✅ My Sister's Problem

117. Head to Head

When Mum led me downstairs, I was already starting to feel like a little kid again. It was so much easier, and less embarrassing, if I just let myself imagine that I was the baby they were treating me as. Then there was no need to worry about what Hugo was thinking; he was just another babysitter. But keeping those thoughts out of my mind was easier said than done. I couldn't stop worrying, because suddenly Hugo was the most important person in my life. Not thinking about him for the last couple of days had been hard enough. But Lindy had thought of a way to make it easier for me, at least.

She was holding a pair of cute headphones in one hand, and a box of pills in the other. The suppositories for when Mum wanted to give me a little extra punishment. And she just raised her eyebrows as Mum turned towards her.

"I think Sally needs something extra to remind her what a baby she is," Lindy smirked. "Because she's been really bad today. What do you think, Mum?"

"I think..." she started. "I think that's a very serious punishment, for a very serious crime. But I think you two should have some input as well. Do you think that this seems like a reasonable consequence of trying to make your sister pee on the couch?"

I didn't say anything. I knew that it would mostly be Lindy's opinion that mattered. And on some level, I was starting to suspect that Mum could guess when Lindy was framing me. If her own guilt didn't stop her sooner or later, Mum would have to turn around and make sure that Lindy faced proper punishment for all her lies. Every time Mum asked her what was a suitable punishment, she was really picking her own consequences.

Lindy mumbled her response while I was still deep in my own thoughts, trying to put aside some of my anxiety. She handed Mum the headphones, and I went to sit in front of the TV. At least the spirals and the hypnosis might help me to think like a baby; and put all that speculation about Hugo out of my mind.

"Let's have the little baby watch something cute on the TV, then," Mum said. "Lindy's going to look after you for now, until you can learn to be nice to your sister. She can be your babysitter even though I'm here, so be good for her. And I'll make a decision about the other thing. Now, are you ready, baby Sally?"

I nodded, and fet her hands gently rest the headphones over my ears. A few seconds later the spirals started, and I was focused on the confusing words so much that nothing else mattered for a little while.

...

"I did a wee!" I exclaimed as I woke up again and realised that I was starting to pee. It didn't even occur to me to stop it, and it took quite a few seconds before I remembered to be embarrassed by that moment of excitement. Then I was blushing, but somehow it made me excited as well. I couldn't get too worried about it.

"Such a little baby," I heard Mum say. "So... I need to go out to do the shopping again. Is that okay, girls? Do you think you'll be okay until I get back?"

"I'm not a baby!" Lindy protested. "I can look after myself. I can look after little Sally too. Okay?"

"That's fine, dear. Just make sure she doesn't get too upset. Sally, Lindy's your babysitter for now. Be good for her. And I hope you two can still be nice to each other, without any of the bickering and tricks we've had so far."

"Yes, Mummy," I answered, and my voice sounded so childish that I couldn't help laughing at myself. As Mum picked up her bags, I found myself watching with curiosity even though she wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. I was fascinated by even the simplest things, just like a little kid, and I could laugh at myself for behaving that way while I was still feeling it. It was like the best of both worlds. And all those little weird feelings, the things that didn't quite make sense, were enough to take my mind off worrying about what Hugo would think for a while.