“Get your ass back in the pool” had been Mary’s response to the banging on the door, and she’d refused to listen to any further pleading. Erin had realized the futility in her attempt, and she’d climbed back into the cold water, praying that she’d be able to contain herself until she was allowed back in the house for the evening.
The mess currently in her swimsuit was proof of her failure. It did not feel comfortable at all, and she desperately wanted to be able to clean up, but she knew that would be impossible until Mary decided she’d been outside long enough. It can’t be too much longer, she hoped, as the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon.
Her time in the pool was becoming a horrible mix of anticipation and dread. She wanted to get back inside as soon as possible, but she was absolutely not looking forward to how Mary would react to her very obvious accident.
She shivered again. This cold water didn’t make the situation any better. She was smart enough to keep as much of her body out of the water as possible, but everything below her belly was still being chilled. Even worse, it had started to rain lightly; this was the kind of rain that wouldn’t even bother her if she was fully dressed, but with only her two-piece swimsuit on, it only served to make the unsubmerged part of her body colder.
She finally heard the click of the door opening, and her stomach sunk as Mary approached.
“Come inside,” commanded Mary.
Erin stood up, knowing fully that Mary would see exactly what she’d done.
“Oh my god, girl, did you shit yourself?”
Erin couldn’t do anything but nod.
Mary reached down and violently pulled open the valve on the bottom edge of the pool to allow it to drain. On her way back up, she grabbed Erin by the upper arm.
“Come with me,” she snarled.
Erin timidly followed her to the ground floor bathroom; not that she had much choice in the matter. This bathroom was a simple affair, consisting only of a toilet to the left of the door, and a sink with mirror above it to the right of the door. Erin caught a glance of herself in the mirror; she noticed that her lips had the beginnings of a blue tint to them.
Mary grabbed a towel from the rack and tossed it on the ground, just inside the doorway. She then guided Erin so that she was standing on the towel, staring straight at the empty wall opposite the door. “Now take off that dirty swimsuit bottom, and don’t you dare get any shit on my floor.”
Erin carefully pulled down her pale blue swimsuit bottom, trying to get as much of her mess off of her and into it as she could. Still, she could tell that her body was nowhere near clean. She stepped out of the bottom and held it in front of her, not daring to do anything else with it until given further instructions.
Mary reached from behind her and positioned her arms so that she was holding the dirty swimsuit bottom at chest level about foot in front of her. She had a very good view of what she’d done, if she could ever consider such a view “good.”
Mary spoke up. “Now, you hold that there, and think about what you did. Don’t you dare move until I tell you to.”
Mary left the room and Erin heard the television turn on. She didn’t dare turn around to look, but she knew that given the layout of the house, Mary could probably at least partially see her if she sat in the right place in the living room.
The smell of what she was holding soon became overpowering in such close proximity to her face; she felt like she wanted to gag at first. She desperately hoped she wouldn’t have to stay here too long, but she doubted she’d be so lucky. It was Saturday, so she didn’t have school the next day, leaving Mary free to punish her for as long as Mary saw fit.
Not five minutes after Mary had left the room, she felt cold air begin to come out of the vent near her feet. That bitch turned on the air conditioning, Erin realized. She was ashamed of herself for using such a word to describe someone, even in her thoughts; but even she could be pushed too far. She was still wet from the pool and the rain, and the only clothing she wore was her swimsuit top, so the vent only served to make her unbearably cold. Mary knows exactly what she’s doing.