risponderò alla porta (I'll answer the door)," my uncle responded.

"Let go of me," I snapped, trying to yank my arm from his vice-like grip.

Slapping my bottom firmly, he cautioned, "Watch your tone, piccola ragazza (little girl)."

Glaring at him in response, I received another harsh swat on my rear end.

"Lose the 'tude," he snarked, mimicking one of my favorite go-to-phrases.

"Ow," I pouted, rubbing my now smarting bottom with my free hand while unwisely maintaining my 'tude.

"Get your ass up to your room and start the English assignment you've been pretending to read for the past half-hour."

I failed to hide the surprised look on my face as my uncle released me, giving me one more firm swat to propel me toward the stairs.

"I know what your mark is in that class and you better bring it up by midterm, or you'll be doing all your reading over my lap while I spank your ass."

"That wouldn't be a conducive method to improve my reading comprehension scores, Uncle," I sassed, making sure I was out of reach.

"GO!" he shouted impatiently, pointing in the direction of my bedroom as we heard a third knock on the front door, even louder this time.

Knowing I was close to getting a full blown spanking if I kept on, I wisely hightailed it up the stairs.

EJ'S pov

Once Claire was safely out of view, I opened the door and was quite surprised to see the visitor on the other side.

"What are you doing here, Lexie? Father didn't tell me you were coming to visit."

"Father doesn't know I'm here. I came to get Claire and bring her home with me," my irritating older sibling responded curtly, further surprising me.

"So Father doesn't know about this?" I questioned, quite confused by not only my half-sister's presence, but also her demeanor.

"No, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. It'll make things much easier."

"For you, you mean?" I questioned my clearly confused sibling.

"No, EJ, for everyone involved. Me, you, Claire, Tony, Father, everyone," she replied earnestly.

"What the Hell are you talking about? What even prompted this current bout of lunacy, Sister?" I inquired, only semi-jokingly.

"Claire called me AGAIN the other day crying because of the way you and Father treat her. This seems to be a fairly common occurrence nowadays, Brother."