Small

It's Gross

Darren carried me back to bed and covered me in my blankets to warm me up. Being out of the hot water for so long made me start to shiver until my teeth chattered. It didn't help that I was still wet.

Darren ignored the fact that he was still wet, too, and sat with me. He stayed on the outside of the blankets, giving me enough space to not feel overwhelmed like I had been in the bathroom.

His fingers traced circles along my back. He brushed my hair away from my skin so his fingers made direct contact with me. The feeling gave me goosebumps.

I wasn't sure how I slept after he and I talked. There was so much said and so much for both of us to process. Yet I fell asleep quickly after he took me to bed. It was as if all the heavy feelings weighing on me coaxed me to sleep and allowed me the release I had been needing.

In an odd way, especially after our conversation, I felt comfortable having Darren with me while I slept. I felt protected from all the bad stuff as if he would fight it off for me.

He was my daddy and that's what daddies did.

When I finally stirred awake the next morning, I felt empty for all the wrong reasons. My stomach hurt from how hungry I was. I couldn't even think back to when I'd last eaten.

I pushed myself into a seated position and rubbed my eyes, not caring that the blankets fell off of me and exposed my bare chest.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

I looked to my left and saw Darren sitting on the bed beside me. He was still in his clothes from the night before.

"How are you feeling?"

I opened my mouth to speak but realized something was wrong when I felt the bed was wet in a place it shouldn't have been. I put my hand down between my legs and felt a wet spot on the sheet under me. My eyes widened. "Uh oh."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not wearing a diaper."

Darren's eyes widened as he realized what happened. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Aly, I'm so sorry. I completely forget when I brought you in here to go to bed."

I smiled as he jumped up and looked around the room like there was some solution for him that he just needed to find. "It's okay. It's not the first time I've wet the bed."

He stopped and looked at me. "This time is my fault. I didn't mean for this to happen, Aly. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, daddy."

He sighed and approached the bed. "Can you help me gather up the blankets? I need to wash them so they don't get stained."

Even though it was Darren's fault that I wet the bed, I was still embarrassed to see the wet spots on the blankets. It also didn't help that I was still naked and smelled a little of pee.

He took the blankets from me and nodded in the direction of the hallway. "Why don't you go wait in the bathroom for me? We need to get you cleaned up."

"Are you gonna give me a bath?"

He nodded. "Is that okay? I can just... supervise if you want to do it yourself."

I shook my head. "I want you to do it."

"Okay. Give me a few minutes and I'll be in."

I followed him out of the room and went to the bathroom like he told me to. I stood beside the tub while I waited for him to get back.

I didn't want to get myself in any trouble so I did what I was told. I didn't want to give Darren a reason to be mad at me.

He didn't seem like the type of person who got mad over little things. He didn't show his anger much. I was grateful for that. I'd seen enough of it with Owen to last me a lifetime.

When Darren came back to the bathroom, he had changed out of his clothes from the previous day and was just wearing a pair of shorts.

He walked to the tub and started the water. He put his hand in the water to test the temperature, something I had ignored when I got my bath the day before.

I waited until the tub was almost full before I stepped in. I sat down and hugged my knees to myself. The water was nice and warm but the areas that weren't covered by the water were cold.

Darren walked to the closet and grabbed a clean washcloth. He knelt down beside the tub and grabbed the soap. "Do you want to do this or do you want me to?"

"You." I spoke softly as I watched him lather the soap up in the towel. He set the bar of soap down before he began cleaning me up. Both of us stayed silent the entire time he gave me a bath.

Darren handed me a towel as I stepped out of the tub. "Are you hungry, Aly?"

I nodded and wiped my face with the edge of the towel. It had been a while since I'd last eaten and I could feel how empty my stomach was because of it. Since I wasn't being stubborn anymore, I was willing to eat whatever Darren would make for me.

"Do you want pancakes?"

I nodded eagerly and a smile appeared on my face. He knew exactly what would cheer me up.

He reached into the tub and pulled the plug out so the water could drain. "Let's go get you dressed first before we forget that again."

I giggled as I turned and headed for my room. I knew we weren't going to let that mistake happen again any time soon.

Still wrapped in my towel, I sat down on my bed and waited for Darren to walk in. He grabbed a clean outfit and a diaper for me before he walked up to me.

"Lay back for me."

I laid back on the bed and let go of the towel so it would fall down to the bed below me. A shiver took over my body as the cool air hit me. Thankfully, Darren had gotten quick at changing and dressing me as long as I cooperated. And I wasn't going to fight him.

I turned my head to the side so I could see his face. He looked like he was focused on changing me though I wondered what he was thinking about. Surely, he didn't like that I called him Owen. I knew he wouldn't hurt me but somehow, my mind tricked me into thinking I was right back with Owen, suffering the abuse I had for so many years.

"Daddy, can I ask you something?"

He looked up at me and when he did, our eyes met. "Yeah. What's on your mind?"

"Does it bother you that you have to change my diapers all the time?"

He shrugged. "I don't mind it. I know you need them and I don't want you to feel like you have to change them yourself all the time. It wouldn't be fair if I made you do that."

"Some people think it's gross."

"Well, I don't." He taped my diaper up and took a step back so I could sit up. He helped me get changed into a clean outfit and out of the wet towel that was still with me. I was glad to get out of it and into something warmer. "Let's go make those pancakes now."

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Edited 12/26/22