Game Over: Life's Over

Bedwetter

I was almost done with my schoolwork and I couldn't have been more excited. I didn't have anything to look forward to after I finished but it was one less thing to worry about. I could still say I graduated high school and that was all that mattered to me.

I needed to figure out something to do with myself once I stopped having anything to do during the day. TV could only hold so much of my attention. I wasn't sure what I could do but I knew there was definitely a limit. If my ability to do anything was the same outside of the house as it was inside, there wasn't much.

But I tried to stay positive and not let my imagination and brain run wild on the possibilities - or lack of.

I woke up late one morning when it was just Theo and I. When I slept in, I didn't see Eric until he came home from work. And unless Theo was vacuuming, it was usually pretty quiet in the house.

I sat up in bed and ran my fingers through my messy hair. Something cold pressed against my leg under the blanket and I furrowed my eyebrows.

I pushed the blanket back and saw a wet spot on the bed between my legs. My shorts were wet and sticking to my skin.

My eyes widened and I cursed to myself. There was no way this was happening to me. I couldn't have been wetting the bed overnight like I did when I was younger. I was too old to be doing that.

I got out of bed and grabbed a change of underwear and shorts. I tossed my dirty clothes on the bed and gathered up everything wet.

I quickly ran down the steps and headed for the washer and dryer in the basement. I'd never been to the basement before. I knew where it was and how to get there but I'd never really been allowed there myself. Theo probably wouldn't have wanted me down there on my own but he didn't see me go down so I was safe for the time being.

The basement was smaller than I expected. It wasn't a finished basement and only held the washer and dryer along with the furnace, hot water tank, and a few boxes stuffed in the opposite corner. There was a shelf above the washer and dryer with various bottles of detergent and fabric softener.

I added some detergent to the wash and started it. I was hoping it would get the smell out. I really didn't want it to be noticeable that I'd peed the bed.

I made my way back to my bedroom without being caught and found an extra blanket folded under my bed along with a suitcase. I laid it on my bed, hoping it wouldn't look too obvious that I'd washed the blankets. I was going to try washing and drying them all without Theo noticing so he wouldn't have to know. The last thing I wanted was attention drawn to the situation.

I finished getting ready for the day before I made my way down the steps. At this point, Theo was in the kitchen. He was doing some dishes that had been left in the sink the night before.

"Good morning. How'd you sleep last night?"

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and sat down on one of the bar stools. "Fine."

"I thought you would have slept in longer."

Was he onto me or was this just normal Theo talk? "I just couldn't sleep anymore." I shrugged and hoped he'd just drop it.

"Alright. Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat."

"Sure."

He dried off his hands on a towel and walked over to the fridge. He opened it and began pulling out some items. "I hope you don't mind omelets. I need to use up some of these veggies before they go bad."

"Would you be mad if I told you I don't want vegetables in my omelet?"

He looked over his shoulder at me. "It wouldn't kill you to eat some vegetables."

"I could choke on some broccoli."

He sighed. "Jacob, you're so difficult sometimes. Are you like this for your mom?"

I laughed. "Not always. But I do like giving her a hard time. I can tell it'll be fun for you guys, too."

"Great. I'm looking forward to it." He started the burner on the stove and began mixing up the eggs in a small bowl. He paused and then turned to me. "Are you doing laundry?"

I froze. I was really hoping I could get away without being caught at all. I didn't want Theo to know. I really didn't want him to find out that I'd wet the bed. "Yeah, um... I got something on my favorite sweatshirt so I wanted to wash it before it stained."

"It's like eighty degrees out. Do you really need a sweatshirt this time of year?"

I shrugged. "So what if I do?"

He shook his head. "I'll never understand kids these days."

"That's because you're old."

He turned around to look at me. "How old do you think I am?"

I shrugged. "Like forty or something."

His eyes widened. "Okay, I do not look that old."

"How old are you then?"

"I'm only thirty-four. That's not old."

"To me, that's old. But I guess it isn't too old. I mean... you can still function."

"Okay, don't ever talk like this to your mom. She would so not appreciate that."

"She already thinks she's old."

He shook his head and began cutting up vegetables. "Are you going to work on more schoolwork today?"

I nodded. "I want to get it done."

"It won't be much longer now, will it?"

"I hope not."

"You've only been here a few weeks and I already feel like you're growing up too fast."

I rolled my eyes. He was so sappy. I really hoped he wouldn't get any worse. There was no way I could deal with tears and crying. I didn't even like doing it myself. "I'm barely eighteen. I'm not growing up at all."