The family's baby

Chapter 4

*Grace's P.O.V*

While on the bus, I start to nibble my bottom lip while thinking. I kind of just needed the quiet for a little bit to think over my decisions. Perhaps surprising my family was maybe not the best idea in the world. I really would not like to see the look on my mother's face when she finds out that I had lied. It's supposed to be a happy occasion but I have a feeling it's going to be anything but that when she finds out.

Trying to ignore my thoughts and think of anything else, I dig into my backpack, pressing play on my phone to listen to music. I put on Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens. It was a sad song but it was one of the only songs that I could listen to on repeat.

I listen to it until we reach the next bus stop before finally stopping and putting it away again. Standing, I only now feel a pressing urge in my bladder and I realize with a start that I have to go to the bathroom. My bladder is warning me to rush off the bus but I have to wait for other people to get off before I can, which feels like forever. It kind of feels like they are moving slow on purpose at this rate but it's not like they know my predicament back here.

Finally off the bus, I hurry to the bathroom and discover I have to wait in line again. I did regret my decision to sit towards the back of the bus at that moment as I found myself doing a toddlers pee pee dance trying not to have an accident in line. Noticing the predicament I was in, a nice older lady let me go in front of her when we got to the front of the line. In her words, "We have all been in my shoes and I clearly needed it much more than her".

That made me feel embarrassed on many levels, not least because it was that obvious, but I just thanked her and stepped into the stall. I carefully locked it before frantically pulling down my underwear and tights and sitting down. My bladder barely waits until I'm sitting before relieving itself of the pressure. To be honest, I'm not sure I was even sitting before I started to feel myself go. This bus trip is becoming a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I mean I had expected the long trip, being surrounded by people, and all of that. I hadn't expected for it to take a toll on my bladder like it has. The constant having to hold it because I didn't want to use the bathroom that was on the bus is the main reason for that. It just seemed like such a hassle to use and didn't seem clean at all. At our first stop, I had nearly wet myself so as a precaution I had put on a pad even though I wasn't on my period.

My bladder has always been a problem for me. I have struggled a lot with it ever since I was young. When I was 5 or 6 I had constantly wet the bed for reasons unknown to me at the time. I later learned the major contributing factor for why my accidents continued so long was stress but good luck telling an adopted child worrying about being perfect not to stress about it.

My bladder problems had mostly sorted themself out a few years after I had been placed with the people that I now called mom and dad. I say mostly but as far as my family knew, all of my bladder problems had stopped years ago. The truth is I can never trust my bladder on stressful days, which never helps with my stress. It's not like they would have been upset or anything. Well... they might be upset to find out I am hiding that from them but that's a different matter.

They have always been a firm rock in my corner ever since they had agreed to foster me. It was nice to finally have people that I could rely on to not send me away the first opportunity they got although it had taken a very long time for me to realize that. I mean how else was I supposed to feel after being bounced around so much? You try having good trust in your new "parents" when you spend more time in the center than with them. I mean, one couple returned me after the first night claiming they didn't realize I still wet the bed and they weren't buying their almost teenage daughter diapers. Like, at that point, it was in my file! It wasn't a secret!

Anyway, I had been given up at birth into a closed adoption so nothing was really known about my parents. I was told the family that adopted me as a baby might have known my birth parents but they took that information to their grave sadly. They died in a crash when I was still a baby and I've been bouncing house to house since. At least until I quite literally fell into my mother's lap at the center. You see...

I snap out of my thoughts after I hear a knock on the stall door, followed by, "Everything all right in there?"

Realizing I have been lost in thought for a long while, I hurry to finish up, wiping myself hastily before pulling my underwear and tights back up. I unlock the stall, saying thank you to the older woman who had let me go before her. I then went to the sink, washing my hands with soap and water.

I went back to the bus, taking my seat. I check my phone and notice that Zahira has texted me. I click on the text, taking a moment to unlock my phone, before I can see the message.

'You went to a party?! I don't believe it.... Send me pics!' Zahira texted me. I roll my eyes slightly, shaking my head with a small smile.

'Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Why is it any of your business?' I text back. I clicked out of the text message, going to text Elena.

'Tell Za to leave me aloneeeee,' I text her. I sit impatiently waiting for one of them to respond. Elena was the first one to text back.

'Za doesn't listen to me and you know it,' Elena had texted back, making me pout slightly. How could Elena not want to help me? It was so mean of her to leave me to defend myself. I am still pouting over it when Zahira texts me back.

'Send the pics or I tell mom that you're a liar,' Zahira's texted, making me cringe.

'I can't.... I didn't take any pics,' I respond after a moment.

'Oh bullshit, you are always taking photos. Send some or I tell mommmmmmmm... or should I say mommy 😉,' Zahira texts back. I huff as I cross my arms over my chest. Shoot... who told her about that! It must have been El.

"You are a traitor!! I can't believe you would tell her about that!!" I text Elena.

"What are you going to do about it? Tell mommy? Maybe next time don't keep a secret from your favorite sister 😜" Elena texts back. I tap my phone against the glass window of the bus, pouting as I try to consider what to do next since it seems everyone is out to get me.

'I'll send them in a little bit,' I text back after a moment. I think about photoshopping me into a random photo of a party off of Google. I figure that won't work though since Zahira is a software developer and thus probably smart enough to not believe that. I did consider trying anyways.

I pause for a moment as I bite my bottom lip before doing something risky. I take a deep breath before texting Zahira back.

'Please Za, it's a surprise. Just let me finish it and then I'll text you everything,' I promise her, hoping that she will accept it.

'......' Zahira texts back after a moment.

'Fine,' she sends after a moment and I smile slightly, feeling happy. Just a few more hours and I would be home free. I just needed her to hold out that long, which hopefully she could do, then I could be in person and tell her everything. I put my phone into my backpack, zipping it shut fully. I close my eyes to try and get some rest, pulling my backpack onto my lap. I hold it close as I drift off into a light sleep.

Any guess what parts my cg wrote? This was a co effort and he helped a lot