All My Mother's Rules

Epilogue

Author's note: You made it! Thanks so much to everyone who has read, liked, and commented on Sarah's story. Wasn't sure what to expect posting on Wattpad for the first time, but this greatly exceeded expectations.

It's been a long journey, but we are at the end of this part of it. I have details about a sequel and another projects I'm starting at the bottom.

The lives of myself and my friends reversed at the beginning of summer. They were off of school, free to begin their summer vacations. I found myself back in the classroom three days a week.

Mr. Higgins was teaching remedial history lessons over the summer, so I had him as one of my teachers for the three courses I was taking to help cover what I had missed in that semester I had been held out from school.

I hadn't been forced to try to return to school during the middle of the semester. For one thing, I was having a hard enough time as it was trying to manage my incontinence at home, and with how much I time I had missed, catching up over summer was a far better option.

So summer school was the first time in a classroom since Christmas. I understood why Lisa had reverted to diapers when high school had begun for her. I had managed to make some progress with re-training my bladder the past three months, but not so much that a diaper didn't come in handy for getting me through the four-hour days of classes.

If I could be back in pull-ups for my sophomore year of high school, I would consider that to be good progress.

But there were no classes to attend this Saturday afternoon. The pool in Samantha's backyard was a welcome relief from the summer heat.

My two-piece swimsuit felt off, and not for the normal reasons a teenage girl might feel uncomfortable in that type of outfit. The lack of padding between my legs left an absence that was noticeable as I walked around the pool, headed for the deep end.

Samantha and Desi were already in the pool as I stepped up to the edge, trying to time my cannon ball jump correctly to splash both of my friends.

Samantha turned to look at me from where she was treading water in the deep end. "You're going to come in like that? Aren't you missing something?"

"Missing what?" I asked. I got in position to jump.

Samantha looked around. It was just us out by the pool for now. Her little brother wasn't in sight. "A swim diaper. What if you pee in the pool?

"Don't be silly," I said. "That is what chlorine is for." I launched myself to a spot right between Samantha and Desi, bringing my knees up to my chest to make the biggest splash possible. Neither of them managed to get out of the splash zone.

There was a sense of freedom in swimming in the pool. I had been mostly joking about peeing in the water. I'd used the toilet right before changing out of my pull-up and into the swimsuit, so I should be safe for the short amount of time I intended to spend in the water.

Lisa had chosen not to join us in the pool. She hadn't ever learned how to swim and was off in a plastic chair a safe distance away, tapping on her phone.

There was a hint of cotton fabric peeking out of the top of Lisa's low-rise shorts. She was a completely different person than the shy girl I'd met at the start of the last school year, who wore full-length dresses to obscure the diapers she had on underneath to manage her incontinence.

Lisa was wearing underwear for the summer. If she made it through those three months without any accidents, then it would be underwear for school as well. Nighttime was the one time we were still equals, as we lay in beds on the opposite side of the room, each with a diaper secured snugly around our waists.

Samantha and Desi both got out of the pool. I should have anticipated what was going to happen next, but it wasn't until they were both in the air aiming for each side of me that I realized that they were out for revenge. We spent the next ten minutes trying to out splash each other with crazier and crazier dives into the water.

I rushed back inside to dry off and change the moment I got out of the pool. It would have been one thing to have an accident in the water, but I wasn't going to wet myself on the pool deck. When I returned outside, Samantha and Desi were sunbathing on towels. I took a seat in a chair next to Lisa.

Sometimes when I hung out with my friends, I wanted us to all be involved in activities together. But there were also days like today, where their presence alone was enough, a simple reminder that they were here for me.

My two CPS case workers, Amanda and Jodie, had continued to check in with me a few times a month. Their latest visit had brought news of Emilia, who they said was adjusting extremely well to her new life in Wisconsin with her dad, stepmother, and step-sister.

That was good news. It would be better if she were young enough to allow all of those events to fade from her memory.

I sighed. I knew from the dreams I still had that it wasn't going to be that easy for me.

Rules and consequences. That was a lesson my mother had never failed to teach me. But rules aren't only for little kids and teenagers who are having difficultly using the toilet. Adults have rules to follow as well, as my mom discovered after she pleaded guilty to numerous offenses related to what she had done to me.

It meant her punishment wasn't going to be as strict as if she had held out for a trial. But I told the prosecutor I was OK with that when she asked me for my opinion. A trial would have meant needing to stand in front of a jury, forced to recount the events from the fall to Mom's arrest.

I wasn't prepared even to share those details with my closest friends, so a jury was out of the question.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out my mom had been sentenced to ten years in jail, a ruling that also prevented her from ever gaining custody of Emilia once she was released.

Just as adults had rules to follow, they had to deal with the consequences as well.

As for me, I was free at last from all my mother's rules.

Author's note: As sad as it is for things to come to an end. It also means there are new stories to be told. Will have links to all of them in the comments once the epilogue publishes:

"The Girl Who Wanted to Wear Diapers"

This is the next story I am beginning on Wattpad. The first two chapters are out already.

The one thing 12-year-old Madelyn desires most in the world is to wear diapers again, and she is prepared to do anything to make that wish come true, even if that means faking bedwetting to convince her parents to purchase pull-ups for her. 

The plan is simple. What could possibly go wrong?

"All My Girlfriend's Rules"

This is a standalone sequel I've written to "All My Mother's Rules." It's available on Amazon.

Sarah's story continues six years in the future. Now nearly finished with college, she must confront her incontinence and the lingering trauma of her past while embarking on an unconventional relationship that has the potential to radically alter everything she thinks she knows about herself.

"Diapers Never Lie"

This shorter story covers Lisa's backstory and how she came to live with her aunt and uncle. It is a bit darker, but is a good read if you haven't had the chance to check it out yet.