✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

153. Consequences

Gabby had started off saying what she had told Tess; and there were no surprises there. But then Ffrances went on to ask what she'd been thinking about when she made the offer. Tess was sure that the answer would be something like wanting to make Tess act like a baby, and seeing the bedwetting problem as a good excuse to introduce hypnosis. With the way Ffrances had seemed so stern, it was easy to imagine Gabby trying to do something underhanded like that; seeing a silver lining for herself in Tess's problems. Tess really didn't want to believe that her cousin would even consider something like that, after all the support she had given. But all her expectations were blown away as Ffrances carried on asking the questions.

Gabby said that she had thought Tess wanted to be treated like a baby. That she thought Tess had been taking drugs to make herself wet the bed. Why would she have done that? Was Gabby seriously telling herself that this was something Tess had been on board with before she even suspected that anyone could have those interests? To hear Gabby tell the story, though, Tess had been obsessed with being babied again ever since she saw mention of it on something Gabby had casually shared on FriendSpace. And how was that possible? Sure, Tess had sent out a friend request so that she could get in touch with her cousin, but it wasn't like she ever actually used that site. And what could she have seen, that would have seized her attention so thoroughly that she would start taking drugs to make herself wet the bed? Gabby said she'd come up with that idea to help Tess. That she thought having the trigger would make it easier, because Tess could choose to have accidents without needing to risk her health. That she'd framed it as a way to stop bedwetting just so Tess could keep on pretending that it wasn't what she wanted. And that it was supposed to be good for her, because it was healthier than the drugs; diuretics, muscle relaxants, and sleeping pills.

Ffrances was using some kind of posthypnotic suggestion, that much was clear. There was no way Gabby would be so open about her desires normally. But that also meant that she had to be telling the truth. Gabby really did believe that giving her the option of the hypnosis was better than the drugs that she really believed Tess had been taking. Was she delusional? That felt like she was seriously detached from reality.

"You've used it without her permission a couple of times," Spike snapped, levelling a straight accusation at Gabby. "Haven't you?" Tess felt she should stop him speaking like that. It wasn't fair, Gabby wasn't that kind of person. And she'd done nothing but try to help ever since she found out about Tess's problem; even if it turned out she had a very confused idea of what the problem was. And Gabby's denial reassured her of that; she seemed so sincere.

Apparently Ffrances wasn't convinced. She asked the same question again, repeating the demand that Gabby answer truthfully.

"just to be sure," she said. "How often have you used the trigger without consent to make Tess wet herself?"

"Enough to remind her that she's still a baby," Gabby answered, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to her. And to Tess, it felt like the bottom had dropped out of the world; she couldn't believe anything anymore. How could Gabby even think of doing that? Even once would be too much. But she was still talking, and it got worse and worse, until she finished "Recently it's only been about once a week. Maybe twice, if she's acting too grown-up."

Ffrances didn't let up. She kept on asking questions, digging through the conversations they'd had over the last couple of months. Finding out when Gabby had told the truth, and how much she had embellished. Over Christmas, she had found out that she could trigger Tess over XV messages; even making her wet the bed when she was in San Lorenzo. When they watched Striker, she'd told Tess to have an accident at the climax of the movie; which of course meant that she would think or do whatever was necessary to make sure that she still needed to pee then. She couldn't relieve herself five minutes before the end of the movie, and she'd never been sure how close to the end it was. It was unbearable just how many of the details started to make sense now.