✅ My Sister's Problem

42. Punishment

Author's Notes: Instead of posting people's bonus chapters in the order their payments come through, I'm doing it in the order my schedule suggested. I have no idea why it wants to leave some of them until tomorrow; but that's what it says. So this is the non-Patreon-bonus chapter for today; and there should be a bunch more tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it.

And if you're getting used to seeing a new chapter every day, it would be good to start reading my other stories. Because I'm trying to focus more on The Last New Start and My Cousin's Keeper this month; so out of the three current stories, there should be a new chapter for one or two of them each morning. Not just a chapter of the same story every day.

I relaxed in the bath. Warm water could soothe away all my worries, if I forgot for a moment that it had caused most of them. And the bubbles hid most of the bathroom, piled up around me as I let myself relax. I just soaked awhile, and then forced myself to sit up and rub soap into tired muscles. My legs were aching after today's performance, and my shoulders. But it was a pain I could be proud of; the proof that I had given it my all. I'd won a game, and made Hugo proud of me.

I let myself bat at the rubber duck for a while, chasing it around the tub. It was a welcome distraction every time my mind strayed onto things that would stress me out again. I didn't get clean as quickly as usual, and I wasn't actually paying enough attention to know which bits I had washed when I heard Mummy knocking at the bathroom door.

"Are you okay, Sally? I've got clothes for you here. Do you want me to help wash your back?" I opened my mouth to give an emphatic refusal, but then I looked around and realised that I hadn't even picked out any clean clothes. I would be walking naked across the landing back to my room when I was clean. Of course, it was only Mum and Lindy who had any chance of seeing me, but it was a shock just how much I was failing to plan ahead now. As soon as something went wrong, I'd gone to pieces.

"Is Lindy back?" I mumbled, not wanting any chance of my little sister seeing me in this vulnerable state.

"She's next door," Mum answered, opening the door so we could talk more easily. It was like she didn't care at all about my privacy, walking in on me naked like it didn't even matter. Treating me like a little kid again, I guessed. And if nobody else knew, somehow it wasn't weird. Just made me feel like I needed looking after. "She called me when I was leaving the office. Said you'd fallen asleep in the lounge, and she'd gone to visit Harper because she wanted somebody to share her pictures with. I should call her when it was time to come back. But I said she should stay there for a while if it's okay with Greg and Chel. So we could have some quality time, and she couldn't try to humiliate you when you're already feeling vulnerable. I bolted the door when I came in, just to make sure she won't appear until you feel up to seeing her."

"Thank you," I mumbled. Mum had thought of everything. And then remembering that I was her little kid tonight, I corrected myself. "Fak oo, Mummy!" The silly voice gave us both a laugh, and made it even easier to forget all about punishment.

I was embarrassed again when Mummy wanted to wash me, and made sure I was all clean. It was humiliating, but even that didn't stop it feeling good. Feeding into the childish fantasy that made me feel like the centre of the universe. She soaped up my back, washed my hair for me, and then draped warm towels over me and started to dry me off as the water drained from the bath. Then I looked across at the clothes she'd picked out; probably the most childish things I owned. Everything to make me feel small, and I was already so vulnerable.

"Now, is it okay if I punish you?" Mum asked, and my brain did a little loop, not understanding the question.

"Huh?"