The Road Trip

Chapter 50
The Road Trip, Part 50

Part 50

My hair actually looked worse when my red locks were free of the tight braids Kate had put them into earlier. After hours of being held in place by the hair ties, the original styling of the day didn’t exist in the slightest. Instead of beautiful straight hair with a gentle curl at the end, I was stuck with wavy locks that looked more messy than natural. And, without a shower, there would be no way to undo that kind of damage. I could only imagine what sleeping would do to the already unattractive look. 

Like usual, Kate entered the bathroom without knocking. “Found your toothbrush.” She didn’t seem to notice how jumpy I was due to what I was wearing as she barged in. “Make sure you brush for the full two minutes, Annie. I’ll be timing you.” She pulled out her phone next, to prove that she meant it. 

I did as I was told, way beyond making a fuss about anything at this point. On top of keeping track of how long I had been brushing, Kate also took a few more not so subtle pictures of me. Once again, I let her do so without the tiniest bit of protest. The other ones were way more humiliating; this would just be more casual embarrassment as I did something like getting ready for bed while looking the way I did. Diapered, bare chested, and now with hair that looked immature for a completely different reason. 

She instructed me to spit and rinse at the end, which did result in a small look from me. I obviously knew how to brush my teeth, but she was overly supervising me at this point. Still, I didn’t comment on it. Finally, she retrieved a small box of sleeping pills from her back pocket. “This is an earlier bedtime for you, little sis,” she explained, “You’ll get used to your twelve year old schedule soon enough, don’t worry. This is just to help things along.”

“Wait, what time is it?” I knew it was somewhat early, but Kate still had my phone. Since heading down to the basement to play games with our cousins, I hadn’t looked at a clock. And, while the diaper change felt like it took forever, there was a good chance stuff like that was all in my head. 

Kate just rolled her eyes. “Come on, Annie. Just this one last thing, and then you can go to bed. That sounds nice, right?”

It did. I knew she was being patronizing, but she was right. Not even the sleeping part–just some fucking peace and quiet after basically being attached at Kate’s hip for the majority of the day as she kept finding ways to make things worse and worse for me. Or allowing me to make things worse for myself, considering how blurry the afternoon and evening had gotten in my mind. She had obviously started all this, but I couldn’t claim that I was blameless. Especially after this latest accident, and my decision to wait around and keep it to myself instead of speaking up about it. It felt like the right call at the time, though I could see how it looked to her. 

Without a word, I held out my hand. I was in no position or mindset to argue, and I found myself committing again to the path of least resistance. Even if I felt a little hesitant at doing what Kate said without questioning it or pushing back like I usually did as her older sister. At her insistence, I mumbled a quiet “Thank you” as she placed the small pill in my palm, and then effortlessly knocked it back. I would need water for anything bigger, but the generic sleeping pill was manageable on its own. 

“See? That wasn’t so hard.” Patronizing as always. Kate took my hand and pulled me towards the door. “Let’s go, Annie. It’s past your bedtime.” 

This time, I did resist in the form of not letting her tug me forward right away. I did want that peace and quiet that came with ‘going to bed,’ but there were a few things that kept me nervous. The used diapers that were still in the corner of the bathroom, now unguarded without either of us in there. And, of course, the fact that I was about to be led into the upstairs hallway in only diapers. Both of those ran the same risk. What if the twins came to see what was taking Kate so long? Aunt Miranda was entirely unaccounted for as well, and she could be anywhere in the house. Hell, our uncle could have arrived by now, adding yet another variable to the unknown equation that was a bit too daunting in terms of simply stepping out into the hall without checking first. 

Ugh, this was yet another example of ‘Annie’ winning out. My normal self was plenty confident. I always did wonderfully at family reunions, and certainly wasn’t the type to hide in the corner. Or in the basement, like even some of our high school and college aged cousins did in the name of avoiding tedious small talk. But now that my self consciousness about my size had been exploited and heightened, not to mention my current image that would be impossible to explain away, the last thing I wanted to do was face anyone else in the house. “Wait!” I squeaked, wincing as Kate twisted the doorknob. “Someone might see.”

A few moments ago, Kate had rolled her eyes similar to the way I usually did towards her antics. Now, she copied my annoyed scoff. “Don’t be such a worrier, Annie. Come on.” Fully opening the door, she gave a more deliberate tug to my hand. 

Thanks to the padding between my legs, I continued to be in a place where I didn’t have the best balance. There wasn’t much I could do but stumble forward and follow where she was leading me. My face flushed and my entire body tensed as we stepped into the hallway. Thankfully, there was no one to be seen, but that wasn’t enough for me to fully relax. I was still diapered and exposed, and the evidence of my accident was still present behind me. More than ever, I wanted to speed things along to avoid any more risk. Unable to help myself, I whispered, “Hurry, Kate.” Rather than letting her pull on my hand, I quickened my pace and was practically leading the way by the time we made it to the guest room. 

Clearly unbothered by the whole thing, as she looked as put together as she had been all day, Kate just sighed as we stepped into our room. “Such a brat,” she muttered, “Bed, Annie. Let’s go.” Rather than letting go of my hand, she walked me all the way over to the bed I had claimed earlier with my duffel bag. Then, releasing her grip only to give my backside another little swat, she gestured to the mattress. “Well?”

A small part of me wanted to argue. Somehow. To show her that I was still the older sister, and that SHE was the brat. But I couldn’t. I was fucking exhausted, and not from the sleeping pill. If I couldn’t out-logic Kate when this whole thing started with the pull-ups, I certainly wouldn’t be able to stand my ground after two big ‘accidents’ and looking the way I currently looked. Not only did I want solitude, but I also was well aware that this wasn’t the moment to stand my ground. Tomorrow morning would be a better opportunity, when I was fresh and well rested. If I could even sleep comfortably. The diapers were unfamiliar and the bulk was going to mess with my usual position. Not to mention the hours of both personal and public embarrassment I had dealt with throughout the day that would leave me tossing and turning as the events with my sister and our relatives replayed in my head. Maybe the sleeping pill wasn’t a terrible idea after all.

I also planned on using the rest of the night to think of a way out of this mess–’twelve’ for the weekend, diapers for a week. That’s what I had to look forward to if I didn’t somehow get Kate to calm down with this prank, and if I didn’t get myself under control in terms of giving her so many excuses to keep it going. Again, I wasn’t blameless. 

Similar to how brushing my teeth went, I climbed under the sheets at Kate’s direction. Yet another opportunity for her to be patronizing, all while making it impossible to do anything but what she was telling me lest I fall for the same trap as always. Lose/lose. Obey, and look like a docile younger sister. Push back, and be framed as a difficult brat. 

Once I was settled under the sheets, Kate took the comforter and tucked me in. I could have done it myself, but the end of the tunnel was in sight. She fiddled with the bedding for what seemed longer than necessary, before finally sitting down on the edge of the bed and smiling down at me. Her overly sweet smile was almost worse than her knowing smirk. “Good night, Annie.” She leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Try not to wet the bed, okay?”

I could feel my cheeks flush right away. It really was getting to the point where the smallest remark could bring on a blush. “Good night,” I muttered.

Of course, she wasn’t going to make it that simple. “Close your eyes, little sis.”

Reluctantly, I did as I was told. I didn’t love the idea of not seeing her, in case she had something planned, but what else could I do? “Okay,” I said, with a hint of annoyance in my tone. Now had I satisfied her in terms of this ‘going to bed’ ritual of brushing my teeth and getting tucked in?

“Don’t open them, okay? Just breathe in and out. I’ll be right back.”

My brows furrowed a little at her directive, but I obeyed. Keeping my eyes shut, I took a breath through my nose that was intentionally audible to show her that I was listening. And then another one. Once she was satisfied that I was taking those breaths, I could feel her get up from the bed. Right away, I was tempted to crack one of my eyes open to see what she was doing, but there was always the chance that she was waiting for me to do so. The last thing I needed was Kate to chastise me when I was trying my hardest to not give her any more opportunities to do so. 

A few seconds later, the room was plunged into darkness. Even with closed eyes, it’s easy enough to tell when an overhead light is on vs. when it’s actually dark beyond my eyelids. “What-”

“Hush, Annie,” Kate said, “Breathe, remember? It’s not that hard.” 

Sighing more than exhaling, I went quiet and took another breath. What was she doing? 

Returning to the bed, she sat down where she had been before. “It’s time to sleep, Annie.”