✅ My Cousin's Keeper [NaNoWriMo 2021]

38. My Kind of Torture

I did my best to catch Tess as she hared around the garden. She really was fast, and I was worn out by the time I caught her. But when I did, I could pin her down and tickle her and there was nothing she could do about it. She tried to push my hands away but I just started tickling her somewhere else, and I knew I'd won. She laughed until she cried, and I only stopped when Ffrances made me. She said it wasn't fair, and that I had to give Tess a chance to catch me as well.

I nodded and agreed; not like it would make any difference. I headed to a different part of the garden where it would be easier to run away, but I wasn't planning on running fast. Tess would catch me, I knew. But then it would be my turn again, and we would be right back to tickle torture. I wasn't going to make it too hard for her, because that would just delay the moment I could torment her again.

They both went a little way down the side of the house, where I couldn't hear what they were talking about, and I wondered if I had been too mean. Was I going to get in trouble? That wouldn't be fair at all; she was older, so Ffrances should have been helping me. But after a few seconds Tess appeared again, already running. I ducked back and turned away, but only moved slowly until she caught up with me. When she grabbed the edge of my shirt I just grinned and told her it was my turn again. I got as far as telling her that I wasn't ticklish before her fingers found the sensitive bit on my sides, and I was flailing at her hands trying to get her to stop.

I don't know how she did it. Maybe littler Tess was better at tickling too. That didn't sound fair. But I couldn't stop her, I ended up lying on the grass and squealing like a little kid. She let me up again and giggled, Even after I'd made her littler, so we were almost the same age, she was still looking down at me and laughing. I promised myself I would get her back for that, and as soon as I caught her again I did.

Ffrances made me stop again and told me off, and I thought that really wasn't fair. She was supposed to be stopping Tess bullying me, not helping her! But I was smart and strong, and I knew I could get my own back. The next time I had her at my mercy, I made sure to tell her that she was smaller and clumsier now, so it was harder for her to run away. And that made her so much easier to catch. She was sprawling on the ground, falling over without me even touching her, but just when I was about to give her the biggest tickle ever she tripped me and I landed on my face. That hurt, and it made me realise that I couldn't let her have it easy. I needed to catch her, and I needed to make sure she was really littler than me this time.

We did the same thing a few times more. I would make it harder for her to run away, sure that I would catch her quickly this time. I'd catch her, but it was always really hard. And then before I could punish her properly, Ffrances would make me stop. Sometimes she would take Tess down the side of the house and talk to her for a few minutes without me listening, but that just gave me more time to think what I was going to do next. And then she would chase me, and as soon as she caught me she would start bullying me again, always being really mean for a few minutes. And then it was my turn, so I could tell her how hard it was going to be for her to escape. And even when I said it, she kept on laughing.

I always made her littler, and clumsier, and she kept on laughing at me like she didn't know how easy I was going to win. I said everything I could think of, and she was still just giggling at me, and I knew I had to wipe that smile away. I had to prove that I was bigger than her. Even making her crawl like a baby half the time didn't teach her anything, when I was too tired to stand up for more than a few steps too.

But this time, I knew what to do. Ffrances had paused the game to bring us glasses of grape juice twice, and had taken Tess down the side of the house to ask her in private if I was being good. But most of the time she just let us play, so I didn't think she would notice in time to stop us. This time Tess had caught up with me right next to the garage anyway, and Ffrances was standing by the big elm tree, so I thought she couldn't hear us. If I made Tess another year littler then she would be a real baby, and I'd be bigger than her too. At last I could be the big one.

"You can't win, baby," I said, and tried to do an evil laugh

"I'm not a baby," she pouted, but she was still laughing. She though it was so funny to keep on being mean to me? I'd show her what being mean really was.

"Yes you are," I took a deep breath, and thought about the words. I didn't want to go too far. If I said she was like no years old that would just be being mean, and I knew I'd get in trouble. But making her one year less was just playing. I knew I was allowed to do that. I thought for a second, trying to work out how to take away one, but I was super smart and I could work it out almost straight away. She looked like she was getting ready to run again, and I knew I couldn't let that happen, so I held onto the edge of her dress while I double checked, counting my fingers to make sure I got the number right.

"Tess, you're two now. And you're just a little baby, you can't hold it when you need to potty."

"That's not nice!" she said, "I'm not a baby, you're being mean." But I was the one laughing now. We'd both had a lot to drink, and I knew she must need to go already. Even if I got in trouble for teasing the baby, it would be worth it. I could get back at her for all the times she teased me before. I was the big one now, I was nearly two, and this time I would have the last laugh.

But nothing happened. She wasn't happy about me making her that little, but she was still holding it somehow. How could she do that? We'd both had the same number of juices, and I needed to pee pretty bad. I hadn't noticed before but now I thought about it and it was really really bad. I had to go potty now and I couldn't wait to see what happened to the new baby. I took a step, and another, and then fell down again. I tried to crawl, but I had to cross my legs and then it just wasn't enough. I noticed I was going weewee in my panties and then I just couldn't stop blushing as my older cousin kept laughing at me.