Disclaimer : I am not making any money from this story . Warning : Non consensual disciplinary spanking of a teen by a parental figure . How To Save a Life Louise had two more years before she could retire . She had seen many bosses come and go over the past twenty years with the company , and she had only known Frank for a year , but she liked him better then most she had met . She smiled back and said , " I 'm just going down to the café on the first floor . " Louise waited for him , and they went down together exchanging pleasantries . While they were waiting in line to order , Frank saw some flyers on the counter about a fundraiser for the local Big Brother Program and picked one up . Once they were sitting down Louise saw what he had in his hand and said , " Are you thinking about joining ? " Giving Frank an appraising look she said , " You should think about joining . Might do you some good . " Frank 's eyebrows drew together in thought . Louise paused a few seconds wondering if she should butt into his thoughts , and eventually the mother and grandmother in her won out over the assistant . " In fact I think it would do you a world of good Mr . Shannon . You 've been on your own now for over a year . " Shaking her head and interrupting Louise said , " You 're thirty two , in the prime of life . I understand that you 're not ready to date again yet , but that doesn 't mean that you should shut yourself away from other people in that big old mansion of yours all alone . You told me how much you and Alice wanted to have children . Why not reach out to someone in need ? You might find that you get just as much out of it as the child . " He walked into the living room and picked up his favorite picture of Alice . It was one he took of her while hiking during their honeymoon in Hawaii . She was giving him her beautiful smile . He said to her , " What do you think sweetheart ? Louise thinks I need to get out more . Not stay in this ' big old mansion ' all by myself . " Kyle stumbled into the house and set his skateboard down by the hall closet with a thunk , which made him laugh . He was laughing as he went back and tried unsuccessfully to get his key out of the front door . He heard someone clear her throat and he turned around quickly to see his mother , Cheryl , sitting on the couch obviously pissed and waiting for him . His laughter died and he said , " Oh i Mom . " Cheryl felt that like a punch to the stomach . Her anger turned into guilt and regret . Uncrossing her arms , she took the few steps that separated her and her son . She put a hand up to his face and said , " Kyle honey , you know I have to work to keep the house now that your dad is nowhere to be found , and when I work nights I get extra . " Cheryl flopped down on the couch with a big sigh and tried not to break down into tears . She had gotten divorced when Kyle was five , and neither one of them had seen Kyle 's father since . But up until three years ago she had been getting child support checks on and off when the government could find her ex and garnish his wages . Now she only had her income , and it wasn 't really enough unless she worked nights . But that had left Kyle alone most evenings to fend for himself for the past two years . Now Cheryl wondered if that had been a big mistake . She turned on the TV for some background noise as she sat and thought about what she should do . Then something caught her attention . It was a fluff piece about a local fundraiser that was happening tomorrow for the Big Brother program . There was a 1 - 800 number that flashed up on the screen , and without really thinking too much about it , Cheryl wrote it down . While putting the tray on the kitchen table she heard the doorbell ring . She went back to the living room and turned off the TV on her way to the front door . Opening the door she saw a kind looking man in his thirties with sandy blond hair and blue eyes . Smiling she held out her hand and said , " You must be Frank . " Frank came in and saw a teenage boy sitting on the couch . They boy had pale skin and dark brown hair that was kind of long and flopping down into his face . Frank said , " And you must be Kyle . " " My wife , Alice , and I always wanted to have children . We had talked about it quite a few times during the first three years of our marriage . But . Shaking his head Frank said , " She was diagnosed with cervical cancer about a month after she got her Masters in Sociology . Ironically she was getting a physical with the thought of trying to conceive soon when they found the first tumor . She died two years later after a few surgeries and some kemo that didn 't work . " Frank took a drink of his ice tea and cleared his throat before he said , " That was over a year ago . We lived in Oklahoma back then , but after she was gone . needed a change and transferred to the California branch . " Kyle felt a little bad for jumping to conclusions , but not bad enough to keep the irritation out of his voice when he answered . " I didn 't want to join . Mom signed me up without asking . " Cheryl took a deep breath and said , " I think Kyle needs a positive male influence in his life right now . I work nights Tuesday through Saturday , and Kyle is by himself . I just worry about him . " Cheryl hadn 't really wanted to bring it up first thing , but since Frank hadn 't been scared away yet , she decided to give him the full story . She ignored Kyle and said to Frank , " A few days ago Kyle came home drunk at midnight when he didn 't know I would be home to catch him . It was kind of the last straw , so I signed him up . " Frank observed Kyle and saw his jaw clenching in anger , but he refused to answer . There was another awkward silence . Then Frank said , " What kinds of things do you like to do with your spare time Kyle ? " Frank could tell Kyle didn 't think much of roller skating . Frank nodded and said , " Ah , of course . It seems the older I get the less cool everything I loved about my childhood is . So tell me what you like about skateboarding . " Frank smiled knowing Kyle thought his use of the word special had been lame as well . Frank didn 't mind . Alice had often called him a dork with affection . He knew he was , he just didn 't care . Frank pretended not to notice and said , " That 's too bad . How about movies or TV ? Are you a movie buff ? " Happy to find something Kyle liked , Frank said , " I have a pool at my place . Maybe sometime you can come over and go swimming . Maybe bring a few friends over if you like . " Cheryl happy to see Frank wasn 't offended by her son 's sullen behavior decided to put in her two cents . " Actually Frank I was hoping we could work out a little schedule . One of the reasons I wanted to sign Kyle up is because I want him to have a little closer supervision than he has been getting for the past couple of years . " Kyle sighed loud enough that everyone in the room knew he wasn 't happy about this . Frank said , " I have no friends or family that live here in town , so I 'm free most nights . I work not too far from your house . Kyle could ride the bus to my work on Tuesday and Thursday after school , and I could take him home to have dinner with me . Then I could drop him off back at home around eight or nine . " Cheryl couldn 't put her finger on why , but she felt relief wash over her . It was like she knew in that moment that she had made the right choice by signing up for this program , and that all her worries about Kyle turning into a criminal were going to be assuaged . Smiling at Frank she said , " That sounds perfect . " * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tuesday afternoon Kyle got on a different bus and went to the address Frank had given him . He got off the bus and looked way up at the building in front of him . It was about thirty stories high . Looking back at his note Kyle went into the lobby . The front desk security guard glared at him as he walked in . Kyle opened his mouth , but the security guard beat him to it . " You can 't bring your skateboard in here kid . " " Then you can just turn around and get out of here . You and your punk ass friends are always bumming money off the decent folks that work here . Go get a job or something . " Kyle knew Frank was waiting for him , and he knew he should just give the guard Frank 's name like the note said , but he was kind of pissed . He was about to turn around and leave when he heard the elevator open . Frank came out and saw Kyle there . He smiled and said , " Hey there Kyle , did you have any trouble on the bus ? " Marshall nodded . Frank put a hand on Kyle 's shoulder and said , " This here is my little brother Kyle . He 'll be coming to see me every Tuesday and Thursday around this time . I 'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye out for him . Make sure no one gives him a hard time and all that . " Frank looked down at Kyle and gave him a sheepish look . " It 's not that I didn 't trust you to make it to my office by yourself . I was just kind of anxious to make sure no one gave you a hard time your first visit . We don 't get many teenage visitors around here . " Wondering if Frank was being honest , Kyle nodded and fell silent . Soon they were on the correct floor , and the elevators opened to show them a reception area . There were three women and one man sitting at desks answering phones and doing general office work . The lady who was at the front desk looked up and smiled at Kyle . " You must be Kyle , I 'm Pamela . " Frank introduced Kyle all around , and Kyle found himself feeling underdressed in his black Green Day tee - shirt , and torn blue jeans . Frank headed towards his office and Kyle followed . He could feel everyone 's eyes on him as they walked away . Frank opened the door to a large room which had it 's own front desk where an elderly woman sat waiting for them with a smile . Frank said , " Kyle , this is my personal assistant , Louise . And Louise this is my little brother Kyle . " Kyle followed Frank and they went to the office that was to the right of Louise 's desk . It was a small conference room with a table and chairs in the center . This room also had an impressive view . Frank said , " We don 't use this room much , so while you are waiting for me to finish up with work , this will be your area . If we do have a meeting , you can stay in my office or visit with Louise . " Frank looked at his watch . He had a conference call in ten minutes . He said , " Why don 't you start on your homework . That way you can be done with it by the time we head for my house , and we can spend some time in the pool after we eat . " Frank wasn 't sure what to say to that . " You 're a sophomore in High School . I doubt things have changed that much since I was there . You must have some kind of homework to do . " Frank left to do his conference call , and Kyle spent most of his time just watching what was going on outside thirty floors below while listening to music . When Frank was done working he took Kyle out to the parking garage . Kyle was kind of surprised that everyone they passed in the building seemed to know Frank , or ' Mr . Shannon ' , as they all called him . Kyle had been to the hospital when his mom was working before , and people all seemed to know her name too , but it was somehow different , and he couldn 't figure out why . Thirty minutes later they drove up to Frank 's house and Kyle sat there with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds . It was the biggest house he had ever seen . Frank pushed a button and a garage door opened . Frank parked the BMW next to a nicely restored 1940 's Jaguar . Kyle got out and looked the Jaguar over . He pulled the earphones out of his ears and said , " Damn ! " Frank didn 't like that answer but they were at the door to the house , and it opened for them before they could open it . A short plump woman in her late sixties opened the door for them . She was smiling and looked cheerful . She came out and said , " You must be Kyle . Let me take a look at you . " She put her hands on the sides of his face and tilted his head up to look at it . Kyle was startled enough that he didn 't really react much . She brushed the bangs out of his eyes and looked at him for a second . She tutted , " Much too thin . We 'll have to fix that . " They walked into a large kitchen where Missy was busy stirring something on the stove . Frank took them through a spacious dining room and then into a living room . Off to the side of the living room was the main entryway to the house . Kyle looked up and could see the ceiling two stories above , with a huge crystal chandelier in the center . He saw a curving staircase that led up to the second floor and said , " D ow . his place is huge . ike it 's straight out of MTV cribs or something . " Kyle followed and Frank showed him three of the upstairs rooms . As he showed Kyle each room he said , " This is my bedroom . This is the main upstairs bathroom . And this will be your room if you ever need one at my house . " Kyle looked down the hall and saw at least four more doors . He said , " What 's down there . " " More bedrooms . They don 't get used . " Frank burst out laughing for a few seconds while shaking his head no . When he could finally talk again he said , " I 'll tell you the story over dinner . Go put your backpack and skateboard in your room and then wash your hands . Think you can find the dining room again ? " Giving Frank a wary look , Kyle nodded in the affirmative . Frank walked into his bedroom still chuckling and shut the door behind him . Kyle shook his head and muttered , " Fucking weird . " Kyle put his stuff in ' his ' bedroom and looked around a little bit . He looked out the window and saw a huge lawn out back with no visible fence or other houses in the distance . He shook his head and said , " Damn . " He looked around and saw that there was not only a flat screen TV , but also a Nintendo system on the dresser . He saw there was a desk and opened it to find some new office supplies and some Nintendo games still in their wrappers . He muttered to himself , " Yeah Mom , he 's nothing like a psychopathic pedophile . " He put the game away , and went to wash his hands , even though he wasn 't sure why . He went down to the dining room and saw there were two places set . He walked around the room looking at some artwork on the walls , and at some of the glassware in the china hutch . A few minutes later Frank came in . He had changed out of his suit , and was now wearing jeans and a tee - shirt . Frank gave Kyle a small smile as he walked past him and into the kitchen . A few seconds later Missy and Frank both brought some serving bowls in and set them on the table . Once all the food was out Missy said , " All right then . There 's pie in the oven , be sure to get it out when the bell dings . " Kyle nodded , not really sure what to say . Missy left , and Frank sat down . Kyle sat as well and both of them put food on their plates and started eating . Kyle asked , " You said you would tell me your story . " Frank swallowed and said , " Well I already told you about my wife , this house belonged to her family when she was growing up . Missy was their housekeeper since before Alice was born . Actually her name isn 't even Missy . It 's a nickname that Alice gave her when she was tiny because she couldn 't pronounce Mrs . Eli . Alice 's mom died when she was ten in a car accident . Alice and her father , Oliver Thompson , were very close while she was growing up . Oliver founded Thompson Sporting Supplies and made literally millions . " " Alice and I met in college when I was a TA and Alice was in the class I was helping with . We fell in love and eventually married . I met her father and got to know him before I knew they were well off . I looked about the same way you did when you walked in here the first time , but I was so in love with Alice it just didn 't matter that much to me either way . When I got my degree Oliver offered me a job with the Oklahoma branch of his company and I took it . Then when Alice got sick . " Frank paused for a few seconds looking down at his plate , and Kyle wondered if that was all Frank was going to say . Finally Frank added , " Two weeks after Alice 's funeral my father - in - law shot himself in the head . There were no other relatives . He left everything to me , including his shares in the company . Well that 's not exactly true . He left Missy a substantial amount . Enough that all her grandkids can go to college without having to pay , and enough that she won 't take any pay from me when she comes over and cleans the house and makes me food . " Kyle really wanted to ask exactly how much Frank was worth , but he could tell Frank had been upset from talking about it so he didn 't . After a few minutes of quite eating Kyle said , " So why did you decide to live here ? You said you guys had been in Oklahoma ? " " I grew up in Oklahoma . My folks and sister still live there . Alice and I had a nice house , and a good life there . I tried staying there , but I just couldn 't . I don 't know why . I thought living here would keep me close to her , but not in a painful way . Not sure if it worked , or if just enough time has gone by , but I am better now then I was six months ago . " Thursday was very similar to Tuesday except that after dinner instead of taking a drive , Kyle went swimming while Frank read a book by the side of the pool . When Saturday rolled around Kyle found he was almost looking forward to Frank coming over . Frank pulled up to the house about noon , and Kyle went out to meet him . Getting out of his car Frank said , " I see you 're up and ready to go . " Rolling his eyes with a slight smile at Frank 's choice of words , Kyle turned and went back into the house . He came out a few seconds later with his MP3 player , and his skateboard . Cheryl came out too and said , " Hi Frank , how has it been going ? " Kyle looked out the window and his voice got lower as he said , " I can 't remember him taking me anywhere . I remember him yelling at me to shut up a lot , and my mom taking me out of the house when something important like a game was on TV so I wouldn 't annoy him . Him and mom were always fighting about money , and about me . I 'm glad he 's never come back to see us . Sucks for mom that she 's not getting any more money from him , but I 'd rather not have his money . Don 't want to feel like I owe him anything you know ? " Kyle was sucked into his own thoughts for a while . The next time his mind focused on something other then his inner thoughts he realized they were parking . He looked around and said , " Where are we ? " " It 's a little lake where Alice and I went the first time I came to California to visit with her family . There are some picnic tables over there where we can eat the lunch I packed , and we can do some fishing if you 're into it . I got a couple of licenses for the day . " Frank got stuff out of the trunk , and Kyle walked over to the picnic tables and looked around . He had to admit it was pretty . Soon Kyle had scarffed down lunch , and Frank was showing him how to cast a line . An hour later Frank could tell the novelty had worn off , and Kyle was bored . It didn 't help that neither one of them had had any bites . Frank reeled his line in and said , " Looks like the fish aren 't cooperating today . We can try another day if you 're ready to stop for now . Is there anything you 'd like to do ? " Kyle looked out at his fishing line and started reeling it in while he thought about that . He had been thinking Frank would drop him off and pick him up . He wasn 't sure if he was okay with his friends meeting Frank . After his line was in , he handed the pole to Frank and said , " You could just drop me off for a while . " Frank 's frown deepened . " It 's okay if you 're too embarrassed to tell your friends about the big brother program , and if you 're too embarrassed to introduce me around . I know I 'm not a cool guy . But I 'm not going to just drop you off somewhere . That defeats the purpose of the program . " Kyle knew Frank had done everything in his power to be nice to him so far , and felt bad that Frank knew Kyle would be embarrassed about introducing him to his friends . Kyle took a deep breath and said , " Let 's go to the skate park . I 'll let you meet my friends . " An hour later they pulled up to the skate park . Frank could see Kyle fidgeting in his seat , and knew he was nervous about introducing him to his friends . They got out of the car and walked towards a large cemented area where there were at least ten other kids with skateboards . The cement area was obviously built with skateboarders in mind . It was quite large , and there were wooden structures on two sides that curved up seven feet into the air . Frank saw some of the kids skating from side to side going up the slopes and turning in mid air to then skate to the other side . A few of the kids saw Kyle coming and started to either wave or smile until they saw Frank walking next to him . Frank noticed all the skating stopped and some of the kids looked ready to bolt as they watched him warily . Kyle walked up to one of the older looking kids and gave him a half hearted punch in the shoulder and said , " Hey . " Kyle looked over at Frank and said , " This is Frank . He 's my mom 's cousin . He just moved here last week , so I 'm showing him around . " Kyle moved along and pointed at the various kids standing around and named them all for Frank . Frank didn 't try to shake any other hands , but he noticed that most of them were friendlier then Matt had been . Kyle pointed to a few benches that were over to the side and said , " If you want to watch for a while you can sit over there . " Frank nodded and went to go sit down . Once he was out of earshot he saw a few of the other kids talking quietly with Kyle . He was sure he was the topic of conversation , but wasn 't sure what they were talking about . A few minutes later they apparently decided he was an all right addition to the day , and everyone started skating again . Frank watched for the next two hours and had trouble staying in his seat a few times when he saw Kyle up at the top of the seven - foot wall upside down with one hand on the edge of the ramp , and the rest of his body in the air . As he watched he noted that about half the kids wore helmets . Kyle and Matt were in the non - helmet group . He also noticed that Kyle and Matt were the best skaters and were able to do many more tricks then the others . Frank was duly impressed with Kyle 's skills . Frank kept track of the time on his watch , and after three hours he decided he had seen enough close calls that his blood pressure couldn 't take anymore . He got up and walked towards Kyle . Again he noticed again that most of the skating stopped and the kids all kept their eyes on him . He figured most adults stayed away from this area . Kyle saw him and skated up to him . Kyle flipped his skateboard up to his hand by flicking it with his foot and said , " Yeah ? " Kyle looked disappointed but didn 't want to ask Frank if they could stay longer , because he didn 't want Frank to tell him no in front of his friends . He nodded and said good bye to some of his friends before following Frank back to his car . On the way Frank said , " It 's five , are you hungry yet ? " Frowning Kyle thought about that . He wanted to jump in and deny it , but as he thought about it , he realized he couldn 't . The more he thought about it , the more embarrassed he was about it . He pulled up to the pizza place in a bad mood at having been read so clearly , and at having it pointed out to him . He gave the keys back to Frank before getting out of the car , and headed into the restaurant without saying anything . Frank caught up with him inside and said , " You go ahead and order . I like anything on pizza . " Kyle took it and went to the salad bar still thinking about what Frank had said even though he was trying not to . He was irritated that Frank 's comment was having such an effect on him . They ate quietly for a few minutes , until Frank said , " You 're very good on your board . Better then anyone else at the park besides Matt , and you might even be better then him . " " Some of the stuff you did must have taken hours of practice . That thing you do at the top of the ramp where you hold on with one hand is especially impressive . How long did it take you to learn that ? " Kyle was suddenly more talkative then Frank had ever seen him . They spent the next half an hour talking skateboarding . As he listened Frank couldn 't help but think about Kyle not wearing a helmet , and before dinner was over he decided to do something about it . He asked Kyle a few questions while trying not to be too obvious about it . He asked , " Are some boards better then others for doing stunts ? " Frank knew where that was . Thompson 's Sporting Supplies sold to them fairly regularly . They got into the car and Frank turned to look at Kyle before he started it up . He said , " I 'd like to make a deal with you . " Kyle gave in a little and turned towards Frank to show he was listening . Frank said , " We go to Skate World and you pick out any board you want along with all the accessories including a helmet . Then every time you use it , you agree to wear the helmet . " Two hours later Kyle had the skateboard of his dreams in his lap as they were driving back to his house . He couldn 't take his eyes off it , and he thanked Frank for the third time . This time instead of saying ' you 're welcome ' again Frank said , " I 'm serious about this being a deal Kyle . You wear your helmet when you ride it . If I see you without it . " Frank was pleased as well . They pulled up to Kyle 's house about eight thirty and Kyle noticed his mom 's car in the driveway . He said with concern , " Mom 's here . " Kyle could see a paper in her hand and realized his grades had come . He had a sinking sensation in his stomach and wished Frank had just dropped him off and driven away . Kyle blushed and looked away as he lied , " No . " Cheryl waved the paper in front of his face and said , " These are the worst grades I have ever seen from you ! How can you be getting a D in Algebra ? You used to love Math . Three C 's , two D 's , and a B are unacceptable . I got a letter that says I have to have a conference with your guidance counselor this next week . What the Hell Kyle ? Don 't you have any sense of responsibility ? What do you have to say for yourself ? " Kyle glared at her and yelled , " You want answers ? Fine ! I 'm a total loser just like Dad , and you shouldn 't bother taking time out of your busy schedule to worry about me ! " Kyle wrenched his arm out of her hand and stormed off towards his room . Cheryl yelled after him , " Don 't you dare compare yourself to your father ! I raised you to be better then him , and I know you know the difference . You 're grounded until these grades improve ! " Cheryl took a deep breath to calm herself down and turned to shut the front door only to find Frank standing there looking both surprised and dismayed at what he had just seen . Cheryl had known he was there , she was just too upset about the whole thing to wait until he was gone to start yelling . She looked down and said , " I 'm sorry you were here to see that . " Cheryl was surprised by the kindness she heard in his voice and looked up at him . " I know he can do so much better then this , and I just don 't want to see him drop out of school . " She shook her head no . He said , " How about I come in and make you something to eat while you sit and relax . We can talk about what might help Kyle do better in school . " Cheryl thought , ' I shouldn 't talk to him about the problems with Kyle . I should deal with it on my own . ' But what came out of her mouth was , " Okay . " Frank walked all the way in and shut the door behind him . They went into the kitchen and Cheryl found herself pouring her heart out to him . They were both surprised when Frank realized an hour had passed . Frank said , " I really should be going soon , but before I go I have to ask you something , and then tell you about today . " Sunday Kyle spent most of the day in his room avoiding his mother and looking longingly at his new skateboard . He did a little bit of studying to appease her , and was irritated when she told him he was still grounded until his grades went up . Monday Kyle was happy to go to school he couldn 't remember the last time that had happened - because it would get him away from his mother , and he could finally ride his new skateboard for a few minutes before school . e didn 't even mind putting on the new helmet before he went out the door . He had a fairly typical day in school until the last class of the day when someone interrupted his teacher with a note that said Kyle was supposed to report to the office . As he walked to office , Kyle couldn 't help but wonder what was going on . Once he got to the office , the secretary told him he didn 't need to take the bus because his mom was meeting with his counselor . Slouching down in one of the office chairs to wait , Kyle thought about how much report cards sucked . He knew his grades sucked , he just didn 't care , because he planned to skateboard professionally . But he also knew his mom would never be okay with that as a carrier choice . Kyle heard the last bell ring , and watched while the other kids left . He watched the clock , and as the time went by he started getting more nervous about what might be going on in that meeting . Half an hour later he was shocked to see not only his mother , but also Frank coming out of the guidance counselor 's office . Kyle stood and waited for them to come over to him . Frank gave Kyle a very serious look without the hint of a smile and said , " Starting tomorrow you 're spending that hour at my office with a tutor . " Frank ignored Kyle 's glare and turned to Cheryl . He put a hand on her shoulder and said , " Thanks again for inviting me . I 'll give you a call tonight to let you know what I 've found . " Kyle wanted to yell at him , but they were in the office with the secretary , the guidance counselor , and the principal all working still . Setting his jaw Kyle walked past Frank and went to his locker . Knowing Frank was right behind him and scrutinizing him made Kyle uncomfortable , but he forced himself to keep his eyes in front of him when he was packing his stuff . Once he had his backpack full and over his shoulder , he got his skateboard out of his locker and turned to Frank . Frank said , " Why have you been skipping school , and why did you stop doing your homework ? " Kyle knew they were alone in the hall and couldn 't hold in his frustration and anger anymore . " Where the hell do you get off ? You just met me a week and a half ago , and you 're acting like you have some kind of say in my life ! " While Frank was talking , Kyle had backed himself up against the lockers without realizing he was doing it . They glared at each other for a few seconds , with Kyle looking away first . He muttered , " School is stupid . I hate it . " After a few seconds Frank looked back at Kyle and said calmly , " My guess is you go to the skate park . But I suppose it doesn 't matter , because if you miss two more days this semester you will have to repeat your sophomore year . I would think if you hate school so much , you would want to avoid spending an entire extra year here . " Following Frank , Kyle thought about their little talk . He couldn 't remember a time when he had given an adult attitude that they hadn 't reacted . His mom would have started yelling , and his teachers would have sent him out of the class . But Frank just ignored it and continued with the talk . Kyle wasn 't sure what to make of that . As soon as they were outside the school doors Kyle felt a hand on his shoulder . Looking up at Frank he saw the serious expression still in place . Frank said , " When you talk to your mom about this , try to remember that she loves you , and wants what is best for you . Try to think about what your life would be like if she were gone before you decide to get smart with her . " Kyle cringed at how stupid those words sounded and he walked towards the parking lot . They saw Cheryl waiting by her car , and she gave them both a smile . Frank 's car was two spaces before hers , and when he got to it , he waved at her and said , " Talk to you tonight . " There was silence in the car while Kyle thought about things . Even though he tried to get the thought out of his head , he did wonder what would happen to him if his mom died . There weren 't very many good options . When they pulled up to the house Kyle turned to his mom and said , " I 'm sorry Mom . I 'll do better . " * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tuesday Kyle seriously considered just not showing up at Frank 's office , but in the end he knew that would only cause him more trouble . He had a scowl firmly in place as he entered the office and saw Louise sitting at her desk . Louise smiled at him and said , " Hi Kyle , how are you this afternoon ? " Walking in the room he saw Frank sitting next to his would be tutor , Mr . Wagner , who looked to be in his forties with short dark brown hair . Frank introduced the two , and then excused himself to get some of his own work done . Sighing heavily Kyle got out his books and sat down next to the tutor to start studying . When the hour was up Kyle had decided that Mr . Wagner was an alright person , and that with his help he would be able to catch up fairly quickly . Kyle and Frank spent the drive to Frank 's house talking about school work and what he was going to do to catch up . They arrived at Frank 's house and as usual Missy greeted them at the door . She ushered them into the house and the whole kitchen smelled like brownies . Frank gave Missy a look and said , " I thought I told you Kyle was grounded and not to make dessert . " Kyle was surprised by both the fact that Frank had told Missy he was grounded , and that he had decided that meant he shouldn 't have dessert . Missy waved Frank 's look away and put an arm across Kyle 's shoulders , " Don 't you give me that look Franklin . He 's a growing boy , and much too thin . " Kyle shook his head with a smile still on his face . " Sorry man . I guess it never happened in my house , because we just don 't have dessert as a regular thing . But then we don 't sit down to dinner as a regular thing either because mom 's at work . " Frank raised one eyebrow at that , but Kyle didn 't look away or back down . Eventually Frank smiled and said , " Okay , it 's a deal . Why don 't you get your books and study down here while I read a book . " * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The rest of the week went well , even though Kyle missed the skate park . When Saturday came around Frank showed up and knocked on Cheryl 's door . Cheryl opened it and greeted him with a small kiss to the cheek as she said , " Come in . " Smiling even wider Cheryl said , " They said he 's doing so much better , he 's like a different student entirely . He keeps talking about that laptop . I think that really is what turned him around to the idea of getting good grades . Thank you for talking me into it . " Frank got out his wallet and handed Kyle a five dollar bill before starting the car and heading to the skate park . They spent most of the afternoon there , and Frank was pleased to see Kyle wearing his helmet , even though he could see Matt gave him a hard time about it . That night they went out to eat pizza again before Frank took Kyle home . By the time Frank dropped Kyle off , Kyle had racked up twenty dollars , and Frank hadn 't even gotten one since Kyle had refrained from swearing . As Frank was giving Kyle yet another five dollars he said , " I think you got the better end of our deal . " The next week Kyle dedicated himself to studying , and got himself close to caught up in all his classes . Friday night he got a call from Frank . " Today at work some of my business associates asked me to go golfing with them tomorrow morning . " Kyle felt a rush of disappointment that Frank wasn 't going to do something with him on Saturday , and then berated himself for caring . He gave Frank a halfhearted , " Five bucks for business associates . Say friends from work . " Kyle found himself smiling . He could tell that Frank hadn 't even thought about not spending Saturday with him , and even though the idea of golf had never appealed to him he found he wanted to go . " I could be ready early , and five bucks for outing . " * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Saturday morning went well for the both of them . Frank found he enjoyed having Kyle there . It helped him see the day from a new perspective and got the talk away from work a few times . Kyle , being the only teenager there , got lots of attention and praise for his beginning skills as a golfer from Frank and his three friends . He also didn 't mind looking like a bit of a nerd since he saw no one that he knew there , and since Frank let him drive the golf cart . Once golf was done they all went to the country club that was attached to the grounds for lunch . They sat down to order , and when Kyle saw their waitress he said , " Allison ? " " She 's a senior , and a straight A student . On the fast track to becoming a corporate drone . " Kyle paused , realizing all the men at the table might take offense to that and hastily added , " Or at least that 's how Matt puts it . " A couple of the men at the table laughed but Kyle could tell Frank wasn 't amused . Soon the talk turned to business and Kyle was bored . After they ate the talk continued and Kyle started fidgeting in his chair wanting to get to the skate park . When Allison came to take the plates away she said , " Hey Kyle , Matt and my mom are here to pick me up from my shift if you wanted to say hi . " Kyle said , " Sure . " and then realized Frank might not be happy that he had agreed without asking . He turned to look at Frank who smiled and nodded . Kyle said , " I 'll be back in a few minutes . " Kyle shrugged . He liked Frank , but he liked Matt too , and he knew Matt would never see Frank as anything but lame . Matt said , " My mom 's gonna drop me off at the skate park . You wanna ride , or are you stuck here with the loser ? " Frank knew he was going to be talking business for another half an hour at least and that it would be boring for Kyle . He said , " That 's fine . I 'll be there in about an hour . Here are the keys so you can get your skateboard out of the car . " Kyle got his skateboard into Matt 's mom 's car and ran the keys back to Frank . Soon he was on the road sitting in the back next to Matt . Matt started in , " So were you like golfing or something ? " Allison piped up from the front seat . " Give it a rest Matt . You just think it 's lame because it 's a rich person 's sport , and skateboarding is for penniless losers like you . " The rest of the ride was silent . Kyle had seen Matt and Allison fighting so many times it just seemed normal , and he was kind of glad Allison had distracted Matt so he didn 't have to come up with any answers . Once they got to the skate park , Matt and Kyle spent some time just skating and enjoying themselves . When they were both taking a break , Matt pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one out . Kyle had never seen Matt smoking and said , " Where did you get those ? " Matt gave Kyle an angry glare . " Since when did you turn into such a pussy ? First you start hanging out with that loser , then you stop skipping school to skate with me , and now you 're golfing and giving me a lecture on cigarettes ? Who are you ? It 's like you 've turned into a whole different person . " Looking surprised Matt was silent for a few seconds . Then he smiled and said ; " Well that 's more like the Kyle I know . I 'm not talking about smoking all the time . I 'm talking about trying it . Haven 't you ever wondered what it was like ? " Matt handed Kyle the pack and got a lighter out of his jeans to light the one in his mouth . Kyle looked at the pack , looked around the park nervously and then took one out . He never really had wondered what it was like to smoke . He always associated smoking with his father , and he always associated his father with bad feelings . But he didn 't want to look like a pussy in front of Matt now that Matt wasn 't making fun of him . He thought to himself that trying one wasn 't going to make him a smoker . In fact he was pretty sure it was just going to make him sick . Kyle handed the pack back to Matt and put the cigarette in his mouth . He put his hand out for the lighter and lit up . He faked it at first , only letting the smoke in his mouth and then exhaling , but Matt laughed and told him he was doing it wrong while coughing . Kyle rolled his eyes but decided to do it right . He regretted it the second the smoke infiltrated his lungs . He hacked and coughed it out . Matt slapped him on the back while laughing and saying , " Now that 's the right way to do it . " Kyle finally caught his breath , only to lose it again when he saw Frank walking his way looking pissed . Kyle muttered ' Fuck ' as he tossed the cigarette down and stepped on it . Matt looked over wondering what Kyle had seen and stopped laughing . He punched Kyle lightly in the arm and said , " Sorry man . " Matt , with the cigarette dangling from his mouth , turned and skated away from Kyle and the approaching Frank . Kyle was irritated that Matt had taken off , but the closer Frank got , the more Kyle thought maybe that was a good thing . When Frank was a couple of feet from Kyle he stopped and said , " Are you a smoker Kyle ? " Frank found himself very angry . When he had first saw Kyle bent over and coughing he thought maybe something was wrong , until he saw his friend laughing and then as he got closer saw the cigarettes in their hands . Frank was quiet so long Kyle darted his glance back up to him . Frank said , " Surly you know smoking causes cancer . " Kyle 's head snapped back to Frank and Frank could tell that connection hadn 't occurred to him yet . Kyle looked appalled ; knowing how much Frank has suffered watching his wife die . Frank leaned down a little so their faces were pretty close and said ; " If I ever hear about or catch you smoking again , I 'll put you over my knee and spank you . " Some of the blood that had drained from Kyle 's face when he first saw Frank coming came back in a rush . He shook his head no with disbelief . Frank glared and said , " You want to test me on that ? " As Frank turned and walked to the bench , he tried to calm himself down . He thought , ' Smoking once isn 't going to hurt him . He seemed sincere when he said he didn 't smoke on a regular basis . Even people who smoke for years don 't necessarily get cancer . You 're too emotional about the issue to be reasonable . ' Frank sat down and looked over at Kyle who was standing in exactly the same spot starring off into space . Sighing and shaking his head Frank realized Kyle was too shocked to move . Frank thought , ' He 's never been spanked , or at least not for a long time , and can 't believe I said it . I can 't believe that was my gut reaction either . It would be one thing if he were my son , but he 's not , and I 've only known him for a few weeks . But I would . . no I will if I think it 'll keep him from hurting himself . wonder what Cheryl would say . ' Kyle pushed past Matt and went to skate . Kyle couldn 't concentrate , and fell five different times while doing basic maneuvers . Frank winced as he saw Kyle fall a few times , and almost regretted his threat , but then told himself it was a good think Kyle was taking it seriously . Finally after only half an hour Kyle went over to Frank and said , " I 'm ready to go . " Frank stood and they walked to the car . When they were on the road Frank said , " Did you get hurt ? Looks like you fell pretty hard that last time . " Frank sighed and started to say something but Kyle beat him to it pleading , " Look Frank , I 've never tried smoking before , and I wouldn 't have even done it if Matt wasn 't being such an ass . Please don 't tell Mom . I swear it won 't happen again . " Looking at Kyle , Frank thought he seemed sincere . After a few seconds Frank gave in . " I won 't tell her this time . If there 's a next time I will . " Kyle opened the door to the BMW and was about to get out but stopped half way . He turned to Frank and said , " I had a good time playing golf today . Sorry I wrecked it . " Looking back into the car Kyle saw that Frank had a slight smile . Kyle got a dollar out of his pocket and handed it over . " It 's not a bad word in anyone 's book but yours , but I 'll try to say jerk instead . " Kyle watched Frank drive away and then walked into his house . He spent a good portion of the afternoon wondering about Frank 's threat . He had believed him at the time , but now it seemed kind of ridiculous . It crossed his mind to ask for five dollars just for the mention of spanking being lame , but knew he never wanted to bring it up again . And he did feel bad that it had made Frank think about Alice . After a while he turned on the TV to try and forget about the whole thing , happy that he had convinced Frank not to rat him out to his mother . Over the next two weeks Kyle did a lot of studying , and by the end of that time he was not only caught up in all of his classes , but doing well . His teachers had all confirmed that if this continued through the semester his grades would be improved . On Monday Cheryl took him to the DMV to get his driver 's license . Kyle passed with flying colors , and Cheryl invited Frank over to dinner at their house to celebrate . As soon as they had exchanged hellos Frank said , " So let 's see it . " Kyle got out his wallet and handed over the license . Frank took a good look at it and said , " It 's actually a pretty good picture of you . How 'd you manage that ? " Kyle made a face and opened his mouth , but Frank beat him too it . " Right , sorry . We 've talked about ' sport ' before haven 't we ? How about buddy , is that better ? " After a few seconds pause Frank put a hand on Kyle 's shoulder and said , " I knew you 'd pass the test . You 've demonstrated to me more then once that you 're a good driver . But I wanted to tell you that I 'm really proud of you for working so hard at getting back on track with your school work . " " So I 'm calling the deal off . This is the last five I 'm giving you for the way I speak . " Frank handed the money over . Frank put his arm around Kyle 's shoulders and headed them into the kitchen . " Come on , it 's not all that bad . Some food will make you feel better . " " Really well thanks . And actually I was going to talk to the both of you about that tonight . There 's a convention coming up in two weeks , and the hospital administration has asked me if I could attend . " Kyle shrugged , " I 'll be fine for a week . I can take care of myself . You should go , I mean if it sounds like fun to you , then you should go . " Cheryl looked at Frank , and he could tell she wasn 't all that happy with this as a plan . Frank said , " Or you could stay with me for a week . We could have fun hanging out . " Trying to sound cheerful Cheryl said , " Seems kind of silly to pass up an opportunity to go swimming every night of the week . You could pack a few things and spend your time with Frank . Sounds like fun to me . " Kyle looked back and forth between Frank and his mom a couple of times . He tossed his fork down on the plate and said , " You don 't trust me to stay by myself ? ! Did the two of you talk about this and come up with a plan for getting me to agree without telling me you don 't trust me ? ! " " Then go . I 'm sure Kyle could stay by himself if he needed to , but he doesn 't need to . If you feel more comfortable with him at my place , then that 's what we 'll do . I know I 'd worry less with him at my place too . Kyle is sixteen , and in no position to tell you what he will and won 't do . " Thinking it over for a few seconds Cheryl stared at her plate . Frank squeezed her hand and she looked up at him with a tired smile , " Okay , you 're right . I do want to go , and I 'll feel better knowing he 's staying with you . " Cheryl got up and started to clear the table and do the dishes as Frank walked to Kyle 's room . Frank knocked on the door and waited a few seconds . Getting no response he knocked a second time . Kyle 's voice came to him , " Go away . " Frank walked up to Kyle , grabbed his upper arm and yanked him up off the bed . Kyle felt his anger change to fear , but he was too startled to struggle . His eyes were wide with shock when Frank swatted his butt . Keeping a grip on Kyle 's arm Frank said , " That was for the cursing less then fifteen minutes after I told you our deal was off , and this " Frank let go of Kyle 's arm , and Kyle put his hand up to cover that spot on his arm , even though that wasn 't the part of him that stung . Kyle realized Frank 's threat from two weeks ago hadn 't just been a threat for smoking ; it had been a threat for bad behavior in general . He had never been spanked or even swatted , and he had trouble believing Frank had just smacked him . But the lingering sting forced him to believe it really had happened . . Kyle 's emotions were scattered , but mostly he felt hurt and unhappy . Kyle slowly sat and looked up at Frank with big sad eyes . Frank could tell Kyle was close to emotional tears . Frank lost some of his own irritation and sighed . He sat down on the bed next to Kyle and put an arm around his shoulders . " I know for a fact that you could take care of yourself for a week , and I 'm sure your mom does too . But we don 't want you to have to . Your mom and I would worry a lot less if you were staying with me . Don 't you want your mom to be able to go away for a week and not worry over you every night ? " " Parents worry no matter what . My folks still worry about my sister and me even though we 're grown . Has your mom ever left you alone for more then a few hours while she 's working ? " Kyle shrugged , not really liking that answer , but seeing where his mom might feel that way . Frank continued , " Your mom works really hard at her job and at keeping you as safe and happy as she can . Don 't you think she deserves to do something fun once in a while ? " Kyle was still too upset about the swats to point out how lame that had sounded , and he had been around Frank long enough to know what he meant , even if he didn 't express it very well . Kyle nodded that he understood . Frank stood up and headed towards the bedroom door . Kyle got up and slowly followed . As soon as Frank turned the corner in the hallway , Kyle put a hand back and rubbed at the fading sting on his rear , mostly because he still was having trouble accepting that it had happened . Frank and Kyle entered the kitchen and saw Cheryl was just finishing up putting the dishes in the dishwasher . She didn 't hear them at first over the running water but saw them out of the corner of her eye . She was a little surprised Frank had gotten Kyle to come out of his room , but pleased as well . She turned the water off and crossed her arms . She was about to give Kyle a lecture and a directive about the week she was gone , but Kyle spoke before she did . " I 'm sorry I was angry and shouting . I 'll stay with Frank while you go to the convention . I want you to go and have a good time , Mom . " Cheryl looked to Frank for some kind of answer to Kyle 's behavioral change , but he just smiled and patted Kyle 's shoulder . Cheryl said , " Well thank you for being so mature and understanding about it Kyle . 'll tell the hospital that I can go . " Over the next week Kyle thought a lot about what Frank had done . He was excessively careful not to swear , and he was a little guarded around Frank in general . But then on Saturday Frank took him bowling and to the skate park , and Kyle was finally able to let it go and relax around Frank again . The next week on Monday Cheryl invited Frank over to dinner again so they could finalize their plans for the next week , and also because she found she enjoyed his company . She was flying out on Sunday afternoon , and then coming home the following Friday late at night . Frank offered to drive her to and from the airport both times , and she accepted thinking Frank was going to have to come over and pick up Kyle anyway . The Saturday before Cheryl left , Kyle talked Frank into going to see a movie that had just come out . They both enjoyed the movie and after that went to the skate park together . Kyle enthusiastically told Matt about the movie , and Matt said he wanted to see it too . Kyle said , " We could go see it tonight after dinner . I want to see it again . " On the way home , Kyle thought about telling Frank his plans for the night , but decided against it . Since the smoking incident , Kyle had the distinct impression that Frank didn 't like Matt . Frank dropped Kyle off and said , " I 'll see you tomorrow afternoon . Make sure you 're all packed . " " Come on mom . It 's Saturday , and we won 't be out past eleven . Matt 's gonna borrow his mom 's car , and we 're just going to the movies and then home again . " Cheryl had met Matt a few times , and wasn 't overly fond of him . But Kyle had been doing really well since Frank had been around , and she knew he loved going to the movies . " Okay , but just to the movie and then home . I want you to call me as soon as you walk in the door . " Half an hour later Matt arrived and picked Kyle up . They went to the theater in a good mood talking about the movie they were going to see . When they got there Kyle paid . They were early to the show , so they both went to play some arcade games while they waited for the movie to start . A slightly chubby ten - year - old girl was playing Matt 's favorite driving game , so Matt played the game beside her waiting . When he saw her game was over he turned play it , but then saw her put another couple of quarters in it . He said , " Hey kid , I 'm next . " The girl said nothing more , but turned and started playing . Matt looked over at Kyle who was playing a shooting game and doing fairly well killing zombies . Kyle noticed Matt watching and said , " You can play this next if you want . " Matt shrugged and watched Kyle play for a while . Once Kyle finally lost , Matt turned and saw that the girl was starting another game . He went over to the game and said , " Hey , I said I was next . " Matt glared at her , and saw a little pile of quarters sitting next to her on the seat . Matt grabbed them all and put them in his pocket . " I guess you 're out of quarters . " She was getting out of the game and Matt called after her , " Go ahead fatso . While you 're at it , maybe you should buy some candy so you can put on another ten extra pounds . The girl stopped in mid stride and suddenly veered off to the bathroom . Kyle got a look at her face and could tell she was about to cry . Kyle glared at Matt and said , " You 're a jackass . " Kyle glared , " No I 'm not fucking kidding . I 'm tied of you pushing little kids around , and picking on her because she 's fat is horrific . Give me the fucking money . " Matt got a handful of quarters out of his pocket and tossed the whole handful in Kyle 's general direction . They scattered all over the floor and Kyle glared at Matt . Matt glared back and said , " Horrific ? You 're as much of a douche as your mom 's cousin . In fact since you 've been hanging out with him , you 've turned into a complete loser . " Matt turned to his game and started playing . Kyle picked up the quarters off the floor and thought that maybe Matt was right . He had changed since knowing Frank , and horrific was definitely Frank 's word . Kyle wasn 't sure if changing was a good thing or not , but he knew if this same situation had happened a month and a half ago , he would have felt bad for the kid , but he would have just stood by and said nothing . Kyle took the quarters and walked to the entrance to the ladies room . He stood there for a few seconds and waited until a middle aged woman walked by . He said , " Excuse me . " She turned to him and he held up the hand full of quarters . " There 's a little girl in there who 's about ten , and probably upset . These belong to her . Could you give them to her ? " Kyle turned and walked back to Matt . Matt had already lost , which was kind of unusual for him . Kyle still wanted to see the movie , and Matt was his ride home , so he said , " I 'm gonna go get some popcorn . You want something ? " Kyle nodded and went to buy the food . By the time he got back Matt had stopped playing and was just leaning against the wall doing nothing . Kyle handed him the nachos and said , " Ready to go see the movie ? " Matt took the nachos and followed Kyle to the theater . They sat , ate , and talked about how stupid the ads were on the screen while more and more people filed into the theater . As soon as the lights dimmed and the previews started Matt took something out of his jacket and took a drink . Kyle looked over and saw a water bottle . He leaned over and said , " I could have gotten you a soda with your nachos . " Kyle was bombarded with the smell of alcohol from Matt 's breath . Kyle shook his head and looked at Matt like he had lost his mind . " You 're fucking drinking ? " " Jesus Kyle , get a grip ! It 's not like I 'm gonna drink the whole thing . I was planning on sharing , but you 're obviously too much of a pussy to join me . " Matt took another drink and shook his head . " You want to be some kind of Boy Scout ? Fine by me , all the more for me to drink . " Kyle crossed his arms and glared at the previews , wishing he had never brought up the idea of going to the movies with Matt in the first place . A few minutes later a man who worked at the theater came in with one of the women who had been sitting behind the boys . She pointed at them , and the man walked up to the two of them . Kyle felt his heart rate going up and muttered , " Shit . " Matt shoved his water bottle into his inside jacket pocket and pretended to watch the very beginning of the movie . The man leaned into the row and said , " You two . Out . " Matt ignored him , but Kyle stood up . Kyle looked down at Matt who just sat there . Kyle kicked Matt 's lower leg a little harder then was nice and said , " Get up . " Matt got up and walked over to the man . Once they all got out of the theater Kyle could see the tag on the man 's vest that read ' manager ' . The manager said , " You boys come with me . " Matt punched Kyle in the shoulder hard . Kyle looked ready to throw a punch of his own but the manager reached out and grabbed the drink out of Matt 's jacket while he was distracted . The manager pointed towards the front of the theater and said , " Come on , we 're going to my office . " They started walking , and Kyle 's heart was racing at the thought of telling his mom about this . Matt glared at Kyle and hissed , " Why couldn 't you have kept your mouth shut ? This is your fault . " Kyle just ignored him . Soon they were in the manager 's small office and he had them sit in some chairs that were against the wall . He sat down at his desk , opened the water bottle to sniff it , and then put it down on his desk . Picking up a pen he looked at Kyle figuring he would be the easier of the two . " Give me your name and address , and a phone number where your folks can be reached . " Matt refused to say anything and looked away . The manager picked up the phone and dialed the number Kyle had given him . He asked for Cheryl and then after a pause left his name and number for her to call him back . John said , " Kyle and his friend were causing a disturbance in the theater . Normally we would just toss them out , but since there was underage drinking involved I felt compelled to do more . I couldn 't reach Kyle 's mother , so he suggested I call you . " Matt was seething , and gave John his mother 's work number knowing she wouldn 't be there . John left a voice mail and then asked Matt if there was anyone else he could call instead . Matt shook his head no , thinking that after a while the manager would give up . Kyle and Matt sat waiting while John did some paperwork . Twenty - five minutes later an upset looking Frank showed up . One of the theater employees showed Frank to John 's office . John watched while Frank leaned down and put a hand on Kyle 's shoulder and asked , " Are you okay ? " Kyle closed his eyes and his face turned red while Matt started laughing . For a few seconds the only sound in the room was Matt 's laughing . Finally he was able to get out the words , " Big brother ? " and started laughing again . Frank opened the office door and Kyle got up to follow him out . They went into the hallway and shut the door . Frank said , " Tell me what happened . " Kyle explained the whole thing , and because he was angry about it , he even told Frank about Matt teasing the girl . Frank put a hand on Kyle 's shoulder and said , " I 'm sorry you had such a bad night . It sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances . " Frank pulled Kyle into a quick hug . Kyle hugged back and took a deep breath to help calm himself down . He had been hoping Frank wouldn 't be angry , but he never would have guessed that Frank would be on his side of things . Frank let him go and said , " Is Matt 's mom coming to pick him up ? " Kyle sighed and told Frank the phone number . Frank got out one of his business cards and wrote Matt 's home number down on the back of it . He put a hand on Kyle 's shoulder again and said , " I want you to apologize to the manager for all the trouble your friend caused tonight , and then I 'll take you home . " Frank squeezed Kyle 's shoulder as they walked out . As soon as they were out in the parking lot Kyle said , " Can we go to see Mom at work ? I don 't want her to call John back and get the story from him . " Frank put a hand on Kyle 's upper arm and turned him slightly so they were looking at each other . Frank said , " You have no right to give your mom attitude tonight , and I believe we talked about you skipping school . Apologize . " Cheryl was a little shocked at Frank 's reaction , and even more so at her son 's immediate change in behavior . She looked back and forth between Kyle and Frank a couple of times wondered what had happened between them for this exchange to be unsurprising to either of them . Frank let go of Kyle 's arm and said , " I 'm sorry to say that I agree with you Cheryl . I 've seen Matt quite a few times over the past two months , and I 've never seen anything good to speak of . " * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The next day Frank came to pick up both Kyle and Cheryl in the afternoon . He took Cheryl to the airport , and she gave him a list of emergency phone numbers . Then Frank watched with amusement as she gave Kyle a kiss on the cheek , which Kyle wiped off and complained about while she hugged him . Soon she was gone and Frank drove Kyle back to his house . Kyle got settled in and then did some skateboarding in Frank 's huge driveway . That night Kyle saw Frank making soup and sandwiches for dinner and asked , " Where 's Missy ? " Monday morning Kyle couldn 't stop thinking about Matt 's reaction to finding out Frank was his big brother . He didn 't have that many friends at school , but all of them were also friends with Matt . He had no doubt they would all be laughing at him today . He sighed as he got his stuff ready to go . Frank drove him to school , and told him to meet him at his office like he usually did on Tuesdays and Thursdays . Kyle got out of the car with his head down trying to avoid eye contact with everyone and make it to his locker unnoticed . Before he could even get into the building he heard some whistling , and then Matt 's voice rang out , " Did your boyfriend just drop you off Kyle ? " Kyle 's face burned , but he kept walking and tried to ignore the laughter of his friends . Matt called out , " I didn 't know you had a thing for older men . Do you call him Daddy while he fucks you ? " The bell rang , and Kyle got into the school before Matt came up with a reply . Kyle 's head was reeling . Of all the things he had anticipated after last night , Matt making gay references wasn 't one of them . He knew his friends would be laughing , and making jokes about him needing some kind of father figure , but his mind hadn 't come up with the worst possible outcome . He shook his head , berating himself for not thinking of it before Matt did . He sighed and went to his first class . He noticed quite a few looks turned his direction , and whispers circulating the room . He opened his book and pretended to look at it until the bell rang again . The next three hours were hell for him . The rumors had circulated and no one was talking to him , but everyone was staring . At lunch Kyle wasn 't quite sure what to do . He usually sat with Matt and his friends , but that wasn 't really a possibility today . He was hungry , but decided to skip lunch . He didn 't want to sit alone and feel everyone 's eyes on him . He walked around outside in the yard and wondered what he was going to do . The rest of his classes were all the same , and when it was time for Algebra he almost skipped . But then he told himself that would mean Matt had won and went in anyway . He sat in a different seat then usual , and tried not to notice that Matt was talking to a group of kids about him . When school was done for the day Kyle got his stuff and started walking to the bus stop . Less then a block off the school grounds he heard Matt 's voice behind him . Matt called out , " Hey Kyle , don 't be mad . We all understand don 't we guys ? " Kyle turned to face Matt and his friends some of who were smiling in a mean way and nodding in agreement . Kyle looked around and saw quite a few kids from school had stopped walking home and were watching . Matt continued , " I mean it might be worth it to bag a rich sugar daddy who will buy you nice things and take you to the country club . Did you get that idea from my sister ? " Kyle felt more hatred for Matt in that moment then he had ever felt for anyone in his life . He yelled , " Shut up ! I 'm sure you can 't understand my relationship with Frank since your own mother is counting down the days until you 're eighteen so she can kick you out . Too bad you were held back in fifth grade after your dad left , that means your poor mom has to keep you until your nineteen . Do you suppose your dad took off because he couldn 't stand you either ? I know for sure your mom and sister hate you , so my guess is he did . " Kyle lost it and swung a punch at Matt 's face . It connected , and Matt 's head snapped back . Matt dove at him , and within seconds they were rolling around on the sidewalk both trying to get he upper hand while trying to punch the other . Even more kids rushed up to see what was going on . A few seconds into the fight Matt 's sister Allison saw them and yelled out , " Matt ! Kyle ! Stop it both of you ! " They ignored her . Matt had gotten the upper hand , which wasn 't a surprise since he was taller , older , and weighed more then Kyle , and he was now sitting on top of Kyle and punched him in the face a couple of times . Allison ran in , and used her backpack full of books to whack Matt in the side of the head . Matt fell down hard and lay still on the pavement for a second while his head spun . Kyle scooted away and stood up . Allison held her backpack in a threatening way and said , " You start it up again and you get whacked too . " Kyle held his hands up and backed away . He accidentally bumped into his gym teacher who had just arrived on the scene . The teacher said , " Kyle , Allison get yourselves back to school and into the office now . " All too soon , Kyle was having his scrapes and bruises looked at by the school nurse while the vice - principal called Frank at work . Kyle wasn 't sure who looked worse , him or Matt . They both had black eyes . Kyle had a gash on his forehead , and Matt had a split lip . Neither one looked good . Allison was sitting in the reception area waiting for their mother to come and pick them up . Kyle and Matt refused to speak to one another as the nurse worked on them . Soon all three kids were sitting in the reception area with Allison sitting between the two boys . Matt 's mom showed up first and she looked pissed . She came in and hissed at Matt , ' What have you done now ? ! " Matt crossed his arms and looked away . His mom continued , " It 's not enough that I have to come and get you at the theater yesterday , but now I have to miss work to come pick you up for fighting ? I am this close to kicking your ass out of the house . " Matt said nothing . His mom turned to Allison and said , " And you ! I expect this from your brother , but I never thought I 'd have to come pick you up too . " Looking slightly appeased at that her mom turned to talk to the receptionist . A few minutes later the vice principal came out and said she would have to wait until Kyle 's guardian got there as well so they could all talk together . She glared at no one in particular and said , " Great . I needed to miss more work . " She paced around the room for the next ten minutes until Frank showed up . Frank came in and went straight to Kyle , but Kyle kept his eyes on the floor . Frank had been told that Kyle had been fighting and wanted to reassure himself that Kyle was okay . He said , " Look at me . " Kyle looked up , and Frank put his hands on the sides of Kyle 's face to tilt it towards the light to get a good look at the injuries . He said , " Looks painful . They said the nurse looked at you . Do you have any other injuries ? Anything that hurts that she didn 't know about ? " Kyle shook his head no . Frank took a deep breath of relief and then turned to talk with the receptionist . Soon all five of them were in the vice - principal 's office . Matt 's mom turned to Frank and said , " Are you Kyle 's father ? " " No , I know him from the big brother program . His mom 's out of town this week , so he 's staying with me . " This explanation seemed to suffice for Matt 's mom . The vice - principal cleared his throat and started out with , " We have a strictly enforced no fighting rule here at this school . But since school was technically out for the day , and they were off the school grounds , legally there isn 't much I can do other then have this meeting and put a note in all three files . We can however investigate how the fight started , and if there was some sort of altercation during school hours we can and will do something about that . " Kyle swallowed hard thinking this was much more serious then he had thought . The vice - principal looked at Allison who was the oldest and most responsible of the bunch . He said , " Miss Jackson , you tell me your story first please . " The vice - principal took notes while Allison spoke . " Kyle and Matt have been friends for years now . I 've never seen them fight . I 've hardly ever seen them arguing even . So when I saw them fighting I was shocked and yelled at them to stop . They didn 't , and Matt had gotten on top of Kyle and was punching him in the face . I could tell by the look in Matt 's face that he wasn 't going to stop until someone made him . I was worried that Kyle would be permanently hurt , so I used my backpack to hit Matt in the side of the head . Then when Kyle got up I told him I 'd hit him with it too if he didn 't stop fighting . " " I tried to ignore it , but he wouldn 't stop . The whole school knows . In every class I was in today there were whispers and looks behind my back . Then when I tried to leave school Matt and some of our friends followed me and kept saying stuff about Frank . " Matt scoffed , " I never said anything to him . He 's just looking for some excuse for attacking me , and you heard him admit he hit me first . I was just defending myself . " The vice - principal turned to Kyle and said , " Is there anyone who could collaborate your story ? " The vice - principal thought it over for a few minutes and said , " I 'm going to need a day to conduct an investigation about these accusations . Kyle and Matt will both be suspended for one day while I look into this . Wednesday morning at eight AM I would like to see both of them in my office again , and we will take it from there . But I warn you that if the accusations turn out to be true , it 's likely that Matt will be expelled . " " The two of you were off school grounds when the fight occurred . If you want to take legal action against Kyle for assault , then you will have to get a lawyer . But if you 've created a hostile environment for Kyle to go to school in , then expulsion is a real possibility for you . I 'll have an answer for you on Wednesday morning . " As they were all walking out , Frank dug out a business card and handed it to Matt 's mom . He said , " I personally think Matt would be a perfect candidate for the big brother program . It 's free , and he would get quite a bit of one on one attention . Please feel free to call me if you have any questions about it . " Kyle looked at the floor of the car and felt like crying . He didn 't want Frank to be mad at him , especially after it had felt like everyone had been against him all day long . Frank said , " You 're grounded for a week . No skateboarding , no swimming , and no computer or video games . " Frank reached over and put a hand on Kyle 's shoulder and said with sympathy , " I 'm sure they were . The things I did hear about horrified me . But it still doesn 't excuse you striking out first . " Frank patted Kyle 's shoulder once before putting his hand back on the steering wheel . They both thought about things until they arrived home . They got into the kitchen and Frank asked , " Did the school nurse give you anything for the pain ? " Frank led them through the house to the downstairs bathroom where he got out some Advil and handed a couple to Kyle along with a glass from the sink . Kyle took the pills , and then Frank said , " Why don 't you go lie down for about half an hour and let them take effect . I have a few work calls to make , and then we 'll talk after that . " " Okay . " Heading up to his room , Kyle thought about everything . The fact that his best friend had turned on him , that the whole school would be making fun of him , that his mom was out of town , and that Frank had just grounded him and was probably going to lecture him about it as well . He got to his room , closed the door behind him , lay down on his bed and cried . About an hour later Frank found Kyle asleep on his bed . Frank had had time to think about what Kyle had done , and had decided that being grounded was enough punishment for what he had done , especially since he had clearly been provoked . But he wanted Kyle to try and think about ways to avoid a physical fight in the future . Frank put a hand on Kyle 's shoulder and shook it once while he said , " Hey buddy , time to wake up . " Frank left and Kyle sat up with a groan . The pain medication had worked , but his ribs and face were still sore . He met Frank in the kitchen and saw that Frank was reading the directions on a box of frozen lasagna for dinner . Frank set the oven to preheat and then looked over at Kyle . Kyle could tell by the look that Frank was in serious mode . " You want to tell me any more of what Matt said to you so you can get if off your chest ? " Kyle nodded . Frank sighed and said , " We need to talk about you punching Matt . I want to know what was going through your mind when you did it . " Shocked and horrified , Kyle shook his head no and took a step away from Frank . Frank took a step forward and got a hold of Kyle 's upper arm so he couldn 't back up again . Kyle said , " That 's ridiculous ! I 'm not five ! " Frank started walking Kyle to the corner as he continued as if Kyle hadn 't said anything , " I want you to come up with at least two things that you could have done differently today to avoid the fight . After the half - hour is up , you and I will sit down and talk about what you could have done differently . If you haven 't thought of anything at all that you could have done to avoid the fight , then you can go back to the corner and think about it for another half an hour . " Frank and Kyle were both standing right next to the corner of the kitchen facing each other and Frank still had a grip on Kyle 's arm . Kyle was pissed and tried to yank his arm away from Frank but failed . He yelled , " I will not stand in the corner ! " The swats and threat did nothing to calm Kyle 's anger . There was no doubt in his mind that Frank would do it , and he wanted to avoid that situation entirely , but he also wanted Frank to know what he thought of the whole situation . He kept his head turned to the wall and said with obvious anger ; " Of all the cheesy , out of date , and retarded things you 've done and said , this is the worst . " Kyle said nothing and silence stretched out between them for a few seconds . When Frank was sure Kyle was calm enough to stay put , he let go of Kyle 's arm and said , " I mean it Kyle . You stay there facing the wall and think things through . I don 't want to hear another word from you until I tell you the half hour is up " Kyle 's whole body radiated anger as he stood there with his hands in fists at his sides . Frank waited for a few seconds to make sure Kyle was going to comply , and then went to put the lasagna in the oven and set the timer . Frank had brought some work home with him , and he put it on the kitchen counter to work on where he could keep an eye on Kyle . Kyle 's mind raced with all kinds of hate and anger for Frank for the first ten minutes , but after he had run out of insulting things to think , his mind started going over the events of the day . Not because Frank had told him to , but because the events were still upsetting to him and he couldn 't keep his mind away from it . Twenty minutes into it he did start thinking about things he could have done differently to avoid the fight . Kyle felt is anger at Frank rushing back . Frank was sitting on one of the kitchen stools at the counter . Kyle went and sat on the one next to him with anger clearly written on his face . Frank said , " Tell me what you could have done differently today . " " I think it would have gotten Matt to stop sooner , and you would have avoided the fight , but it also would have made you a snitch in the eyes of your classmates . So while that would have been an option , I would understand why you wouldn 't want to take it . Any other ideas ? " Turning whiny Kyle said , " No . I just don 't know what else you want me to say . I did think about it , and I told you what I came up with . Standing there longer won 't help . " Frank gave in , " You 're right , you did do what I asked , and I appreciate it . I won 't make you stand there anymore . The only thing I was thinking about that you haven 't brought up is your reaction to Matt 's taunting . " " What if the first time he said something about me , you had just walked up to all your friends and told the truth about the situation . When Matt said something repulsive , instead of responding or saying something unpleasant , you could have focused on the other people in the group and told them some of the stuff we did . You still could . Tell them about driving the Jaguar or swimming in the pool . Tell them about your new skateboard , and invite them over to come see the place for themselves . It 's not like Matt is your only friend . " Kyle did think about that , and thought it was a better answer then any he had come up with . Frank patted Kyle on the shoulder and said , " I need to finish this paperwork up . Why don 't you get out some of your homework and do it at the table until dinner is ready . " Nodding absently Kyle walked over to his backpack and got out some homework . He set it on the table but wasn 't able to concentrate , because his mind was busy thinking about what Frank had said . Half an hour later dinner was ready , and while they were eating Frank said , " We 're going to have to call your mother tonight and tell her . " Having skipped lunch Kyle had wolfed down his first helping and had put a second helping on his plate . But at the thought of telling his mother about the day he lost some of his appetite . " Yeah , I guess we do . " Kyle did with some difficulty . Frank said , " I 'm sorry , I didn 't mean for it to be something harsh . I just wanted you to really concentrate on what I had told you without distractions . " Kyle pushed the food around on his plate . Changing the subject , Frank said , " I 've arranged for your tutor to come over here tomorrow afternoon . He should be here about three . " " I leave for work at seven , and I plan to wake you up right before I go . I 'm trusting you to spend the day studying , or reading in your room . I would take the day off , but we 're having a big meeting with some people from out of town and . . " Frank believed him , and they finished eating in silence . As soon as the dinner dishes were done , Frank called Cheryl and told her what had happened . She wasn 't happy about it , and apologized to Frank for having to deal with it while she was gone . He assured her that he didn 't mind , and after a short conversation he handed the phone to Kyle . Kyle was pleasantly surprised that his mom was sympathetic about the situation with Matt , even if she did agree with Frank that Kyle should be grounded for the fighting . And when she said she missed him before hanging up , Kyle realized he really missed her too . He stood there holding the dead phone for a few seconds . Frank gently took it from him and hung it up . Frank pulled Kyle into a hug and said , " It 's been a rough day . Why don 't you go get ready for bed , and read something for a while . " The next morning Frank woke Kyle up and told him there was cereal in the cupboard for breakfast before he left for work . Once Frank was gone Kyle got himself some breakfast and thought over the events of the day before . He found his ribs were still pretty sore and took some more painkillers before taking a shower and getting dressed for the day . He had been studying for about half an hour when the phone rang . He wasn 't sure if he should answer it or not , but then thought it might be Frank . He rushed to the living room and picked it up . " Hello ? " " You should . It 's not going to look very good for his image if this goes to court . And once the public hears about what I said , there is always going to be some doubt as to what happened between the two of you . " Kyle took a few seconds to think about that . After everything Frank had done for him , he couldn 't let that happen . Kyle gave in . " Okay , I 'll meet with you , but I don 't have a way to get to the skate park . " Matt hung up before Kyle could say anything else . Kyle slammed the phone down in anger and said some choice words under his breath . Kyle looked at the clock , which read nine AM . Kyle thought , ' Frank 's in meetings all morning . Mr . Wagner isn 't gonna be here until three , and Frank won 't be home until after five . I know where the keys to the Jag are , but if Frank finds out . amn . tupid fucking Matt . wish I 'd never met him . ut if Frank 's image is wrecked because of me after all the nice stuff he 's done for me and for mom . F ank doesn 't have to find out . I ll be back in no time at all . I have to try and convince Matt to keep his big mouth shut . ' i Knowing it was risky ; Kyle sighed and went to get the keys for the Jaguar . As he got in the car and started it up he thought , ' If Frank finds out he 's gonna spank me for sure . No , don 't think about that . Just think about getting there and getting back before anyone finds out . Maybe Frank would understand even if he did find out . It 's not like I 'm out joyriding , I 'm only doing it because I have to . ' Feeling a little better Kyle backed out of the garage and headed to the skate park . Soon he was there and saw Matt skateboarding alone . Kyle parked and got out to meet him . Matt skated up to him and said , " Your face looks worse today . " Matt 's face changed , and Kyle could see that their friendship had meant something to Matt . Matt looked away and said , " You haven 't been acting like much of a friend lately . You got me into trouble at the theater , you haven 't been hanging out with me nearly as much as you used to , and then you started the fight . " Kyle 's mind screamed out , ' I haven 't been acting like a friend ? ! You 're the one who hasn 't been acting like a friend ! ' Keeping his thoughts to himself Kyle said , " Tell you what Matt , tomorrow morning I 'll tell everyone that we 're still friends , and that I don 't want you expelled . I 'll tell them that it was just a fight between you and me , and that it was a one - time thing that won 't happen again . Then if you still get expelled , I 'll ask Frank to help you find another school or get a tutor like he got me so you can get your GED . " Matt thought about it for a second . Knowing Matt well enough to know it would help persuade him to agree , Kyle said , " Please Matt , I 'm begging you not to cause trouble for Frank . I 'll owe you big . " Kyle thought it was best not to argue this point right now , and before he could come up with some kind of reply he saw someone approaching out of the corner of his eye . He turned and saw an irate Frank walking towards them . Kyle involuntarily shook his head no and took a few steps away . All he could think was , ' No . No . No . NO ! ' Matt , confused by the obvious panic in Kyle 's face , looked over to see what had caused it . Matt jumped on his skateboard and skated away as quickly as he could without waiting for Kyle to answer . Kyle barely noticed that Matt had left . When Frank was close enough to reach out and touch Kyle he stopped and said , " Home . Now . " Kyle sidestepped around Frank and walked as fast as he could back to the Jaguar . He started driving with shaky hands and found it difficult to concentrate on driving as his mind raced . ' How the hell did he find out ? How did he know where I was ? He looks really pissed . Damn it , he 's gonna . . aybe if I tell him why I left he won 't . . B t what if I tell him and then he tells the vice - principal about Matt 's blackmail attempt . M tt will get expelled , and then cause trouble for Frank . S it . ' - Half an hour ago Frank was at his office in a meeting when Louise had interrupted him with an urgent phone call . Frank had answered and found Missy on the other end . He was immediately worried and said , " What happened , is Kyle okay ? " While Missy was gone Frank thought , ' He said he knew he was grounded . He agreed to stay in his room and study . Where the heck would he be going with the car ? Why would he leave ? ' Frank let out a long disappointed sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers while closing his eyes on an impending headache . " Okay Missy . Thanks for calling me . I 'm going to try and find him . " As soon as Frank hung up , he went back into the meeting and apologized for having a family emergency . He left the meeting and told Louise to cancel all of his appointments for the day . She asked , " What 's wrong ? " Louise didn 't ask anything else , just started to make phone calls . Frank gathered up his briefcase and headed out the door . He tried to think about where Kyle would go , and could only think of two places - his own house , or the skate park . Frank got into his BMW and tried to decide which place to check first . He decided on the skate park since it was closer . When Frank arrived he couldn 't believe his eyes . There in the distance he could see Matt and Kyle talking . Shaking his head with disbelief , Frank felt his worry turn to anger . He got out and headed for the two of them . Matt dashed off as soon as he saw Frank , and Frank could see there was worry and some fear in Kyle 's face . Frank thought , ' Good . He should be worried . ' Frank got a little closer to Kyle then was necessary and found he was too angry to say much besides a directive for Kyle to go home . He followed Kyle to the cars , and then followed him all the way home . On the ride he was able to calm down a little bit , but not much . He tried to tell himself that there might be a good reason for all of it , but in the end knew there was no excuse that was going to be acceptable . Kyle parked the Jaguar in front of the garage and a few seconds later Frank pulled up next to him in the BMW . The garage door went up and they both pulled in and parked . Frank got out and walked purposely towards Kyle . Kyle got out quickly , shut the door , and stood with his back to the Jaguar . Frank got a hold of Kyle 's upper arm , which Kyle found unpleasantly familiar , and walked them both towards the house . As they got close Missy opened the door , and Kyle realized that was how Frank had found out he had left . Missy just stood back with a sad look on her face as they entered . Frank said , " Kyle and I are going to go talk in the office for about half an hour . " Missy nodded in acceptance and went back to the laundry room to fold some clothes . Kyle looked appalled and shook his head no , knowing exactly what Frank was planning on . Kyle felt himself being drug through the house , and said , " Frank . Frank ! I 'll be grounded for two weeks okay ? " Frank didn 't acknowledge Kyle and kept them walking through the house . Getting no response , Kyle started to try and pull away from Frank 's grip as he said , " Okay a month ! Frank ! Please " Kyle put his hand on top of Frank 's hand to try and pry the fingers off . Frank stopped abruptly and swatted Kyle hard . Kyle gasped and stopped trying to pull away . Frank took a few more strides to the office door . They went in and Frank shut the door behind them . Frank pulled Kyle along with him , and got the armless office chair out from behind the desk . He wheeled it into the middle of the room away from any other furniture , and sat down . Only after he was sitting , and Kyle was standing beside him on the right , did he let go of Kyle 's arm . Kyle 's stomach was twisted in knots as he looked down at Frank 's lap , knowing exactly what was going to happen . Kyle could tell that it took some effort for Frank to keep his voice level as he said , " Tell me what happened . " Giving Frank a hopeful look Kyle said , " Matt got your number from that card you gave his mom , and he called me . He said he wanted to meet me , and talk to me about tomorrow . He said he wanted to make a deal . I told him no at first , but then . " Realizing what Kyle had assumed , Frank took a hold of Kyle 's wrist and said , " You 're always more important to me then anything at work . If you have a problem , then you call me , no matter what I said I was doing that day . Understand ? " In a panicked rush to get out of the impending spanking Kyle looked at Frank said , " Matt told me he would ruin your reputation . He said he would tell everyone in court what he said at school , and that because you were famous it would wreck your image . I couldn 't let that happen after everything you 've done for me and mom . " Instead of having the desired affect , Kyle saw a flash of anger in Frank 's eyes . Frank let go of his wrist and used both hands to undo the button of Kyle 's jeans . Kyle tried to take a step back but couldn 't . Kyle pleaded , " No ! Frank , please don 't " Kyle 's baggy jeans fell to the floor as soon as Frank let go . Frank grabbed Kyle 's wrist again and pulled him over his lap with a firm yank . Kyle caught his upper body with both hands on the floor . His stomach was directly on top of Frank 's right leg , and his upper thighs were on Frank 's left leg , which meant Kyle 's legs dangled in the air behind him , and his butt was dead center on Frank 's lap . Kyle said , " No one spanks their kids anymore ! Can 't we think of something else ? ! " Frank had one hand on Kyle 's hip to keep him in place and the other hand was in mid air ready to strike when Kyle spoke . Frank lowered his hand and rested it on the back of Kyle 's thigh . He looked down at the back of Kyle 's head and said , " No I don 't think we can . You should know me well enough by now to know I don 't care much what everyone else does , I do what I think is right . You were suspended from school after having a fight , and then after I grounded you , instead of staying in your room , you took my car and went to meet with the person you had been fighting with in the first place . Now I understand that there was an element of blackmail here , but the fact that you didn 't call me tells me that you are insecure about your place in my life . You seem to think you owe me something because I 've done things with you for the past two months , but that 's just not the case . " Bringing his hand down Frank landed a solid swat dead center on Kyle 's rear end . His hand was large enough to cover a significant portion of Kyle 's butt with each swat . Kyle 's body jerked in response , and Frank brought his hand down again in the same spot . Kyle was thoroughly embarrassed about the position , the fact that he was in it , and the fact that he knew he had been wrong to leave the house in the first place . The first few swats were more embarrassing then painful to Kyle , but as the swats continued to come down in the same spot , Kyle found his body jerking and tensing in response . Kyle wasn 't sure how many swats constituted a spanking according to Frank , but he hoped it wasn 't much more , because it was starting to hurt a lot . The swats kept coming in a steady rhythm for a few seconds . Kyle wondered if Frank was waiting to hear some kind of apology and called out , " I 'm sorry . Frank , I 'm sorry I left the house . I won 't do it again . " Kyle couldn 't keep his voice under control anymore . Some grunts and ows slipped out before he could stop them , and once they started they only increased in frequency and volume . After a few more seconds , Kyle was pretty desperate for it to end . " Please Frank ! Ow ! I 'm really sorry ! Mmfh ! Please stop ! " Frank did stop and Kyle tried to collect himself and calm down . Kyle was breathing hard , and the stinging sensation in his butt made it hard to calm down . Frank sighed with regret and said , " This next part is for taking my car without asking . " Kyle put his hand back to try and keep his underwear up , but his butt was bare before his hand made it all the way back . He covered as much of the spot Frank had been hitting as he could with his hand , and gave a desperate , " Please Frank , I said I was sorry , and I swear I won 't do it again . " Frank got a firm grip on Kyle 's wrist , pulled the hand away , and held it against his right knee a few inches away from Kyle 's hip . Seeing the large red mark on the center of Kyle 's butt that was in the vague shape of his hand , with some distinct finger shaped red marks here and there on the left butt cheek , Frank stopped for a second . He had never spanked anyone before . He 'd been spanked a few times growing up . And his sister , who had been more wild then he ever was , had been spanked more then a few times . But it was somewhat of a shock to see the glaring physical evidence that he was causing Kyle pain . Frank told himself it was the right thing to do even if it was a difficult thing to do , and started spanking Kyle again , but aimed for the skin that wasn 't red yet . Kyle was dismayed that the spanking hurt even more now and let out a long and frustrated , " Owww ! " while trying to squirm away . While he spanked Frank said , " I have no problem with you driving my car Kyle , but you will get permission first . " " Okay I wiiiiiill ! " " What if Missy had called the police first when she found the Jaguar missing ? What if you had gotten pulled over for driving a stolen car ? Did you think about that ? " " Noooo ! " Kyle hadn 't considered that at all , and it wasn 't a thought he wanted to dwell on not that he could concentrate on much of anything other then the continued slaps to his backside . Taking someone 's car without asking is wrong . don 't want to hear about you doing it again . " Kyle hated the spanking in the first place , but having Frank scolding him while spanking was much worse . " I won 't ! I won 't ! Frank ! I said I won 't ! " Frank heard Kyle 's voice breaking on the last word , and knew he was about to cry . He gave him ten more swats and stopped . He could hear and feel Kyle 's shuddering breathing as he tried to conceal his crying . Frank said , " This last part is for meeting with Matt . " Kyle shook his head no frantically , but Frank wasn 't swayed . " Meeting with Matt alone was a dangerous thing to do . You had both been in a fight just yesterday , and he 's bigger then you are . If he had decided to finish the job that his sister interrupted , you could be in the hospital . " Frank heard a choked sob from Kyle right before he resumed the spanking . He aimed for the center of Kyle 's butt again , and Kyle yelped in response . Frank gave Kyle twenty more swats that were slightly harder then the rest had been , and by the time he was done Kyle was crying openly . Taking a deep breath to calm himself down , Frank let go of Kyle 's wrist , and pulled his underwear up for him . He rubbed his back for a few seconds and said quietly , " Okay , it 's over now . " Getting no response from Kyle he flipped the boy over so that he was sitting in his lap with his butt between Frank 's thighs and free from pressure . Frank pulled Kyle into a hug and held him while he cried . Kyle immediately wrapped his arms around Frank 's shoulders as well and clung to him . Frank ran a soothing hand up and down Kyle 's back while he waited . A few minutes later Frank was the first to speak after the crying was down to sniffles . " Listen to me buddy , I know that hurt , and I 'm sorry I had to do it . You 're forgiven , and I 'm sure you won 't make the same mistakes again . " They sat quietly for a few more minutes while Kyle tried to calm down . As he calmed down he became more aware of the fact he was sitting on Frank 's lap and let go of Frank so he could get off . Frank let him go and Kyle stood up . Kyle bent down and worked on untangling his jeans from around his feet while Frank stood up and wheeled the chair back to it 's place behind the desk . When Frank turned around Kyle was dressed and had both his hands on his butt gently rubbing . Frank got a box of tissues off the corner of the desk and handed it to Kyle . Kyle took a few and wiped at his face and blew his nose . Frank put the box back and half sat half leaned against the edge of the desk . He said , " What did Matt have to say when you met with him ? " Kyle wouldn 't look at Frank , and his voice was quiet and shaky . " He said he didn 't want to get expelled , and so he wanted me to tell the vice - principal that it had all been a big joke . He also said he wanted ten thousand dollars to keep his mouth shut . I said no , and I told him you wouldn 't give in to blackmail . " Kyle found it difficult , but did look up . Frank said , " Matt can say whatever he wants about us to whomever he wants . You and I know it 's not true , and that is all that matters to me . My reputation won 't suffer , because all the people who know me will vouch for me . " Frank could tell from Kyle 's look that he didn 't believe him . Frank let go of Kyle 's shoulder and looked away as he said , " I 'm not the type of person who would ever consider suicide , but after Alice died . . W ll I was basically going through the motions of life without caring much about anything . I spent every day being irritated that I had a long life in front of me , because I was impatient to reunite with my wife . " Frank looked back at Kyle and could tell his words had shocked him . Feeling a little embarrassed about telling Kyle something he hadn 't told anyone else , he put his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor as he said , " But now I find I have something to wake up for . Something to look forward to . Something to focus on . So I 'm grateful to both you and your mom for giving me that . Anything I give you in return pales in comparison . " Kyle didn 't know what to say to that , but knew without a doubt that Frank was sincere . He had trouble seeing himself as that important in anyone 's life other then his mothers , but as he looked at Frank he could tell it was true . He took the step that separated them and wrapped his arms around Frank 's middle in a tight hug . Frank pulled his hands out of his pockets , and hugged Kyle back with one arm around Kyle 's back and the other hand on the back of Kyle 's head . After a minute Frank cleared his throat and tried to lighten the situation , " Don 't let it go to your head . You 're still grounded for the rest of the week . " Kyle doubted there was anything Frank could do , but gave him a hopeful nod anyway . Frank put an arm around Kyle 's shoulders and headed them both to the door . He said , " I want you to go to your room and stay there until Missy or I come and get you for lunch . " Frank opened the office door and walked Kyle to the stairs . He let him go and said , " Try to do some studying . Getting behind again isn 't an option . " Frank heard Kyle give a dejected sigh as he headed up the stairs to his room . Once Kyle was out of sight Frank went to find Missy and reassured her that everything was fine before he started to make phone calls . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Kyle went to his room , undid his pants , and pulled them down just enough to look behind him at his red butt . He mumbled to no one , " Never want to do that again . " He put the pants back on and flopped onto his bed stomach side down . He bunched up a pillow beneath his head , opened a textbook , and pretended to look at it while he thought over the day 's events . A couple of hours later Kyle woke with a start when someone knocked on his door . He rubbed at his eyes for a second and then said , " Yeah ? " He stood and rubbed at his behind for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and heading downstairs . In the dining room he found two places set to eat , but Frank wasn 't sitting in one of them . Kyle went into the kitchen to find him , but only found Missy . Missy gave him a smile and said , " Hello there dear , how are you feeling ? " Kyle blushed wondering if she knew what had happened . It was a huge house , so he doubted she heard anything , but she had known Frank for a long time , and knew what kind of person he was . He muttered to the counter , " I 'm fine thanks . Where 's Frank ? " Interrupting Frank said , " It 's going to be fine Kyle . Don 't worry so much . I promise I 'm going to take care of it one way or another . " " You mind Missy while I 'm gone , and after lunch you go back to your room and study . " Irritated at being cut off , Kyle rolled his eyes and thought , ' Mind Missy ? What am I three now ? ' Missy rushed over and put an arm around Kyle 's shoulders and said , " Can 't you see the boy is hungry Frank ? We 'll be just fine . You go on now and don 't worry about us . " Kyle took them in , and then sat down in his spot . Missy took a couple of trips and brought in the rest of the food before sitting down herself . She looked over at Kyle and said , " Eat up . " Kyle 's hand stilled half way to his mouth , and he looked over at Missy with curiosity . She said , " The first time I met Frank was when Alice brought him home to meet her father . I could tell straight off that he was the one for her . He was kind , caring , and affectionate towards her , and she was so head over heals in love with him ell they were just meant to be . nd over the years as I got to know him better both from Alice 's stories , and from seeing him myself I found him to be a hard working and honest man . ot something that is as easy to find as you might think . " " When Alice got sick . rank always had a smile for her , always kept her spirits up , never let her think the treatments weren 't going to work . ut when she wasn 't looking I could see the worry and fear on his face . y the time we all knew she only had a few days left , he still always had a smile for her as he read to her , and held her . ut once she was gone it was like he had used up all the joy that there was in him , and all that was left was despair . T en when Mr . Thompson killed himself , . Fr nk became almost robotic . He still got up every day . He still ate , and worked , and read , but he was on autopilot . Un il he met you . " " You will when you have kids of your own . Okay enough of this talk . Finish up your lunch and I 'll get you some cookies to take up to your room . " * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Kyle did get some studying done , and looked at the clock when he was done . It had been three hours . Kyle thought , ' Frank must be home by now . I wonder how his lunch went . I 'm supposed to stay in my room though , so I can 't go ask . But what if I had to go to the bathroom ? Then I could go out . ' Kyle got up and opened the door to his room a crack . He looked around and didn 't see anyone . He went out and looked around at the empty hallway . He went to the stairs and looked down at an empty staircase and entryway . He thought about going downstairs to look for Frank , but then rubbed his butt once and decided not to risk it . He sighed and went to the bathroom next to his room even though he didn 't really need to go . All too soon he was back in his room . He looked out the window for a while thinking about things . A little while later , there was a knock on his door . " Yeah ? " Sitting down on the edge of Kyle 's bed Frank said , " Matt 's mom , Rosalie , was very nice . She has been worried about Matt for a long time now . I told her what Matt did today , and then we talked for a long time about what Matt needed to make a change in his life . " Frank stayed calm . He had expected Kyle to be unhappy . " He 'll hate it there at first , but I think it will help him despite that . " Kyle had a hard time keeping his mouth shut , but did it . He crossed his arms and waited . Frank said , " My father was in the Air Force for forty years , and thirty of them were spent teaching at the Oklahoma Military Academy . I went to public school , but through my father I 've met and made good friends with many people who work there and who went there . I 'm sure you 'll find this hard to believe , but it 's not some horrific place . My father and many of his colleagues really cared about the kids they taught , and genuinely wanted to help them become better people . I 've just spent the last hour talking with my father , and with some of the current teachers there . They 've all agreed to help Matt . " Frank could see Kyle wasn 't convinced . He said , " This isn 't some kind of punishment for the things Matt has done , though I 'm sure he 'll see it that way . It 's an opportunity for him to make something out of his life . " Shaking his head Kyle said , " I may hate some of the things Matt does , but military school ? That 's just too cruel . I wouldn 't wish that on my worst enemy . " Frank could tell there was nothing he could say that was going to change Kyle 's mind . He said , " I 'm sorry you 're upset about it Kyle , but it is going to happen . Six months from now we 'll go visit him , and you can see for yourself that he 's much better off . " " And the person he is now is so likable ? Kyle , the person he is now is going to be a high school drop out working at a fast food restaurant five years down the line . The person he is now is unhappy in life with no future ahead of him . " Frank moved fast and had Kyle over his lap in a matter of seconds . Frank landed six solid swats , which was more then enough to reignite the fire in Kyle 's behind . Kyle yelled a few ows , and squirmed wildly to get away . Kyle tried to get up , but Frank held him in place . He said , " You can disagree with me , and you can be angry with me . You may not swear at me or yell at me . Have I made myself clear ? " Frank let Kyle get up . Kyle backed away and put both hands over his butt . He wiped a stray angry tear off his face with his shoulder . Frank sighed and said , " I 'm sorry you 're so upset about it Kyle , but it 's really not about you , it 's about Matt and what he needs . You spend some time thinking about things here in your room until I come get you for dinner . " Frank got up and walked out , leaving Kyle to his own thoughts . Kyle paced around his room calling Frank all kinds of names in his head . After a while his thoughts turned to Matt , and wondered if he would be out sleeping on the street tonight . He didn 't think he could ever see military school as a good thing . But it would be nice not to have Matt in school picking on him , or trying to blackmail him . Kyle sighed and lay on his bed to think about it some more . A couple of hours later Frank knocked on Kyle 's door again . Kyle opened it for him . Frank said , " Can you be civil enough to come eat dinner with me , or shall I fix a plate and bring it up to your room ? " Kyle smiled and decided he really liked Missy , and would have to give her a hug the next time he saw her . The two of them sat down and ate in silence for a while . Once Kyle was stuffed , he looked over at Frank and said , " I 'm still not happy about what you 're doing to Matt , but I 'm sorry I yelled and swore at you . " Frank sat back as well and said , " Apology accepted . I 'm sorry you 're so unhappy about our decision . I hope in time you can see it in a more positive light , but if you can 't , I hope you can forgive me anyway . I didn 't decide on military school out of anger for Matt . " " But it 's so embarrassing , much worse then standing in the corner . Please can 't we just skip telling her about it ? " " I 'm sorry it 's embarrassing for you , but it 's not something I think I should keep from her . " " My housekeeper found the car missing , and called me at work . I went looking for Kyle and found him talking to Matt at the stake park . I made him come home with me , and after we talked about what he had done I spanked him . " Frank looked over and saw that Kyle had his elbows on the kitchen counter , and had his head in his hands . After a long pause Cheryl said , " Is he there ? Can I talk to him ? " Kyle turned towards the wall and away from Frank . He said , " Don 't be mad at Frank . He 's just doing what he thinks is right . I mean I 'm not happy about it or anything , but well I know Frank is trying to help me . " Kyle told her a somewhat one sided version of what Frank had set up for Matt . Once Kyle was done talking Cheryl asked if she could talk to Frank . Before Kyle could hand the phone over Cheryl said , " I love you honey . " " I 'm sorry I didn 't talk to you about it first , it was just saw him there in the park talking to Matt , and I had pictures in my head of Matt beating Kyle up and leaving him for dead . felt that I had to take action . " Cheryl said with sincerity , " I do understand . It 's not like I 've never had the impulse myself ; I 've just never carried through . I guess since Kyle isn 't hurt or angry about it , then I 'm okay that you did it . " Frank changed the subject and asked her how her conference was going . Half an hour later Frank hung up the phone and saw Kyle standing there looking at him with an odd expression . Frank asked , " What ? " " Okay Kyle , dinner 's over so it 's time for you to go back to your room . I 'll come and check on you before bed . And tomorrow it 's back to school . " " Okay . " Frank pulled Kyle into a hug before sending him upstairs . That night Kyle lay in bed thinking about everything that had happened since he had met Frank , and especially about what was happening to Matt . Before he fell asleep he decided that it was a good thing he had met Frank when he had , because he knew Frank had helped him not to go down the same road Matt had taken in life .