SubscribeStar Story: The Road Trip, Part 46

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Part 46

Since Kate had stuck the two of us with the dishes, my only real move was trying to speed things along. I still didn’t have a plan for dealing with the dirty diapers, but my issue certainly wouldn’t be solved in the kitchen. So I got started right away, hitting the pots and pans that were lying around while Kate collected everyone’s things from the dining room. By the time she joined me, my position at the sink established me as the one who would be doing the washing. Thankfully, most of the meal’s dishes could just be tossed in the dishwasher, but I still had to deal with the chores of doing pretty much everything while she just dried the few things that had needed to be hand washed. Whether she planned it or not, it ended up being yet another subtle way where she got to take the easy way out after making herself look good with the recent offer to chip in.

By the time we were done, I was no closer to a solution than I had been before. I still didn’t know how I was going to get the pins off without taking forever in the bathroom again, and anything I tried would require detaching myself from Kate. While she didn’t ask me about how long I had been away from dinner, it didn’t appear like she intended the night to be over just yet. “Downstairs, Annie!” she chirped. Grabbing my hand the moment I had dried mine off, she gave a little tug to my arm, “The twins are already down there.”

While I wanted to pull away and use a shower as an excuse, I was too nervous about how such an idea might make her suspicious. Not only because of the timing, but also because we both knew that I almost exclusively showered in the mornings. It was the first step of my visual maturity routine, though Kate had undone literally everything from the morning’s process. And while redoing everything could maybe be enough of a motivation, it’s not like my sister would be enthused about that side of things when she and I had already ‘discussed’ how this Annie thing was going to be an all-weekend affair. Also, it was summer, so I couldn’t use the schoolwork angle or anything related to university. So I went along with her.

The basement was furnished, and no doubt an area that existed more for the twins and their friends than other company. It didn’t look bad by any means, but none of the furniture was as nice as what was upstairs. Luna and Lilah beckoned us over to where they were sitting on furniture surrounding a coffee table that was clearly going to be used for the small stack of board games sitting on the corner. Just like when I had returned to the dining room in sagging diapers, sitting down was an ordeal in itself in terms of personal discomfort/disgust while maintaining a straight face for the three girls.

Ugh! Internally groaning, it quickly became apparent to me that I was going to be stuck how I was for at least a little while. First it was mini golf, and now I was going to have to play at least a whole board game in order to keep my cover intact. Just like the mortifying thoughts about it happening before, I was well aware that there would be no coming back from multiple family members finding out about my current state. No good excuse, either.

“Annie?” Luna gestured to the games, “Any preference?”

I really didn’t know. Something on the faster side could potentially lead to multiple plays, or switching to one of the longer games anyway. As usual, I found myself put on the spot with no real time to think things through. Going with my gut, I picked what I thought would be long enough that I could excuse myself afterwards. If I was pretending to be twelve, the least I could do was use the embarrassing image to my advantage. Kate was eighteen, and would probably stay up later with the twins. But if I could lean into my false age and opt for an early bedtime, then I could get that much needed alone time to get myself sorted out. Both physically and mentally.

As the game progressed, I mostly used the other girls’ turns to think about what would come afterwards. Was there a tool that could be found in a kitchen drawer that would make the tight pins easier to remove? Plus I still needed multiple garbage bags to deal with the mess, and more than toilet paper to clean myself before jumping into the shower. One way or another, I was going to need a shower; both to quickly and efficiently clean myself, and also to fix my hair after hours of my pretty locks being bound in pigtails. Hopefully the girls would stay down here, and assume it was just Aunt Miranda showering if they heard running water.

While I didn’t particularly care about winning the game, a look from Kate was enough to remind me that I still had to try on other fronts. Giggling. Filler words. The same immature tendencies I had been pressured to keep up for almost the entire time we had been at our relatives’ house. While words like ‘like’ were already becoming habitual thanks to the constant repetition, it took a much more conscious effort to smile and act bubbly when I was working so hard on a plan to avoid anyone finding out about my accident.

Eventually, Lilah won. I only knew it was close due to how the three of them kept talking about it leading up to the end. Of course, I was trailing behind in comparison. As the allegedly youngest girl, however, that would make sense. Hopefully Kate would assume that I was simply playing the part, rather than not doing well because I was distracted pretty much the entire time. As Luna teased her sister about how it was obviously luck that gave her the victory instead of the others, I waited for an opportunity to excuse myself. When Kate suggested playing something else, I knew that it was now or never. “Umm, I’m actually getting a little tired. I might, like, start getting ready for bed.” Hopefully it wasn’t too early. Without my phone or a clock on any of the basement walls, I had no idea how much time had passed since Kate and I finished with the dishes.

“I’ll go with you,” Kate said. Surprise, surprise. “I mean, not to bed. But I have all our toiletries, remember, sis?”

I couldn’t tell if that was code or just a reason to babysit me all the way until the end of the day. After all, we absolutely didn’t pack stuff together like that. “It’s fine, Kate,” I said. Come on. The only way this was going to work was if I went alone. “I can find them myself.”

She waved that off right away. “I don’t want you going through my stuff, Annie. Besides, I really don’t mind. It’ll just take a sec.” Her gaze slightly lingered on me. While there really wasn’t anything to her expression, it was pretty clear that she wanted me to listen. We weren’t close as sisters, but we could still subtly communicate well. The moment ended right away as she turned to our cousins. “I’ll be back! Have a game for just the three of us? Or want to do something else?”

“Hmm,” Lilah replied, “We’ll think about it. No need to decide right now!”

“Sounds good. Annie?” Kate stood up and held out her hand.

It was like the dishes all over again. I couldn’t push back or insist on going alone, because Kate had set things up in a way where doing so would make me look suspicious and/or immature. Just like before, I resisted a sigh and muttered, “Whatever.” The intent was to come across like I didn’t care one way or another, but instead ended up reminding myself of the cliché teenage response that was not unique to me in the slightest. Just another thing that fed into this story.

I stood up as well and begrudgingly took her hand. Like all the other times, I was aware that this was not at all how a twelve year old would actually act. Childish mannerisms and relying on her older sister’s help for everything. It made me appear to be the most immature and girly version of the false age, which was obviously her intent. So our cousins would continuously look past whatever traces of my nineteen year old self were there thanks to the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Kate had me politely bid the twins goodnight, which had me awkwardly blushing at how she made it seem like I was a girl who needed constant guidance when it came to manners. First the dishes and implied lack of gratitude, and now a mumbled ‘goodnight’ to our cousins. Normally I was the type to get annoyed when somebody told me to do something I was about to do anyway, but this was more embarrassing than anything else.

She walked us back up to the main floor, past the empty kitchen that was supposed to equip me for avoiding a much deeper embarrassment than what I just went through, and then to the upper floor with the bedrooms. The entire time, my mind was racing. This was still possible. I just needed to somehow ‘go to bed’ in my current underwear, and then take care of everything once Kate went back downstairs.

That plan, however, relied a lot on being left to my own devices in terms of getting ready for bed. And Kate took away that hope pretty quickly. Instead of taking me to our room, she tugged me into the bathroom instead. “Okay, Annie,” she smiled, “Strip down to your diapers. I’ll be back in a minute with some PJs for you.”

No. I couldn’t do that. Without the shortalls, she would easily see. “But, Kate-”

“But, Annie!” she exclaimed, with an exaggerated whiny tone. Then she rolled her eyes and frowned. “Enough. You’ve been acting like a brat all day. I’m getting a bit tired of it, little sis. Now, how old are you?”

Feeling particularly small as Kate snapped at me while cornering me in the bathroom, I reluctantly muttered, “I’m twelve.” We had gone over it enough, and it was hard to find any backbone when I was still wearing the used diapers.

“That’s right. You’re twelve years old, Annie, and I’m your older sister. That means you have to listen to me.”

“I, umm-”

“No talking back, brat. I’m going to find you something to wear. If you’re not standing here in just your diapers by the time I get back, you’re going to be in serious trouble. Do you understand?” Without waiting for a reply, she nodded. “Good. Hop to it, Annie.”

Without another word, Kate swiveled on her heel and strutted out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

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