The trip to the emergency room took fifteen minutes — having nothing better to do, and not wanting to think too much about either her pain or how close she’d come to being discovered, she’d spent the better part of the trip watching the second hand move around the face of the watch. They pulled into a parking space, and Hailey felt herself being picked up, thankful again that her father’s hands weren’t near the soaked diaper hidden under her pants. They entered the building, and her father set her down in an unused hospital wheelchair sitting by the door.
Hailey resisted the urge to squirm as she felt the diaper squish under her again. As much as she enjoyed using her diaper, she really wanted to be out of this one. With her current situation, she was regretting her decision to use a diaper tonight, but more than that, she was regretting the large amount she’d had to drink just before using the diaper the first time. Apparently that liquid had gone through her system, as her body was now feeling ready for her expected second wetting of the evening.
As Martin was explaining the situation to the hospital staff, Erin took the opportunity to lean over to Hailey. “How are you doing?” she whispered.
“My leg and wrist really hurt, I don’t want to be in this diaper anymore, and I have to pee again,” Hailey whispered back.
“And with your leg and wrist like that, you won’t be able to use the toilet without help, and I’m not strong enough to help you, and if your dad helps you he’ll see the diaper?”
Hailey nodded. “But I don’t know if I can wet this one again. It already feels really wet, and after seeing you this morning…” She once again winced from the pain.
Erin frowned slightly but saw her cousin’s point. “Yeah, if you leak, you’ll be found out as well. I… I don’t know what to tell you, Hailey. I’ll try to think of something, but for now, just hold it as long as you can.”
Hailey nodded, but the expression on her face was not optimistic. Erin was right; with her injured leg in simply the splint, she really couldn’t move herself around without risking injuring it further, and so there was no way her father would let her try to go to the bathroom by herself, even if she were feeling up to the task. So the best she could hope for was to wait until after she’d been treated; only then would her parents let her try on her own.
It was nice that her parents were so concerned for her well-being, but in this particular instance, their caring was not conducive to her keeping her secret. She was in a really bad situation right now; and it was entirely her own fault.
Her father had taken to repeatedly calling home once he finished with the hospital staff and sat down in the waiting room with them. Within an hour, he got an answer.
“Sue! I’m glad you’re home! Listen, Hailey broke her leg and I’ve got her and Erin with me in the emergency room.”
He gave her a few more details of what had happened; Hailey didn’t pay too much attention until her father handed the cell phone to her. “Your mother wants to speak to you.”
She nervously took the phone; her mother probably wasn’t going to berate her until she was sure Hailey was okay, but Hailey wasn’t certain. “Hello, mom?”
“Hailey!” she heard her mother exclaim, a twinge of relief and concern in the voice. “How are you doing? Are you hurting?”
“Yeah, it hurts a lot. My leg is kind of throbbing,” Hailey explained. Not wanting her mother to worry, she tried to sound optimistic: “But I’m sure they’ll be able to fix it, and I can tough it out until they do.”
“That’s my girl. Try to think about something other than the pain. I’m coming over right now; tell your father I’ll be there as soon as possible, okay?”
“I will.”
“I love you,” Sue said.
“Love you too, mom,” replied Hailey, pressing a button on the cellular phone to end the call.
Hailey’s father looked over at her. “What did your mom have to say?”
“She said she’s headed here now,” replied Hailey through gritted teeth.
[hr][/hr]
Sue arrived at the emergency room to find her daughter sitting in a wheelchair and her niece sitting on a bench next to her, the two of them leaning against each other with their arms around the other’s shoulders. It probably wasn’t too comfortable with the pair of armrests between them, but the two of them looked content to stay in that position; so content that Sue decided it would be better to forego her planned hug in order to avoid splitting the two of them up.
“Are you feeling any worse?”
“No, my leg and wrist are hurting about the same as they were before.”
It was a partial truth; although the pain from her injuries hadn’t changed, she was now very much in danger of wetting the diaper again if she didn’t do something about it soon. And yet, there was nothing she could do; any request to use the bathroom would be met with an offer of help that she wouldn’t be allowed to refuse.
Why couldn’t she have asked Erin to take the diaper and throw it away somewhere out of sight before Erin had gone for help? Sure, not wearing any underwear would be unusual, but not so much so that it would prevent her from allowing someone to help her to the toilet.
She wanted to scream, but she remained silent. Up until today, she’d been able to indulge in her accidents, and yet she was still able to be treated as grown up in the eyes of her parents. If she was caught tonight, she’d lose both. How could her parents treat her nearly as an equal when they found out she’d been going to the bathroom in her pants? And how could they not find her weird when they discovered that she’d been doing it on purpose? There was no way she’d be allowed to use Erin’s diapers again, and while sneaking them might still be an option, it certainly wouldn’t be a reliable one.
“Summers? Hailey Summers?”
A nurse was standing at the door to the waiting room, reading her name off a chart. Martin stood up and nodded at the nurse while patting his daughter on the head.
“Come with me, please.”
Hailey found herself being wheeled to an examination room. Her father lifted her up on to the paper-covered examination table, and she was once again thankful that his manner of picking her up didn’t place his hands anywhere they’d be able to feel the diaper under her sweatpants. The nurse left the room, telling them that the doctor would be there in ten to fifteen minutes, and Erin once again took her station next to her cousin, standing next to the table and taking Hailey’s hand in hers.
The movement onto the table was too much for Hailey, though. She’d already had to pee badly, but now she could feel that she was on the cusp of wetting herself. She knew she had only minutes remaining, and there was no way she was going to be able to hold it until after the exam.
The examination room had a small bathroom connected to it, though, so Hailey knew she had exactly two options. She could ask to use the toilet, ultimately exposing her diaper to whichever parent ended up helping her, or she could simply use the diaper she was wearing now, and pray that it could hold another wetting.
Neither option was attractive, but the first option guaranteed that she would be caught. The second choice at least gave her a miniscule chance of keeping her secret, so she continued to sit on the table, grimacing from the pain of both her injuries and her overly full bladder, until her body decided that it could wait no longer for relief.
Fear washed over her, and she squeezed Erin’s hand tightly as she felt the warm fluid flow out of her body and into the already wet diaper. It was out of her control at this point; everything she’d worked for recently was now dependent on whether this diaper held up. With nothing else she could do, she focused every bit of her attention on her sense of touch around her rear, trying desperately to feel if there was any urine where it wasn’t supposed to be.
She felt extremely wet; it felt like she was literally sitting in a puddle, but everything seemed to be staying properly between her legs. She almost allowed herself to hope again.
Hailey then felt the fabric under her buttocks beginning to get warm, and she nearly choked.
Erin mouthed “oh, no!” as the wetness began to spread out from under Hailey, making the exam table paper and the bottom edges of her sweatpants visibly wet. Hailey hung her head and didn’t even bother to try to stop peeing; she was caught and she knew it. Her face burned with embarrassment, and her wrist and leg were both throbbing in pain. Hailey just wanted it all to stop, and she could think of nothing she wanted to do more right now than go home and bury her head in a pillow, crying.
Her mother was the first to speak. “Hailey? Are you okay?”
“Isn’t it obvious that I’m not?”
Her mother ignored the rude tone that she probably deserved to be punished for. “What happened?”
There was no point in trying to hide anything anymore. She could just claim that she’d had an accident and not mention the diaper, but her parents would have to clean her up, and they’d find out then. She’d be in even more trouble for lying, so the best thing she could do right now is get it over with.
“My diaper leaked,” Hailey said, pulling down the front of her sweatpants just enough to show her parents what she was wearing. She suddenly felt dizzy.
Her parents were momentarily speechless, but her mother quickly recovered and gave her a hug at the exact same moment that her father began to speak.
“Haliey, why…” He let his statement trail off.
She had to explain herself to her parents now, but the physical pain she’d been in for the last couple hours combined with the sickening fear she felt from her secret being out left her feeling completely drained. She didn’t have the energy to explain herself. It was time to call in a favor.
“Erin?” Hailey asked.
“What is it?” her cousin responded, squeezing her hand once again.
“Erin, tell them everything.”