Tabitha
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all.
Seated on the couch downstairs, surrounded by not just my family but Reese as well, I’m beginning to think this was, actually, a reallybadidea.
“All right, little girl.” Arms crossed, Daddy glares down at me, his expression more furious than I’ve ever seen it. “Explain yourself.”
“Um.” I fidget a bit, partially from the discomfort of having so many people staring me down, but also because a certain need has been growing more and more urgent ever since I found my hiding spot on the roof. “Can I go to the bathroom first, please?”
If I thought my good manners would earn me any leniency, I was wildly mistaken. A muscle jumps in Daddy’s jaw before he nods once. “All right. Let’s go.”
Reese steps forward. “Absolutely not. I’m not letting her go anywhere with you alone until I know she’s safe here.”
“For fuck’s sake, Reese, they’re just going to the bathroom,” Auntie Gray snaps, her lip curled up in a snarl.
“I don’t give a fuck where they’re going, they aren’t going alone.”
“All right.” Daddy’s voice is calm.
Too calm.
Arms crossed, he looks over toward the sheriff. “If you insist on shadowing us, I’m going to insist on your discretion.”
Oh, god. He can’t possibly mean…
Frowning, Reese glances between me and Daddy. “My discretion about what?”
“Our family’s… unique lifestyle.”
Now Reese scans the entire room, her gaze lingering on me and my cousins, and I swear I can see the wheels turning in her head. “As long as what’s happening here doesn’t break any laws, I have no reason to tell anyone about your business.”
“I appreciate that, Sheriff.” Shifting his attention to me, Daddy nods. “Go ahead, Tabitha. I’ll change you when you’re done.”
“Colt!” Josie’s shocked exclamation draws every eye to her, with the exception of my Daddy, who never takes his eyes off me. “You can’t do that!”
“Quiet, Josephine,” Uncle Bram growls. “Mind your own business.”
Whirling on him, Josie stomps a foot. “She’s my cousin! That makes her my business!”
Lanie rushes to join her. “Yeah! She is our business!”
Before I can lie and assure them I’m fine, Uncle Axel steps forward, leaning down to whisper something to the pair of them. Whatever he says has red flooding their cheeks and they both back down with apologetic looks in my direction. I smile, strained as it is, and hope they’ll both understand how much I appreciate them trying to protect me.
With my cousins back in line, Daddy gestures to me again. “We’re waiting, little girl.”
Is it possible to die from humiliation? I think it might be possible. I’ve never even used my diaper in front of my other family members, which would be bad enough on its own.
But in front of thesheriff?
Please, god, take me now.
“I–I would really rather go to the bathroom.”
“And I would really rather have not spent my entire morning worrying that my Little girl was lost in the woods somewhere,” Daddy says, his voice hard as stone. “So it seems we’re both doomed to disappointment.”
I shift again, the pressure in my bladder growing increasingly more dire. “Please, Colt. Not here.”
“Is that how you address me, little girl?”
