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Claire's pov

Not wanting to push my pissed off uncle any further, I did exactly as he said and went into my bathroom to start getting ready for bed. I hate sleeping on my stomach, I thought as I placed a thin ribbon of toothpaste on my toothbrush. I guess I kind of earned that spanking but I think he went a little overboard by using the belt. He can't seriously wonder why I'm not willing to embrace this bizarre situation at face value. Can he? No, even my British born dolt of an uncle can't be that short-sighted.

I finished brushing my teeth and washing my face but then I just stood there looking in the mirror at the sad girl looking back at me. I miss my mom and dad, I miss my aunt, and I even miss my grandfather. He was super strict at times, but he could be really sweet too. I loved when he would sit me on his lap and tell me stories. It didn't matter if they were about him, or his dad, or his grandfather, or my dad, or my aunt or uncle, or even just about random topics he wanted to talk about. He always made me feel super important as he focused all his attention on me. Even if it was only for five or ten minutes, it still made me feel special.

I can't think of any other adult in my life who's done that for me. Mom was always out with her friends, or her business associates, or her current boyfriend of the month. She was busy all the time. Don't get me wrong, we still spent time together and stuff but it was always like her mind was somewhere else, almost like she had to fit me into her busy schedule. Sometimes, I swear she literally penciled in time with me in her date book.

My dad really seemed awkward around me when I began living with him after Mom died. It was pretty obvious he was not only overwhelmed, but scared too. He and Aunt Lexie didn't grow up together so he didn't know much about sharing a house with a girl. Now that I think about it, my dad was actually nervous around me. That's so cute. Once we moved in with my aunt, he became much more comfortable but he was always super busy with work so I didn't get to spend as much time with him as I would've liked. I was kinda hoping our trip to Italy would remedy that. Little did I know, how wrong I was.

Uncle EJ has never seemed to have time for me, or ever even wanted to spend time with me, for that matter. I was and still am nothing but a burden to him. That's obviously changed since we went on the run together. I mean, he still doesn't want to spend time with me but he kinda has no choice now, especially since he doesn't trust me. I thought I was a burden to him in Italy but here it's much worse. There are no servants, no Aunt Lexie, and no Grandfather to hand me off to. It's just me and him and the way he talks, it always will be. I shuddered, picturing a lifetime with just my uncle. The two of us growing old together and sitting around in our wheelchairs eating jello. Ewww, creepy.

Yeah no, I can't do that. I have to find a way to get in touch with my grandfather so we can go back to Italy and wait for my father to return, then we'll be able to go back home to California and live with Aunt Lexie again. Sometimes I miss her the most. She's always so glad to see me. Even if I'm in trouble and she's mad about something I've done, she still makes me feel really loved. Maybe someday I'll get that sense of security back. I need to formulate a plan to make that happen.

Tomorrow's another day I thought, climbing into bed and closing my eyes. Oh crap! I forgot to say my prayers. I jumped out of bed and knelt down, folding my hands and closing my eyes like my Dad taught me. Please Lord, help my uncle to understand we can't keep living like this. Please help me find a way back to the rest of my family. Keep my daddy, aunt, grandfather and uncle safe, God. Amen. Oh wait, one more thing, Lord, please soften Uncle EJ's spanking hand cuz he spanks really hard. Thank you, God. Amen. I climbed back into bed, laid down on my stomach, bunched my pillow up beneath me and promptly fell asleep.

The next week went by really quickly. Uncle EJ and I spent a lot of time doing fix up projects around the house, both inside and out. We did some landscaping in the front yard and on the side of the house. I really hate trimming bushes and hauling decorative bricks, and weeding is the absolute worst. Uncle EJ spanked me for refusing to weed the side garden after I had weeded the two big flower gardens in front of the house practically all by myself the day before. He's such a meanie.

After he took me inside and bent me over the arm of the couch for my spanking, he took the little metal trowel shovel thing I was supposed to use to dig up the weeds and smacked my butt with it ten times. That stupid thing really hurt. He finished my spanking with his hand and let me tell you, God must not have heard my prayer four days prior asking him to soften my uncle's spanking hand. He spanked me hard enough to make me cry and it was a really short spanking. Then he slapped the little shovel in my hand and said, "Get that garden weeded now, or round two will be with my belt."

I swear, he's so unreasonable sometimes. Most of the time, actually. We didn't get to do anything fun inside, like redecorating or painting or anything either. We just fixed a bunch of loose, broken, and old shit. We replaced some light fixtures and the kitchen cabinets and we even learned how to fix the ceiling fan in my bedroom. I have to admit that was kinda cool, mostly because Uncle EJ shocked himself. Twice. Tee hee, I giggled, picturing it in my head as we sat on the couch together Sunday night watching a movie.

"What's so funny, brat? This movie isn't a comedy." He looked at me sideways as he took a sip of his wine.

"Nothing," I replied smirking, picturing the second time he got shocked.

"Then quit being a weirdo and be quiet so we can watch the movie," he replied, giving me another strange look with his scrunched up pompous, alabaster British face.

"Uncle EJ, when can we go home?" I asked, poking the already overly tired, irritated bear.

"THAT'S IT!" he shouted, setting his wine glass down as he got to his feet. "Go to your room," he ordered, pointing the way.

"Fine, whatever," I grumbled, getting up in a huff. "I wanted to go there anyway!" I yelled, right before entering my room and slamming the door.

"I'm gonna let that slide since my shoulder's still sore, but know the next time you slam that door, piccola ragazza (little girl), I'm going to whip your ass," I heard him shout, before crashing on my bed and putting on my headphones.

I don't know how long my uncle thinks we can just hide out here acting like this whole situation is not only okay, but downright normal. Maybe the heat is getting to him because I swear the old guy is becoming delusional. None of this makes sense to me. I mean, my living situation in Italy with my father in hiding and incommunicado never made sense either. But this? This is even weirder, if that's possible.

I never understood why my father being away kept him safe, or us, and now my uncle wants us to stay away from Grandfather too for our safety. I just don't get it. I don't want to live my life on the run, avoiding my family. It's too much to deal with. I'm too young and vivacious to be a social outcast, limited to conversing with my egotistical playboy uncle.

I have to do something to put an end to this weird soap opera/bad reality show that has become my life. As strict as my grandfather was, at least he had his shit together, unlike my flighty impetuous uncle. The only thing that makes sense to me now is getting hold of Grandfather and going back to Italy to wait for my dad to return and take me home to California. I thought this trip was going to be a little getaway, a mini vacation of sorts, but now I realize it's just another bizarre episode of the new reality show I'm in, Crazy Uncles Gone Wild.

If I could just get Uncle EJ to leave his cellphone unattended for a couple minutes, I know I could fix all our problems, or at least put the solution in motion. How the heck am I gonna make that happen though? My uncle practically magnetized the friggin' thing to his body. Ever since I picked it up while he was in the shower, it's never left his sight. I need a distraction.


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