She watched as her boyfriend bit his bottom lip before unbuckling the belt and sliding it from the loops.
“Get out of the car,” Jalen demanded of Landon, as she grabbed the belt from Rohan and got out herself.
“What?” Landon questioned, puzzled.
Jalen pulled open the back door, grabbing Landon by the arm and pulling her from the back seat. No sooner had the teenager gotten both feet on the ground than she was whooping her ass. Landon squirmed after the first two licks to her ass. Scream for Jalen to stop, after the next two, and it wasn’t until she was crying after the following three that Jalen tossed Rohan’s belt into the passenger seat. Aware of the two people who had come out of the repair shop to watch.
“Let me make myself extremely clear,” Jalen started, gripping Landon’s chin in a hold that left no room for doubt in the words she was about to speak. “The next time you show your ass, catch an attitude, disrespect me, or have me coming up to that school for some bullshit, I am going to wear. You. Out.” Jalen searched her little sister’s wide, tear-filled eyes. “Do I make myself clear?”
Landon sniffled. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Get in the car.”
She released her sister’s chin and climbed into the car, finding Rohan putting on his belt. She knew the two of them would have a conversation about it later because she needed to apologize to him for causing him to have to witness and deal with that.
Once she and Landon were both settled in the car, they continued on their journey to the apartment, and Jalen felt herself deflate and the wind leave her sails. She hadn’t known that giving someone an ass-whooping could be that tiring.
19
Rohan listened to the fourth sigh he’d heard in the past two minutes and had to contain the chuckle that wanted to escape him. He was more than aware of why it was happening, but he wouldn’t take the bait. He continued typing the email he was currently working on.
The sound of the keys was the only thing heard in the room for about thirty seconds, and then there was another sigh. He bit the inside of his jaw, doing his best not to laugh as he continued to type.
“Rohan,” she called in what he could only describe as a pathetic whine. “I’m bored. Can I play some games on your phone?”
He looked up at the teenager with a raised brow. “First, I know you are not becoming the definition of ‘You got games on your phone’. Second, no. You’re grounded, and your sister isn’t about to be mad at me,” he responded. Landon let out a little huff and crossed her arms over her chest.
When he’d taken Jalen and Landon home the day before, his girlfriend had been ticked that she would have to take time off work to stay home and ensure that Landon didn’t do something she shouldn’t. Rohan could tell that it was stressing her, and he could only imagine how costly it was to take care of five otherpeople. So, he’d volunteered to pick Landon up and let her come to work with him on the mornings Jalen had to work, since Kodi would be home with her in the afternoons.
Naturally, Jalen had protested, telling him she didn’t want him neglecting his work or Landon being a distraction, but he had known that she wouldn’t be. He was his own boss, so it wasn’t as if he had to ask someone if she could come with him, and he’d had plenty of practice tuning people out when he needed to.
“She doesn’t have to know,” Landon replied.
“Should you really be trying to sneak around and do anything right now?” he questioned and watched her deflate.
“No. I guess you’re right.”
To his knowledge, Landon had been sticking to her guns about not telling Jalen who she’d been talking to, and Jalen had informed him that the contact number, if it was saved in the phone in the first place, the messages, and the call logs had been deleted. She was going to the phone company on Friday afternoon before she had to work that night.
“Where’s your sketchbook?” he questioned.
“I was in a hurry this morning. I woke up late and didn’t want to make you late, so I forgot it,” she informed him.
There was a knock on his door before he could respond, and a second later, his mother walked in. She glanced over at the couch to see Landon sitting there and immediately went over.
“Hey, sweetheart,” she greeted, reaching out to feel her forehead. “Are you sick?”
“Hey, Ms. Vivian. No, I’m not sick.”
“So, you’re playing hooky?”
“She got suspended,” Rohan supplied. “So, she’s going to hang out with me for a few days while Jalen is at work.”
“Suspended?” his mother questioned.
“It’s…a long story,” Landon stated.
“Mhm,” his mom responded. “Well, I’m sure you’re bored in here. Why don’t you come to my office with me, and we can—”
