All My Mother's Rules

Chapter 75: No More Hiding

I held the fork loosely in my hand, almost as if I had forgotten how to use it.

It was the first meal I'd eaten with any silverware since my punishment began. I had been forced to either sit patiently as Mom or Emilia spooned food into my mouth, or, just as bad, eat sometimes incredibly messy meals with my bare hands.

The only thing I had going for me was that this leftover casserole wasn't as difficult as something like spaghetti.

Since I was seated at the kitchen table, I had even been given a regular sized cup. I handled it cautiously, not just because I was leery of what the additional liquids would do to my bladder, but I couldn't afford to clumsily knock it over. I suspected that I was going to need to do more than just use the toilet to get Mom to believe that I really wanted to be a big girl.

I somehow managed to finish the meal without spilling any food on my shirt, which was a good thing, as I hadn't been supplied with a big, either.

The consequences from the Cool-Aid I drank before lunch were still reverberating in my bladder as I returned to the living room after cleaning up my plate and depositing it in the sink. I could only hope that Emilia was feeling the same way.

If I thought having to load the washing machine was bad for my bladder, being forced to immerse my hands in warm soapy water to scrub dishes would be an even more difficult challenge for my bladder. But dishes were a chore that was typically assigned after dinner, so I had another six hours or so before that became something I needed to worry about.

The previous two attempts to hold my bladder in had been close calls, but what I was feeling now was somehow even worse. My insides hurt so bad I wanted to lie down on the floor and curl up into a ball. It almost felt as though it would be worth it to just pee all over the couch, if only to be done with that intensive discomfort.

Please Emilia. Please just get up and go use the potty. But I could no longer spare any attention to my sister. Every thought was bent toward one goal, making sure not a single drop of pee escaped my bladder.

Emilia didn't verbally announce her need to go to the toilet this time. But the sound of her footsteps racing away was the only confirmation that I needed.

I stood up from the couch, not too swiftly. Any sudden movements at this point would be risky. I took one step toward the hallway. I needed to be in position to make a go for the toilet as soon as Emilia returned.

"Sit!"

I dropped back down onto the couch at the sound of Mom's stern yell.

"You can go to the toilet when your sister returns."

I strained my ears for the sound of the toilet flushing in the distance. Nothing but silence.

The floodgates opened. And I experienced the full devastation of a bladder accident without there being anything to contain it, even partially.

The puddle of urine spread out beneath me on the couch, soaking through my underwear and then my skirt, spreading downward into the gaps between the couch cushions. Warm liquid streamed down the front of the couch onto my legs and socks. Was the couch ruined? If not, it was going to take a lot of work to get both it and the carpet cleaned up.

"You didn't just do that." Mom's recliner creaked as she stood up from it.

My hands were wet as well. I had shoved them between my legs as a last-ditch attempt to stop from wetting myself.

Mom leaned down over me. I couldn't meet her eyes. "Really, Sarah? That's just so disgusting. I can't believe it."

Unfortunately, I was more than capable of believing it.