✅ My Cousin's Keeper [NaNoWriMo 2021]

151. My Interrogation

This chapter is dedicated to liljennie! Thank you for all your support.

"I need to make sure we're all on the same page," Ffrances said, and I just nodded. "The first time I hypnotised Tess, you passed the ideas between us, because she was too embarrassed to ask me directly. Remember that? Good. So, what did you tell Tess, about what the trance could do?"

"I told her that if her bedwetting problem was caused by stress, there was a chance hypnosis would help. But I said it was something you're not supposed to do if she's not actually a patient, so you'd have to add a reverse trigger too. A hint that we could make her wet as a deterrent from relying entirely on the hypnosis."

"I see," she said slowly. And I could tell from the way she pursed her lips that she was angry now. Of course, I would also have known she was upset because I'd just admitted lying to her. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"I thought she didn't have the courage to admit she wanted it," I continued. "I was giving her an excuse, so she wouldn't have to admit she enjoyed those little accidents."

"Why would I want that?" Tess growled, shocked by the words she was hearing.

"Maybe you'd better tell Tess," Ffrances said. "What did you tell me about what Tess wanted."

"You already know that," I said. And I really didn't understand why she was asking something so straightforward. "I told you that Tess had upvoted some of the posts I shared on FriendSpace about all the adult baby stuff, back when I first heard about it. That I thought she was curious. And that I suspected she might actually be abusing drugs to make herself wet the bed, so she could explore the possibility. I told you she'd asked for bedwetting hypnosis, and I thought it might be a good idea because it would be healthier than diuretics and sleeping pills. But I suggested including the reverse trigger as well, so it goes both ways. So that if she was overdoing it and we refused to trigger her, we would have a way to stop her falling back on unsafe methods."

Tess might have yelled at that; I would have expected her to deny it. But she just stared in disbelief.

"So when we discussed it," Ffrances mused, "and I mentioned that we would use the reverse trigger if she overdid it... my attempts to avoid embarrassing Tess more than necessary meant that neither of us noticed we were talking at cross purposes. That's quite a complex deception. And it would have been so easy for the truth to come out back then. And once I'd bought into the idea that she wanted to be regressed, I never really questioned it. So... you thought she would get more comfortable with the suggestion if it was readily available, rather than something she would have to work for. So, in the last six months, how many times has Tess asked you to use the trigger to make her wet the bed?"

"Never," I said. "I think she's still too shy to admit that she wants it."

"Oh?" Spike said, studying me intensely. I could tell that she didn't trust me entirely, after our earlier disagreements. "But I think you've used it without her permission a couple of times, haven't you?"

"Of course not!" I protested. "I wouldn't do something like that. Consent is the most important thing. When I saw that she was still using the diapers, I assumed she was getting Ffrances or somebody to say the trigger. I never realised it could be upsetting her."

"Really?" Ffrances asked. "She'd ask me but not you, when you thought she was too embarrassed to say a word? I think that shows a distinct lack of critical thinking. And I also realise that in spite of my instruction to tell the truth, you might find it possible to lie when someone else asks you a question. So just to be sure, how often have you used the trigger without consent to make Tess wet herself?"