Game Over: Life's Over

People Like Us

It was nice waking up to a clean, dry bed but I hated that it meant I was using pull-ups. I hated that even subconsciously I was using them. I wasn't a baby. I shouldn't have needed them.

I didn't want to stay in the wet pull-up long. It was already embarrassing enough to use them. I quickly got out of bed and went over to the changing table. Underneath the table was two shelves with different supplies. A pack of pull-ups sat beside a multi-pack of wipes. There was diaper rash cream and even gloves stacked on the shelf. I was glad Eric and Theo were prepared but I also hated the thought that I might need all of that.

I grabbed another pull-up and a clean pair of sweatpants and carried them with me to the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and began to take my shorts off. I set them on the toilet seat cover before taking a deep breath. I pulled off the wet pull-up and tossed it into the trash as quickly as I could. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Once I was clothed and dry, I grabbed my toothbrush and started brushing my teeth. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror as I stood facing it. I hated to think that there was more of me that could be different. It scared me, honestly.

"Hey, Eric and I were thinking of going to the park today."

I jumped and nearly choked on the toothpaste in my mouth. "What the hell?"

Theo rolled his eyes and leaned against the door frame. "You think closing the door is enough to keep me out?"

I spit my mouthful of toothpaste into the sink. "No, but I thought locking the door would."

"The lock doesn't work."

I looked at the doorknob. So there was a fake lock on the door. Why? "You don't trust me?"

"It's not that we don't trust you. We just don't know what could happen. You could drown or choke or something just as bad."

I rolled my eyes. "That's highly unlikely."

He shrugged. "It could still happen though."

"You worry too much."

Theo took a step back. "We're going to leave after breakfast. When you're done, come downstairs."

"Okay." I wasn't thrilled about going to the park. It was childish to play on swing sets and jungle gyms. I also didn't want Eric and Theo to follow me around and watch me when I was perfectly capable of playing at the park by myself. I wasn't a child.

—

The park was bigger than it looked from the main road as we drove up to it. There was a swing set with four swings. Two of the swings weren't the typical type of swing I was used to but looked to be adaptable to someone of any size. The other two were just the traditional swing that was at every playground. There was a jungle gym several feet away with lots of things to climb on. The ground underneath it all was a soft rubber that felt like a mat people used in kitchens.

There weren't as many kids around since school was still in session. As we approached the playground, I could only see two other kids and they looked to be younger than me.

I knew the reason Eric and Theo wanted me to go to the playground was to meet other kids my own age but it didn't seem like that was going to happen that day. I wasn't really fond of the idea of befriending toddlers when I looked much older than them.

There wasn't anything scary about a playground, by any means, but I was a bit nervous about playing near a bunch of little kids. I didn't really want to play with them to begin with yet I knew that at some point, that could be my fate. I could end up acting and looking younger than all the toddlers there.