Nichole's Adoption - Chapter 4 (Patreon)

"Don't forget," Rosemary instructed. "I can trust you, right, Nichole?"

Nichole scowled, but she knew, by now, better than to say anything other than, "Yes, ma'am," even if she had no intention of doing so. Her babysitter was, unsurprisingly, exactly like she would have expected, having come so highly recommended by Ms. Brooks, just as strict and by-the-books as the social worker, if a bit younger.

Ms. Brooks' presence made things difficult for Nichole, trying to get used to her new life; Rosemary made them almost impossible. As nice as it would have been to simply get enough children's clothing for her to make it look like she had a full closet, and for her to change into when Ms. Brooks came to visit, that wasn't an option when she had a sitter for any moment Traci and Miles were not at home with her.

She still remembered the shopping trip, after her first humiliating day with Rosemary, stuck in diapers, having to play on the living room floor, coloring and watching boring kids' shows on TV. She had been upset enough by Traci putting a package of diapers into the cart, even if she understood that Ms. Brooks was right, and they were almost out, so she'd definitely notice if they didn't have more on her next inspection.

What upset her more was the clothes, was having to go to the little girls' section, her nose wrinkling at the sight of all the sundresses and pastels. "W-We are going to get some big girl stuff, too, right?" she'd pouted. 

Traci and Miles exchanged a glance. "We can get some," Miles had said after a second too long. 

"I can't wear this stuff all the time!" Nichole had whined, her mood only disintegrating further when they got to the women's section.

"You have jeans," Traci had told her, gently taking a pair out of her hands.

"But they have hearts and junk all over them!" Nichole had pointed out. The shirts she wanted were rejected for being too low-cut, too grown-up. She could get adult clothing, however, it had to be stuff that, if it was found, if she was caught wearing it, might be mistaken as appropriate for her supposed age...

"Then what's the point?!" she'd fumed, stomping her foot. "This is so stupid!"

Traci had sighed, shaken her head, telling Miles, "I told you this was a bad idea. Let's just stick with what we have."

"No!" Nichole had insisted. "You promised big girl clothes!"

Traci had looked down at her, and, for the first time, Nichole felt a hint of the glare she'd gotten from Ms. Brooks and Rosemary when she misbehaved in Traci's eyes. "Well, then you should act like a big girl."

Rosemary being there also meant they had no choice but to start remodeling her bedroom, slowly filling it up with childish toys and decorations. Worse still, it made wriggling out of her returning to school all the more difficult. 

"We don't think she's quite ready yet," Miles had told Ms. Brooks the first time she'd asked. "We're giving her a little more time."

Nichole did not want to go back to school... But the alternative, unfortunately, was spending her days with Rosemary, and it was hard to see how that was much better. The woman loved to get there early, before Traci and Miles had left for the day, and sometimes before Nichole got up, which meant, to be safe, she had to go to bed in diapers, even if neither Ms. Brooks nor Rosemary were there to make her do so.

And, unfortunately, waking up in a diaper still brought her back to her time at school, still left her squirming in her bed blearily if she got up in the middle of the night... Still meant that, some mornings when Rosemary checked on her, she was wet, which kept her from being able to convince the woman that she no longer needed them.

She was in one now, getting tucked in; she knew it wasn't fair of her to expect Miles and Traci to stop altogether, but she hated when they went off on their date nights, left her to be put to bed extra early by Rosemary. She could never help thinking about the crush she'd used to have on Miles, how, if things had gone differently, she'd be out with him, instead of in diapers and little girls' PJs on a Friday night, under the covers by 8 pm.

"I'm serious, Nichole," Rosemary warned her. "Unless you'd rather I do it myself..."

"I'll do it!" Nichole rolled her eyes.

But, of course, she didn't, just like she hadn't any of the other times Rosemary had mentioned it to her. She assumed, eventually, the woman would get the message.

Instead, she showed up on Halloween night, to find Nichole in normal clothes. "You aren't in costume yet?" she asked.

"Oh, she decided she didn't want to do Halloween this year," Traci jumped in, thankfully.

Rosemary sighed. "She didn't tell you, did she?" She didn't wait for an answer, other than the blank looks Traci and Miles gave one another. "The local elementary school is having a little party tonight, and I thought it would be very helpful for her to go and meet some of the new classmates she'll have when she starts there. I asked her to let you know about it... Many times..."

Nichole realized her mistake then, that she shouldn't have hoped it would go away if she ignored it. Maybe if she'd let them know, they could have come up with a story, gotten her out of it... Now, caught flat-footed, there was no reason for them to say no, not when they were just lounging around the house, obviously doing nothing, other than her simply not wanting to.

And Rosemary wasn't going to take that for an answer. "Honestly, Nichole," she scolded. "I thought I could trust you, but clearly I was mistaken... I was already debating putting you in diapers, just in case, with all the excitement..."

"No!" Nichole protested. "No, I'm not going to a stupid party, and I'm definitely not wearing diapers to it! I'm not!"

She could feel the tears pouring down her cheeks as somebody touched her arm, her lips curling into a pout as she looked up, saw Miles standing beside her. "Sweetie," he told her quietly, "you're going to have to go back to school eventually... And it would probably be a good idea to meet some of your classmates."

She was stunned, betrayed; how dare he side with her babysitter?! Maybe he was right, maybe he had a point, but that didn't do much to soften the blow as Rosemary dragged her to the Halloween store, mostly picked clean, to find her a costume, the best option a childish, poofy princess gown and plastic tiara. At the very least, the dress did hide her diaper, and the rustling of the cheap fabric made it hard to hear the crinkling of plastic underneath.

It was a far cry from the Halloween parties she was used to, the drinking and slutty costumes replaced by candy and cider, and kids dressed as superheroes or cartoon characters that Nichole was embarrassed to admit she was starting to recognize after her time being babysat by Rosemary, made to watch several of the shows they were on. 

It was everything Nichole had feared it would be, everything that had kept her from mentioning it to Traci and Miles... And, she thought, looking around at the kids running around, having a good time, very possibly a vision of her future. They wouldn't be able to put off enrolling her in school forever... 

She tried, more than once, to get Rosemary to take her home, saying she was bored, only to have the woman force her to participate in some activity or another, pushing her to be blindfolded and spun around to try to pin the hat on the felt witch's face on the wall, or to have her face painted with pink glitter, or to go sit with the other kids to make jack-o-lanterns, though they weren't even trusted to carve them, having to draw the faces on with Sharpies.

Finally, she thought she'd done it, thought she'd convinced Rosemary that she didn't want to be there anymore. "All right," the sitter told her. "We can go."

"Wait," Nichole frowned. "Really?" Was it bedtime already? As much as she didn't want that, if she was going to be wearing diapers anyway, she might as well do it at home, in private.

"Of course," Rosemary smiled. "I've been talking with the Mommies of some of the other little girls here, and they'd love to have you come trick or treat with them."

Nichole blushed, imagining having to go door to door, letting strangers see her dressed up this way, begging them for candy like a little kid... No doubt, they'd assume she was one, that she was the same age as the other giggling girls she was going to be stuck with. The one saving grace would be that, hopefully, none of them would notice her diaper... Or that it was wet, as she had been too self-conscious to ask Rosemary to take her to the bathroom, to help her get out of it.

But, as much as she didn't want to do it... How could she say no? What kind of kid would say no to the offer of free candy? And, if she was being honest, it had been years since she'd been able to trick or treat, and there was some part of her that liked the thought of getting to do it again. That part of being treated like a kid might not be so bad... And it would be suspicious if she said no, right?

"Well," she squirmed in her soggy diaper, glad for the face paint to hide how pink her cheeks were getting. "I-I guess that would be okay..."