Lizzie - Chapter 15 (Part 1) - Ivie

Author's Note

Hey everyone, just a short message here as I'm going to (yet again) be trying something new with this chapter.

Quite a few things happen in this chapter, and it also spans a longer period of time. But it didn't feel right to drag it out to be several chapters. At the same time, completely cutting things out and blitzing through this chapter didn't feel right either...

The end result is the longest chapter to date. There is a somewhat-natural breakpoint, which I considered splitting it entirely into two chapters. But that also didn't feel right, especially given how long the typical wait between chapters is (sorry!)

So instead, I ended up writing both parts of the chapter in one go. I'm publishing "Part 1" here as a wrapup the edits for the second half, and will publish those within the next week.

The idea is that this will essentially be like "double feature". For those who are eager to read the next part immediately, you can go ahead and read part one today, and read part two in a few days. But for those that don't want to end a chapter "midway", feel free to wait until both parts are released to read through it in one go!

Anyways, regardless of your choice, I hope you end up enjoying the next chapter!

---

Fuck.

Lizzie stared. She was at the side of her bed, looking down. Around her nether regions, her normally light blue pajamas were now several shades darker. Similar imprints were on both her sheets and blanket.

Fuck.

Despite being a bedwetter all her life, she rarely leaked, and even when she did, it was usually a few tiny spots on her jammies, perhaps a small speck on her sheets. But this…

What the fuck is wrong with me?

She didn’t have an answer to that question. Pulling up her sheets, she found her mattress wet underneath. What was she going to do about this?

Lizzie poked her head out of her room, just in time to see her mom heading toward the stairs. “Mom…”

“Lizzie, didn’t I tell you to get up fifteen minutes ago?” Her mom asked, hardly glancing at her as she continued.

“Mom!”

This time, Jennifer stopped. Upon seeing her face, her mom walked over. “What—” She froze upon seeing the scene.

“I… I wet the bed.” Lizzie stared at the floor, preparing for her mom’s questions, judgment, but most importantly, her anger.

Her mind rushed to prepare responses, reasons defending herself. But what was there to say? She didn’t even have so much as an excuse let alone a justification.

She shut her eyes, preparing for the worst.

“I can see that,” Jennifer eventually said. “Quickly go get showered and changed or you’ll catch a cold.”

When she didn’t move, her mom continued. “It’s alright Lizzie. Go get changed. I’ll clean everything up.”

Moving on autopilot, she grabbed some clothes before stumbling out her room. By the time she made it to the bathroom door, her mom was already walking out of the room with an armful of sheets.

“She what?” The voice down the hall was hushed, but peering out from a crack in the bathroom door, Lizzie could hear her parents’ conversation. “And she was wearing her goodnites?”

Lizzie felt herself blush.

Why?

The question sent a torrent of thoughts rushing through her mind. She hadn’t particularly drank a lot the night before. She’d even gone to the bathroom after dinner.

So then why had she completely soaked through her goodnites?

She stepped out of the car in silence, a slice of toast still in her hand. After her shower, she’d found her mother already busy dealing with her mattress. Her father had handed her a ziplock bag of toast and eggs, asking her to eat it on the car so they wouldn’t be late. Hardly a word was spoken on the ride to school. She’d spent it staring at her feet, watching her shoes swing back and forth.

Classes were a blur. Her teachers rambled on in the distance as her mind continued to race. Despite her best efforts to force her morning ordeal out of her head, a single thought kept creeping back.

What if it’s getting worse?

The thought horrified her. All her life, she dreamed about when she’d stop wetting. She’d wondered if it would be in a day, a month, or even a year.

Of course, she’d worried if it never got better, if she’d never be able to control her bladder at night. But she’d always held onto hope, believing that she’d slowly improve.

What she’d never considered was her bedwetting getting worse.

She’d never had to. It’d never been a problem before. The occasional leak once every few months was only a small speck on her sheets, something easily addressed by a quick laundry cycle. But the large spots from the morning were now seared into her mind.

What if this was the new norm?

No! It was just a coincidence! Her rational side yelled.

It must’ve been something weird in the food from the night before. Or maybe her body was just feeling extra tired that day. School had been hectic, right? With all the paperwork for the club and Ms. Morrison mentioning having to pick partners for the upcoming project.

She nodded. That had to be it.

Before she knew it, Lizzie was back on the car. The ride started with a ghastly silence. She almost wished her dad would blame her, talk about how disappointed he was. Give her an opportunity to apologize and explain herself. Because as they sat there acting like nothing had happened, the morning’s events only weighed heavier on her shoulders, causing her to squirm in her seat.

“So… How was school?” Her dad finally asked as they pulled into the driveway.

“Alright…” Why couldn’t she sit still?

“Lizzie, about the morning. Your mom and I don’t blame you at all. Leaks happen. It was an accident. You know that, right?”

“Okay…”

“I’m serious, Lizzie. It’s not your fault. I need you to know that.”

Lizzie buried herself into his arms. The chilly day suddenly felt warmer as she rested her head against his chest. The two stood there in silence for some time. She wanted to thank her dad but bit her tongue. Afraid to speak lest her voice quivered.

Back in the house, two suitcases stood waiting by the door. Only then did Lizzie remember that today was the day of their trip.

Her dad gave her a pat on the back, before scurrying off. As they busied about wrapping up their final preparations Lizzie noticed her father’s oily hair glistening alongside beads of sweat on his forehead. Her mom wasn’t better off. Her hair had been tied haphazardly in a messy bun as she raced about. One second she was holding a stack of papers, the next, toothbrushes.

Lizzie made an offer to help, and was politely but quickly turned down. She headed to her room, deciding it was best to stay out of their way rather than cause any more trouble.

In her room, traces of last night’s events had just about vanished. Her mattress was already back in place, the only difference being the fresh new sheets. She put away her school stuff, and made herself a quick snack in the kitchen. She’d barely sat down to watch Netflix when the doorbell rang.

A doorbell? If her parents were going today, then that meant…

“Hello Uncle Philip,” Ivie said as the door opened. “Hey Liz—“

She barely managed to finish her sentence as Lizzie rammed into her friend with a tight hug, nearly knocking off her glasses.

“What are those?” Lizzie asked after letting go, nodding toward the grocery bags she was holding.

“Oh, I just swung by the supermarket to grab a few items for the week.”

“Oh gosh, Ivie I’m so sorry. We said we’d ask for your grocery list but then there was the last minute visa stuff…”

“Hello auntie. Please don’t mention it. I know how busy you two are, it wasn’t a hassle. Really. Besides, I had a couple new dishes I wanted to try out anyways so had to grab some secret ingredients.” She winked toward Lizzie.

“Thank you so much. And let me grab those. But please, you must let us know how much it was so we can pay you back,” Philip said, reaching to help with the bags.

“Also we really appreciate you coming in early last minute, there’s just a few things we wanted to go over before we headed out. I wrote most of it down, but…” Jennifer’s voice trailed off as the two of them headed into the kitchen.

Lizzie began to follow, but Philip stopped her. “Do you mind helping us move these two luggages to the car? I’ve got to finish packing a few bags.”

“Sure!” Lizzie said, glad to finally be useful.

Her mom only emerged from the kitchen ten minutes later. She looked around frantically, a bag in her hands.

“Lizzie, did you see my luggage? It was the red one here.”

“Dad told me to put it in the car.”

Lizzie could’ve sworn she heard her mom swear under her breath. “Okay, thanks.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault.” Jennifer gave her a pat on the shoulder. “I’m the one that is sorry. Your father and I are just a mess.”

Lizzie nodded, trying her best to hide her frown. Despite her mom’s apology, she couldn’t help but blame herself. If she hadn’t leaked maybe her parents wouldn’t be in such a rush.

Philip reappeared a few minutes later. “Alright, looks like it’s time to go. Take care and don’t cause Ivie too much trouble, okay soldier?”

Lizzie nodded.

“And remember, since Ivie needs to drop you off before going to school herself, you’ll need to get up earlier than normal.”

“Yes mom, you mentioned this like three times last week.”

“Remember to do all of your homework and chores. And remember, Ivie is in charge.”

“Alright… I got it!” Lizzie said, rolling her eyes.

“We’ll miss you,” Philip said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll miss you too,” Lizzie said, grabbing both her parents in a big hug. The three held the embrace for a while, but eventually her parents peeled away, and headed out the door.

With the door shutting behind them, Lizzie turned to Ivie. “It’s time to party!”

“I think you mean it’s time to do your homework!” Ivie said, mimicking her enthusiasm.

“C’mon, can’t we just play for a few minutes first? I’ll do my homework after dinner. School just started so there’s barely any anyways. Please…” She tugged on her friend’s sleeve, looking up at her with her most adorable puppy eyes.

“Your parents’ rules are very clear,” Ivie said, undisturbed. She pulled out a sheet of paper. “Fun and games only after your homework and chores,” she pointed to rule number six on the sheet.

Lizzie groaned, although the response was not at all unexpected.

The sheet was incredibly long and detailed. Not that she wasn’t familiar with most of them, her parents had always had strict guidelines for her babysitters. What gave her pause was that, if anything, the littered page seemed to contain even more rules than normal. She shrugged it off, it was probably because of the longer than normal trip.

“You even said you barely have any homework, all the more to get it done early so you don’t have to worry about it, right?” Noticing her disappointment, Ivie continued, “I’ll tell you what. Your only chore today is mopping. So I’ll let you play on your Switch after you finish your homework until I’m done cooking dinner. After dinner you can mop the floor while I do the dishes and we can chill after, deal?”

Lizzie nodded, more than happy with that compromise, before bolting upstairs. The math worksheet wasn’t too bad. Her history assignment was even easier.

Downstairs, Ivie was chopping away at some vegetables.

“I finished.”

“You finished everything?” Ivie eyed her.

“Yes. You don’t trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. Besides, if you don’t finish your homework, it’s not going to be me who’s getting a spanking when her parents are back.”

Lizzie stuck out her tongue, causing her friend to giggle.

“Kidding… You can go ahead and relax for a bit, I’ll be ready in thirty to forty minutes.”

She sprinted off with a smile. Other babysitters usually checked her homework, going meticulously through each subject. Ivie was different. She knew Lizzie held herself to a high standard, and would never skip an assignment without reason.

After a bit of gaming, Ivie called her over to eat. On the table was a pot of spaghetti and meatballs as well as a plate of stir-fried veggies. There was even some freshly toasted garlic bread.

The two talked over dinner, discussing their winter breaks. Lizzie was surprised to find out how much time her friend spent studying, especially over the holidays. Was high school really that stressful?

Ivie listened keenly to her adventures in the snow, late night watching fireworks, and even the early morning gaming — the last of which Lizzie made her promise not to tell her parents.

Lizzie even found herself sharing the embarrassing church story, but was careful not to mention her Rosalina sleeper and snowsuit.

After dinner, Lizzie mopped the floor while Ivie washed the dishes. Once their chores were complete, the two played some Switch. They started with Smash, but the skill difference was evident, and Lizzie won with ease.

“Oh no,” Ivie said, as her Lucina fell off the map. Although she didn’t seem too dismayed at her second loss in a row.

“Do you wanna try something else? I got some new games.”

“Sure. Actually…” Ivie checked her watch. “I think you need to get ready for bed, it’s almost nine.”

“Can’t I stay up a little longer?”

“It’s a school night, Liz. Your parents actually wanted to give you an even earlier bedtime since you need to wake up earlier. But I managed to convince them otherwise.

“I’ll tell you what, the two of us can stay up later tomorrow since it’s Friday, maybe watch a movie or something, alright?”

“Only if you make some popcorn.”

“Deal.”

“Alright then.” Lizzie still let out a little sigh, before heading off to get ready for bed.

After her shower, there was a knock on the door.

“And before I forget, your parents told me to give you this for tonight,” Ivie said as Lizzie cracked the door open. She passed her a white bundle.

It was a diaper.

“Haha, very funny.” Lizzie moved to close the door.

But Ivie blocked it. “I’m not kidding Liz.”

“I use goodnites now, I thought you knew that.” Had it really been that long since Ivie babysat her?

“Your parents didn’t tell you?”

Lizzie shook her head.

“Interesting…” Ivie muttered under her breath, pondering for a second before continuing. “I know you usually wear goodnites, but your mom said you leaked a few times recently, including last night. So she wanted you to use diapers this week to be safe. She said you’ve used them recently so you should know how to put them on yourself.”

Lizzie’s face bloomed red at the mention, thinking back to the torturous week she spent stuck in diapers. “But…”

“Liz, I know what you’re thinking: you’re not going to leak again. And you might be right. I know it sucks, but your parents just don’t want me to end up having to cleanup your mattress if you do. And frankly, I don’t want to either. And I think you’d agree, right?”

Lizzie sighed. “Do I have to wear these the entire week?”

“Yes. Your mom even explicitly wrote it on the rule sheet. I can show you if you don’t trust me. But if you can convince your parents otherwise, I’m okay either way. That’ll have to wait until tomorrow though, since they’re still on the plane. So can you bare with it for tonight at least?”

“Fine.” Lizzie groaned, feeling like she didn’t have a choice. What else was she going to do? Throw a tantrum?

“Thanks Liz. And… I hate to ask, but do you need me to do it up or check the tapes for you?”

“No, I don’t!” The thought alone caused her cheeks to glow.

“Just checking,” Ivie said in a playful tone, which only made Lizzie’s cheeks burn hotter. The door was shut, leaving Lizzie to stare at the white bundle on the counter.

She glanced at her goodnites, the ones she’d been just about to put on before Ivie had knocked. Never before had she thought the day would come where she’d want to wear one.

Sighing, she wrapped the diaper around herself and dressed. The thick bundle bulged out prominently from underneath her pajamas.

The picture in the mirror was clear. Cute face, short stature, and now a ginormous diaper bump to top it all off.

The fact that she’d chosen to wear one of her one-piece sleepers didn’t help with the mental imagery. The little mermaids swimming on the light blue fabric were far too cute for her at the moment.

Lizzie trudged to her room, hardly acknowledging Ivie telling her she still had thirty minutes before bed. The sooner she slept, the sooner she could wake up and tear her protection off.

She hopped into bed, but not before stripping out of her one-piece and changing into a more age-appropriate two-piece set. Unfortunately, that did little to change her mental self-image.

With the lights shut, she curled up onto her bed. Ivie had stopped by, but quickly seemed to get the message, and left her alone to sulk under the covers.

However, sleep didn’t come to her. Instead, she flipped over and over in bed, feeling the thick padding pressing against her every time she moved. The crinkling ringing loudly in her ears. The bulk tightly enveloping her in a suffocating feeling.

It’s not your fault. I need you to know that.

Her father’s words echoed in her head, and the more Lizzie thought about it, the more ridiculous she felt.

It was an accident. A coincidence.

A goodnite had been enough for most of her life. Why should one night of leaking invalidate that fact? Her parents’ new rule suddenly felt absurd. If it wasn’t her fault, why was she being punished for it? It wasn’t fair!

With that newfound resolve, she hopped out of bed. Stripping and carefully peeling off her diaper, replacing it with the much smaller goodnite, immediately feeling less encumbered.

She buried the diaper deep in her closet, before making a quick trip to the bathroom. Just to be safe.

Free from her bulky burden, she practically skipped back under the covers, happy to have corrected the injustice. After a few sips of water, it didn’t take long before she fell asleep.

***

“Liz…” Ivie’s voice seemed distant as Lizzie stirred. “It’s time to get up, we need leave in fifteen minutes or we’ll be late.”

“Five more minutes…”

“That’s what you said five minutes ago, please get up now.” The knocking on her door growing more persistent.

“Okay… In a bit,” Lizzie mumbled, rolling over. Her bed was so warm and comfortable. Besides, her alarm hadn’t gone off yet, why couldn’t she just sleep for a few more minutes?

“Liz, I’m coming in,” Ivie said and the door swung open. The lights soon flickered on, blinding her.

“Alright, I’m up!” Lizzie said, sitting up while shielding her eyes. “Tada!” She expected Ivie to leave her be, but her friend remained by the door. “What?” Lizzie asked, noticing her odd expression.

“Liz, can you get up for a second?”

When Lizzie flashed her a questioning look, her friend walked over, pulling her sheets away.

An icy feeling immediately washed through her. “Okay, I get it, I’m already up, you don’t have to give me a cold, gosh.”

“Liz…”

She traced Ivie’s gaze, her eyes eventually landing on her own crotch, where her sleeper had turned a dark gray. Similar dark spots marked her blanket and sheets as well.

Lizzie stared, stunned.

“Go get changed real quick before you get a cold.” Ivie broke the silence. “Clean yourself up and I’ll deal with this.”

Lizzie only nodded, taking a few seconds before trotting toward the bathroom.

Once was an outlier. But two nights in a row… And she’d even relieved herself before sleeping!

She cleaned herself quickly, returning to find her friend scurrying about. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

But whether she’d heard her or not, Ivie made no acknowledgement of her apology, instead only telling her to quickly get ready for school.

“So, what happened, did you mess up the tapes?” Ivie asked a few minutes into the car ride.

“Yeah…” Lizzie found herself replying, not sure if she was embarrassed or afraid to tell the truth. “I don’t know what went wrong, I was sure I did it properly and everything.”

“It’s okay. Diapers are harder to put on properly than they seem. I had to practice on some dolls before I was ready to use them when I was babysitting,” Ivie said with a chuckle.

Lizzie forced herself to laugh, but the reassurance did little to improve her mood.

“What are we going to do about my mattress?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

Somehow, the first half of the day flew by without her ruminating on the morning. Perhaps it was due to her efforts to distract herself. Or perhaps it was due to how Ivie handled the situation with such nonchalance.

But perhaps it was because she’d already processed everything the day before. The conclusion was obvious.

Her bedwetting was getting worse.

“Yo girl, you ready?” Madison’s voice woke her from her thoughts.

Lizzie lightly slapped herself on the cheeks, forcing herself back to reality. “Yeah.” It was lunch time and they were sitting in Mr. Henning’s room. She straightened herself up, checking her notes one last time as the students began filing in.

“Hey everyone, thanks for joining,” Madison said. The crowd of rowdy students quickly quieted down.

“I’m Madison, and welcome to our first chess club event! We’ll keep it simple so everyone can get into the games soon, but before we begin I’ll have my co-exec Lizzie here walk us through the rules.”

Lizzie looked up to see three dozen or so students looking back at her with keen eyes. Word had clearly spread about Madison’s new club. Still, she was surprised by some of the faces.

“Hey, I’m Lizzie… Well, I guess you already knew that.” She held up her notes to hide her face, but she could still feel the stares piercing through the thin sheet of paper.

This was a bad idea. Her, running a club. It didn’t make sense. What if—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she looked to see Madison smiling at her.

No. She could do this. Her friend needed her to.

Lizzie cleared her throat, taking one last glance at her notes before lowering it. “Our chess club has four simple rules.

“The first rule is that we ask everyone to treat the boards, pieces, and clocks with respect. Mr. Henning has graciously gone out and purchased these beautiful pieces, and we really do want to make them last. So that means while it’s okay to eat your lunch in the room, please make sure to keep your hands, pieces, and board clean at all times.

“Secondly, lunch sessions end at ten to. Once we call time, unfinished games must be stopped, but feel free to take pictures to continue next time. We also ask that everyone help put the chess sets and clocks back to the cabinet over there in the back.

“The third rule is that while you’re free to spectate, please refrain from commenting aloud during the games. Let the players focus.

“Finally, be respectful to one another, and have fun!”

“Oh, and one last thing, if you’re completely new to chess, don’t fret. Come over to the beginner’s corner here.” Madison pointed over to a group of desks. “Mr. Henning and I will be teaching the rules as well as some fundamentals, so you’ll be playing with the pros in no time!”

The kids soon scurried about. A few got up and left, quietly giggling as they did so. But Madison didn’t seem to pay them any heed, so Lizzie decided she shouldn’t either.

She soon forgot about them anyways, as several students raised their hands. Many had trouble setting up their clocks, and Lizzie — who had only figured them out the day before — jumped from desk to desk troubleshooting their issues.

After everyone was finally in game, Lizzie headed back to her seat. However, before she could sit down, new hands were raised.

The rest of the hour was spent answering chess questions, fixing buggy chess clocks, and solving disputes.

“Thanks for coming! And just a reminder, we’ll have games every Tuesday and Friday, but follow our Instagram to learn about upcoming events!” Madison called as students began filing out.

Only after the last student exited did Lizzie collapse into her seat. The exhaustion finally catching up to her.

“So, how was it?” Madison plopped down beside her.

“Tiring,” Lizzie sighed. She’d probably talked to more new people in the past hour than she had in the past month. “But fun.” While she hadn’t gotten to play, it was great seeing everyone gathered together. And it had been fun to spectate the games too. While many were beginners, there were quite a few decent players too.

“Well, most of them stayed til the end, so I’d definitely call our first meet a success!” Madison said, a grin on her face. And Lizzie couldn’t help but smile back.

***

Ivie picked her up after school. True to her word, when they returned home, her mattress had already been cleaned up.

To her relief, her friend didn’t ask any more questions about the morning, and Lizzie was happy to leave it at that.

Just like the day before, she started on her homework until Ivie finished cooking dinner.

“Do you like it?” Ivie asked as Lizzie dug in for dinner. Tonight, she’d made a creamy bean stew. In it were a slew of veggies and sausage bits.

“It’s amazing, you should come cook for us every day!” Lizzie joked.

The two chatted about their day, and Lizzie talked about her new club, and their first successful event.

“Wow, I’m happy for you! Are you planning to host any tournaments?”

“We’re looking into hosting some, especially if we keep up the current member count. I don’t know about local tournaments though, I’m not sure any of us are good enough to win.”

“Well, I’m sure you can just attend for fun as well, you don’t have to win.”

A little after dinner, Lizzie received a video call from her parents.

“How was your flight?”

“It was good, your mom fell asleep an hour in, and was snoring the entire ride. But I got some hilarious pictures.” Philip said, receiving a playful slap from Jennifer.

“How are you doing?” Jennifer asked.

“We’re doing good.” Lizzie went on to describe their first event, which seemed to impress them more than she’d expected.

“Wow, does that mean we’ll see you at the tournaments soon?”

“Why does everyone ask that!” Lizzie exclaimed. “But if we get good enough, maybe. I don’t want to go just to lose every game.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. By the way, you haven’t been giving Ivie a hard time have you?”

“She’s been good.” Ivie appeared from behind with a wave. “In fact, she was helping with the dishes right before you called.”

“That’s good to hear, well, sorry for cutting this short, but we do need to hop off, the first meeting is in a few hours and we haven’t checked into our hotel yet. But if you need us, just call.”

“Alright, talk to you soon,” Lizzie said before everyone exchanged their goodbyes.

“Thanks for not mentioning the bedwetting,” Lizzie said as soon as they hung up.

“I do have to tell them, but it doesn’t have to be today. I know it was an accident, just be more careful tonight, okay?” When Lizzie nodded, Ivie continued, “Alright, I’ll let you finish up the dishes, and then since it’s a Friday, you can go ahead and relax. I’m going to do some other chores upstairs, and we can watch a movie around eight, how’s that sound?”

“Okay! I’ll look for the movie.”

Lizzie sat on the couch, idly browsing Netflix. It was already eight thirty. What was taking Ivie so long? She’d gone up to bug her earlier, but Ivie had been on the phone and had waved her away.

“What took you so long?” Lizzie asked when Ivie finally stepped back downstairs. “I almost started watching the movie without you!”

“Liz, we need to talk.” Ivie took a seat next to her, her lips were pressed together.

“What, why so serious?”

“Why did you think you leaked last night again?”

Lizzie took a deep breath. A part of her knew she should come clean and tell her friend the truth. But Ivie’s stare gave her pause. She didn’t want her friend to get angry at her. She hadn’t done it on purpose, and she’d already decided that she would properly wear her diaper for the rest of the week, despite how ridiculous it felt.

“The tapes were probably loose. I must’ve messed it up somehow. We talked about it this morning, right?” When Ivie didn’t immediately respond, Lizzie continued. “If you don’t trust me, you can check them tonight to make sure they’re done up properly.”

In truth, she hated the idea of her friend checking her diaper. It was childish and embarrassing. But she also knew that after the morning’s events, Ivie would feel obligated to, and so Lizzie had decided to volunteer for it, hoping it would help her win some trust.

However, her friend only frowned. “Liz, I want to trust you. I really do. But can you explain to me why, as I was cleaning out the trash just now, I found a soaked-through goodnite, but no diaper anywhere?”

“I…” Lizzie’s brain raced to find an excuse. Perhaps she could claim the goodnite was old and she threw out her diaper separately. She could claim it was because the diaper smelled bad so she’d bagged it separately. “I threw—“

“Are you really going to keep lying to me?” Ivie’s voice low and quiet. The sudden vehemence halting Lizzie’s feeble attempt at a lie.

She looked up at her friend, gone was the usual soft glimmer in her eyes, and in its place was a death stare that sent a shiver up her spine.

“I…” Lizzie sighed, knowing she had no choice but to tell the truth. “I was embarrassed to wear it, and I didn’t think I would leak. So… so I switched to wearing goodnites instead. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

“I appreciate the apology. But fact of the matter is that your actions have consequences. I already talked about this with your parents, and we agreed that you should have an earlier bedtime tonight. On top of that, I will be inspecting your diaper to make sure you have it on properly and that you don’t take them off at night.

Learning that Ivie had already talked to her parents meant that she must’ve known that she was lying from the start. Meaning that Ivie’s questioning had intentionally been to test her, seeing if she was willing to lie further.

It felt unfair, but Lizzie forced her mouth shut. Reminding herself that if she hadn’t lied in the first place, none of this would’ve happened. She hung her head until Ivie finished her lecture.

When she finally did, Ivie handed her a fresh diaper, and told her she’d be over to check once Lizzie was done showering.

After her shower, Lizzie fastened the diaper as best she could around herself. She’d left her pajama pants off, wearing only her top, since Ivie would need to inspect it anyway. Unfortunately, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The top hardly covered her diaper, rendering its large bump in plain sight. The imagery was painfully obvious.

Ivie came in, and Lizzie held her tongue as she was inspected, just wishing to get it over with quickly. Ivie refastened one of the tapes, but mostly just nodded her head.

“Alright, that looks good.” Lizzie let out a small sigh of relief. “Before I forget, your parents also wanted me to give you these for tonight.” Lizzie noticed a bag that Ivie had brought in, and watched as she pulled out something light blue.

She immediately recognized her Rosalina sleeper. The inescapable back-zip pair she’d gotten from Lucas for Christmas.

“What are those for?” The spite in her voice showing despite her best efforts.

“They’re your pajamas for tonight,” Ivie replied matter-of-factly.

“But—“

“Before you complain, your mom said this was the only way to guarantee you didn’t tamper with your diaper. Since you’ve proven that you can’t be trusted to not do so otherwise.”

“But—“

“Liz. Before you continue, think about what you’re about to say. Uncomfortable or not, the diapers were your parents’ rule, and we explicitly talked about wearing them for the night. So, if you weren’t going to listen then, do you actually have a good reason why I should trust you tonight?” Ivie placed the sleeper on the counter, gently folding her arms.

Lizzie wanted to scream, feeling an urge to tear off her diaper and throw it out the window. She clenched her fists, wishing she could run away and disappear because she knew she didn’t have an excuse. She’d not only broken the rules but also lied about doing so. And now the consequences had caught up with her.

I acted just like a little kid. The thought shook her to the core.

“No, I don’t.” Her voice was practically a whisper. Head drooped, she picked up the sleeper, and began changing into it, feeling her eyes beginning to water.

Ivie didn’t leave, but politely turned around as Lizzie took off her pajama top and slipped the fleece over her shoulders. The warm and soft fabric only serving to mock her as she let Ivie zip her up. A dull pop indicated that it was secured for the night.

Keeping her head lowered, Lizzie grabbed her discarded clothes in a bundle and began shuffling out the door.

“Liz.” The voice stopped her. “I really didn’t want to do this, but rules are rules. If you behave, I’ll see what I can do, okay?”

Lizzie nodded. Beneath her anger, she knew it wasn’t her friend’s fault, she was just doing her job. “Okay.” Was all she said before scurrying off, worried she couldn’t hold back the tears for much longer.

As she curled up on her bed, Lizzie couldn’t help but feel like the little girl she was.

And the worst part was she had nothing to say about it. She had acted like a kid, and so now she was rightfully being treated like one.

She felt the bulky diaper secured tightly around her waist. Underneath her sleeper, the simple tapes that held it together were no longer accessible.

It was just as her mom had said. Tonight, her naughty hands would not be able to remove her protection.

She wrestled and strained with the fabric, but it easily withstood her tantrum, hardly even stretching. Rosalina looked up at her from her chest, as if amused by her pathetic attempts. The smirk made her want to grab her scissors and show the sleeper who was boss.

But she pushed the silly urge away, knowing she was already in enough trouble.

Checking her phone, it was only nine. Her thoughts began to drift. What would Madison be doing at this time? What would any normal thirteen year old be doing? They certainly wouldn’t be lying in bed, pawing furiously at a diaper they couldn’t take off.

Burying herself in her pillow, Lizzie let out a scream, punching her mattress with all of her anger. Frustrated tears began pouring. The emotions cascading out of her until she eventually fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

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Thanks for reading (the first half) of chapter 15! As always, I look forward to reading your comments!