I opened my eyes. The light that hit me through my fallen tears nearly blinded me. But thats not what mattered. What mattered was the fear in my soul. I dared to take a look behind me, and as his eyes met with mine, I knew it was coming again. It did. Pain shriveled through my body and sent it rigid. Again I opened my eyes. This time, the fear had left me and my father alone in the bathroom to talk about what I had done. "Now son, do you understand why this happened?" Like all the rest of us at times, I really didn't understand why, but I said "Yes" anyway. "Okay, son. I want to pray with you. Dear Heavenly Father..." and as my father prayed, I rubbed my backside, which would more than likely be bruised for several days, and mouthed the word "Ow" to myself. "...Amen." my father finished . Quickly, I looked forward again and closed my eyes, as though I were praying with him the whole time. He spoke again, "Now, before you go, I want you to know. This hurt me just as much as it hurt you." I didn't believe him nor did I understand what he meant, after all he was the one holding the paddle, but I looked at him and nodded as though I understood. He opened the door, and we both stepped out together. I could see Corey out the front door with a hammer, some nails, and my Buzz Lightyear action figure. It's no wonder he is the way he is. Ben walked past me and Dad in shorts and a tshirt, with a look on his face that said "Who woke me up for this?" We walked into our kitchen and Dad reached up on top of our refrigerator. "Here Elliott, this is for taking it like a big boy." I looked into his massive hands and saw a gummy bear. All the pain and tears disappeared as I took the sweet, sugary treat, popped it in my mouth, and sucked on it until it was soggy so it could slide down my throat with joy. It did and all was well.