Tommy's Tribulations 2

[Mugi]

This story is so good! I really like it Elfy!
Keep up the good work!

[Elfy]

This is a sequel to "Tommy's Tribulations" that can be read here for free: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tommys-complete-26290661

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The conclusion of Tommy's story!

With things looking bleak Tommy has a friend who will finally help him. Rob is determined to save Tommy from the clutches of his step-mother and step-sister. 

Will Rob succeed in saving Tommy? Will George come home and accept the truth? Will Sandra and Erin be able to control Tommy forever? Will Tommy ever get to live a normal life?

All the answers are inside!

Also inside is the Epilogue. Taking place many years later it should hopefully provide some closure for everyone.

Thank you all for reading

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https://www.patreon.com/Elfy88

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Rob left Tommy’s house that night with a determination to help his forlorn friend. Tommy had made him promise not to tell anyone, even his parents. Rob reluctantly promised to keep Tommy’s situation quiet but it only made him keener to help. There had to be a way for Rob to get those pictures, he couldn’t bear seeing Tommy like this.

By the time Monday had rolled around he had a one track mind. He didn’t care about his lessons and he didn’t care about seeing his friends, he was laser targeted towards helping Tommy. As he sat in class all he could think about was how Tommy at that moment was at home and being tormented.

As soon as the morning break came around Rob ran out of the classroom. He had to find out who Carrie was and to do that he had to find Erin. Rob looked around the usual places students hung out until he finally found Erin outside the school canteen with a group of other girls. He pulled out his phone and tried to look casual as he stood nearby and listened to their conversation.

“God, Mr. Jones is sooooo boring.” One girl said, “I swear to God I was about to fall asleep.”

“I know what you mean, Sophie.” That was the voice of Erin, “Who needs to know Pythagoras’s Theorem anyway. When are we going to use that in real life?”

The group of girls laughed at Erin’s hypothetical question. She was clearly the leader of this little group. Rob was making sure to keep an eye on each girl as she spoke so he could hopefully put names to faces.

“He’s the worst.” Came a quiet voice, “I swear I’d learn more from just reading the textbook at home.”

“You always were a nerd, Carrie.” Erin said playfully causing everyone to laugh again. Carrie scowled at Tommy’s sister.

Rob knew who Carrie was now. He noted her haircut and what she looked like, he had to make sure he had the right person. Once he was sure he had her memorised he walked away to go to his next classes, his mind would be elsewhere the whole day though.

Rob waited by the gates that evening and hoped to see Carrie leaving the school. Despite waiting until the gates were locked up there was no sign of Carrie much to his disappointment. Rob cycled home without being able to follow through on his plan.

The next two days were the same. Rob waited and waited but didn’t see Carrie leaving. He didn’t understand where she could possibly going. He even tried to listen in to the group of girls talking at recess and lunch breaks in the hope that he would pick up clues as to where she lived. Still no luck.

Rob made his breakthrough on the Thursday. He was starting to give up hope and was just about to start cycling home again when he suddenly saw Carrie in the passenger seat of a car that drove past. Rob had no time to think, he started peddling as fast as he could after the small car that started moving away from the school. He was thankful for the slow speed limits around the school area as it allowed Rob a chance to keep up.

After fifteen minutes of furious peddling Rob was forced to stop. He was thoroughly exhausted from trying to keep up, he knew Carrie had noticed him and as he watched the car drive away from him he saw the girl turn in her seat to look his way. He assumed she knew he was a friend of Tommy’s and seemed a little nervous. He hoped that was it anyway, he didn’t want to look like some sort of creep.

The week for Tommy was more boring than anything else. He experienced the same tedium of easy work and diaper changes. He wet and messed whenever he felt the slightest urge, he crawled around on the floor, he sucked on his pacifier and as time went on he lost hope that Rob would be able to help him. He started to accept what was happening and he turned his brain off, he forgot about any plans he had for the future and just accepted his role. He had waited with baited breath for good news from his best friend but none was coming.

There was only so much a young man could fight before he was broken down. He was around Sandra nearly twenty-four hours a day and she made sure he stayed in his role full time. It soon seemed like that great day with Rob had been long ago, almost like a different life.

Rob knew he had to do something and when he came to school on Friday he was planning on cutting his afternoon classes and cycling to the place he had lost Carrie the previous day. He could wait and follow again, hopefully he would be able to find where she lived and then he would have to find a way to get to her computer. It sounded crazy and Rob was aware of the dangers but he had to do something drastic to help Tommy. He hadn’t even seen Tommy online in the last few days and he assumed the worst.

Rob was standing around at lunch time and plotting his escape from school when he unexpectedly saw Carrie walking towards him. She didn’t look angry or upset but she did look around nervously as she opened the door to a nearby empty classroom and pointed for Rob to go in. Rob was blindsided by this, in none of his plans had he foreseen Carrie coming to him. He walked in and Carrie shut the door.

“What do you want?” Carrie asked tersely. She stayed close to the door and Rob made sure to give her space, he didn’t want to escalate matters.

“Huh?” Rob was so taken aback. He was so surprised by what he was seeing and hearing that he couldn’t seem to form a proper response.

“I saw you following me yesterday.” Carrie said, “You’re a friend of Tommy, right? Is that it?”

“I am.” Rob said, “And yes, it’s to do with him.”

“Ugh, I knew it.” Carrie sighed impatiently, “Look, I’m sorry for what Erin is doing. She brags about it all the time and I hate hearing it, I hate knowing I was part of it.”

“Then why do you hang out with her?” Rob asked. He wondered if this was some sort of trap and nervously looked at the windows along the wall behind him. He expected to see Erin and her friends peeking in.

“I don’t have much choice.” Carrie said with a shrug, “Look, in my year Erin is queen bee. If you are on her bad side it isn’t fun.”

“She’s a bully?” Rob asked. He hadn’t really thought about it before but he already knew the answer. Of course she was a bully, you only had to look at what she had done to Tommy to see that.

“You have no idea.” Carrie said. She paused for a second, “Well, maybe you do. She is so vindictive and I’m sorry Tommy was on the end of it...”

“Then help him.” Rob interrupted, “I saw him last Saturday. You don’t understand what they are doing to him back there. He told me what happened and the pictures you have of him. Give them to me and I think we can end this.”

“What good are the photos now?” Carrie asked, “Everyone already knows. The horse has bolted, you can’t close the door now.”

“That’s not the point…” Rob said, “Look, it doesn’t matter to you does it? Just hand the photos over and I might be able to help him.”

Carrie seemed to really be thinking about it. Rob let the silence hang around them as she looked into the middle distance. He was surprised how open she was being but then it seemed she didn’t like Erin all that much. Rob actually felt sorry for the girl since she clearly was forced to be Erin’s friend through fear of what would happen if she wasn’t.

“This might work…” Carrie said slowly, “Erin spread those photos around after initially sending them to me to keep hold of. They were e-mailed around a lot so I can just deny they came from me.”

“Exactly!” Rob said sounding excited that this might be working, “Can I give you my e-mail address? You can think about it and if you want to do it you can send them to me. You seem nice, don’t let Erin bring you down to her level.”

“I’ll think about it.” Carrie said as she took the piece of paper that Rob had quickly wrote his e-mail down on.

“I hope you do.” Rob said.

Carrie nodded her head and rather briskly walked out the door. Rob watched her go and hoped that he would get the e-mail. Tommy’s future could well depend on it.

---

Tommy woke up on Saturday morning and felt excitement running through his body. For the first time that week he felt a brief flicker of hope, his father was coming home and Tommy allowed himself to believe that this might be the chance to fix things.

A bucket of cold water was poured on that idea as Tommy remembered the last time he had looked forward to his father coming home. It had been a damp squib the last time Tommy’s dad had walked into the backyard and saw Tommy sitting there, he had just ignored what Tommy said and believed Sandra wholeheartedly. Tommy hadn’t heard anything from his dad since he left, he hadn’t called or anything. Maybe it was wrong to put his hopes in his father.

Tommy didn’t linger in bed that morning. His diaper was soaked from his overnight wetting as usual but he remembered the previous Saturday and didn’t want a repeat of the leak. He dropped down on to his hands and knees and started crawling towards the stairs as he had become accustomed to.

Bumping his way down the stairs one step at a time Tommy felt the wet diaper wrapped around him get continually pushed up and against his skin. It wasn’t too pleasant when so much time had passed and the wet parts felt distinctly cool, he hoped he could rush through breakfast so he could get his morning diaper change sooner rather than later. He usually messed himself in the morning and he could feel the need to do so slowly growing, he would probably be fine till after breakfast.

The smell of cooking filled the hallway as Tommy reached the bottom of the stairs and started crawling down towards the kitchen area. He saw Erin walk past the doorway and she barely batted an eyelid when she saw her older brother, how quickly the strangest things can become normalised.

When Tommy reached his seat at the table he sat down and rubbed his knees to get the little bits of hair and dirt he had gathered off his skin, Sandra had made a joke several times about attaching a broom and a mop to him and letting him crawl around to clean like a Roomba. Tommy hadn’t found the joke very funny especially since he wasn’t sure how much his step-mother was actually kidding.

Tommy was happy to be served a plate of eggs and bacon just like his younger sister and he started quickly devouring the meal.

“Your father is expected back any minute.” Sandra said as she placed a plate in front of Erin, “He landed early this morning and is driving home.”

Tommy didn’t know what to do with this information. What was he supposed to take away from that sentence? Was there something he was expected to do before his dad came home?

Tommy finished his breakfast in very short order and grabbed the bottle of apple juice he had been given. The sweet drink tasted amazing and Tommy couldn’t help this was a lame attempt at getting Tommy happy before his father came home. Sandra didn’t seem too bothered though, she seemed to have this aura around her that said she expected everyone to bend to her will. Tommy didn’t blame her since no one seemed able to resist her will.

As Tommy was finishing the bottle and Erin was about to leave the table the distinctive sound of a key turning in the front door suddenly grabbed his attention. He spun off his chair and down on to his hands and knees, it could only be one person and it was someone Tommy was desperate to see.

Almost as soon as Tommy started crawling out into the hallway he felt a small cramp go through his intestines. He didn’t hold back and as he excitedly crawled towards the front door he felt himself filling the rear of his padding.

“I’m… Home…” George’s smile quickly disappeared a he opened the door and saw the scene in front of him.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Tommy babbled as he crawled along the floor with a full diaper.

George watched his son crawling over in shock and as Tommy reached him the young man stood up and hugged him. George could already smell the contents of the diaper and he could hear his son sobbing lightly.

George was confused as to why his son was so emotional and the crawling wasn’t something he had seen when he had left. He looked around to the living room where he could see the whiteboard with simple sums written on it. He frowned as he released his son and Tommy dropped back down on to his hands and knees.

“What on Earth is going on!?” George asked as he looked over Tommy to his wife.

“Welcome home.” Sandra said as she walked into the hallway followed shortly by Erin.

“Why is my son crawling around?” George asked immediately, “What have you been doing?”

“It’s a long story…” Sandra said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“I don’t care if it’s War and Peace!” George’s raised voice made it clear he wasn’t expecting to come home to this, “You promised me before I left that you wouldn’t do anything to Tommy whilst I was gone.”

“I planned to do nothing but teach him.” Sandra said as innocently as she could, “But as soon as you left he started acting out again. He demanded to be given tougher work and then got upset when I gave it to him. Then he complained about the work I was having him do…”

“Is this the work you were having him do?” George pointed at the simple sums on the whiteboard accusingly.

“I meant to wipe that off before you got home…” Sandra said as she grabbed the soft sponge and cleaned the room.

“Tommy?” George crouched down. He was still wearing his jacket and shoes, “What’s been going on?”

Tommy looked up at Sandra’s face which seemed to be flashing warnings. He shuddered a little in fear, something that George absolutely couldn’t fail to see.

“Tommy, look at me.” George moved around so he was blocking Sandra from Tommy’s view, “Tell me the truth.”

“Mommy was giving me really easy stuff.” Tommy said in little more than a whisper, “I asked for age appropriate stuff and she gave me stuff that was far too hard. Then when I failed the test she made me start crawling and stuff.”

George was trembling slightly with anger. He nodded his head and stood up to face Sandra, who looked worried for the first time in ages. Tommy wasn’t sure what was about to happen.

It looked like George was about to say something when a sudden knock on the open door caused everyone to look to the hallway. Rob was standing there and looking into the living room. Tommy smiled when he saw his friend but no one else seemed to react.

“I was, erm, waiting outside.” Rob said slowly, “I was waiting for you to come home.”

Rob slowly walked into the room and pulled some folded up paper out of his pocket and handed it over to George who was still looking at this intruder.

“I’m Tommy’s friend.” Rob quickly said. He had become suddenly aware that he wasn’t sure George knew he was, “I’ve been trying to help him out and… Well, I failed at school but I think you should look at this.”

Tommy’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. He barely allowed himself to believe that Rob might actually have succeeded in finding the evidence Tommy had been so desperate for. He looked up at his dad as he looked from Rob to the paper.

“What… What is this?” George asked as he opened up the paper, “We’re kind of busy here. If you want to Tommy… You… Can…”

George slowly stuttered to a halt as he looked down at the paper. He flicked through several pages all of which had a couple of pictures on them, they were all dated and George could see they had been taken whilst he had been away on his first business trip.

“Tommy was telling the truth.” Rob said simply, “Erin had taken these photos and were using them to blackmail him. I was e-mailed them last night.”

“He… They…” George didn’t seem to know what to say as he looked through the photos.

There was a silence that was pregnant with tension. Tommy didn’t know where to look and Rob was stood awkwardly by the door to the hallway, having delivered his proof he wasn’t sure whether he should stay or go. Sandra and Erin were looking at each other silently but with shock etched all over their faces.

“You bitches.” George said quietly, “This whole time… You’ve been doing this to my son and lying to me.”

“I didn’t know that was true!” Sandra quickly said. She looked from Erin to the paper, “That was all Erin!”

“You’re as bad as each other!” George roared as he threw the pages to the ground. Tommy looked at a couple of pages that dropped next to him.

“George, my love…” Sandra took a step forwards with hands arms outstretched, “Can we talk about this alone?”

“No. God, no!” George looked utterly disgusted, “I’ve been such a damn fool. You’ve played me like a fiddle this whole time.”

George reached down with his arms and picked Tommy up so he was standing. He swayed unsteadily for a second as his dad held his hand. Tommy looked up at his dad who looked like he was filled with barely controlled rage.

“Go upstairs Tommy.” George said, “Pack up the things you need. Rob, would you please help him.”

Tommy walked away from his father in a still messy diaper. Rob nodded his head and followed Tommy out of the room, he kept a distance thanks to the smell. Both the men were somewhat confused about what was happening as the other three people in the house started watching them going up the stairs.

“What are you doing, George?” Sandra asked when the boys had disappeared from view.

“What I should’ve done when I came back from Japan.” George said as he turned away, “I’m leaving.”

“But… But… George! You can’t go!” Sandra sounded quite hysterical.

“I assure you I can.” George growled, “I got that promotion by the way. Tommy and I will be very comfortable away from here.”

---

“What’s going on down there?” Rob asked as they entered Tommy’s bedroom.

“I’m almost too scared to hope.” Tommy whispered with tears in his eyes, “I think it’s finally happening. I think daddy is leaving Sandra!”

The two boys started quickly throwing things Tommy would need into bags. Tommy pulled a few of his diapers out of a drawer and put them in his bigger suitcase. He had to be honest with himself and he knew he would need them.

As Rob threw some computer games in a backpack Tommy winced and reached back with a free hand to feel the messy mass covering his butt. In all the craziness it didn’t see like anyone had made any plans to change his diaper, he certainly wasn’t sure he could do it himself.

“You can’t travel in that.” Rob said. His face was going slightly red, “Did… Did you want me to…”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.” Tommy quickly interrupted his best friend, “You really don’t have to, you’ve already done so much.”

“Just lay down.” Rob said with an awkward smile.

Tommy did as he was told and laid down on his bed in the same position as always. He felt very strange doing this but at the same time it was strangely making him feel more comfortable than when His step-mother did it.

Rob went to the diaper drawer and pulled out one of the ones Tommy had left behind. He unfolded it in the air and placed it next to Tommy, he looked nervous and Tommy couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ve, erm, never done this before.” Rob said as he put the baby wipes on the bed, “Always be open to learning new things… That’s what mom always says.”

Rob reached forwards and gently pulled the tapes off the front of the diaper. The tapes must have been stronger than Rob suspected since he had to pull a couple of times to get them off. The wet front of the diaper was no longer pulled close to him tightly and Tommy felt air rush inside. The flip side of that was the smell that quickly filled the room, the windows were open but there was only so much they could do.

Tommy blushed a deep red as the front of the diaper was pulled down and he was exposed in front of his best friend. To his credit Rob wasn’t making a big deal out of anything even if he was rather blushed in the face.

Rob went about the job with great professionalism. He cleaned Tommy without a word or a look of judgement and although it took him several minutes to fully clean his friend he made sure he had done a thorough job before pulling the messy diaper out and balling it up.

The new diaper was slipped underneath Tommy’s backside and he was gently lowered down on top of it. Tommy’s friend lifted the front of the diaper up and taped it closed, it wasn’t the best fit Tommy had ever experienced with a diaper but it was far from the worst. He sat up as soon as it was done and smiled in an awkward manner. He reached forwards and wrapped his arms around Rob in a hug.

“Thank you.” Tommy said, “For everything.”

“It’s no problem.” Rob replied as they separated, “I was just glad to be able to help end this. I hope it’s ended anyway.”

“I think it is.” Tommy said as he stood up. The new diaper crinkled dramatically, they always did when they were still dry.

Tommy got dressed as Rob brought the three bags they had packed together. Tommy would be leaving quite a bit behind but he assumed his father would come back for it.

“I think I’m ready to go.” Tommy said once he was fully dressed. He picked up his bags and walked down the stairs with Rob in tow.

Just as they were reaching the bottom of the stairs they heard the raised voices of George and Sandra. Tommy stopped Rob before they were spotted.

“You can’t just go!” Sandra shouted, “What about me and Erin!? We have no income without you!”

“That’s not my problem.” George replied angrily, “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you did everything to my boy.”

“I’m sorry!” Sandra sounded more emotional than Tommy could ever remember her being, “We… We can talk this out. There’s nothing here that can’t be fixed, I didn’t know about the blackmail!”

“There’s nothing left to talk about.” George stated, “I should’ve known from the first time I saw what you had done to Tommy that this was over. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

Tommy walked down the final few steps with his bag. He couldn’t hide his smile and when George looked over to see his son he immediately started walking out to the hallway. Sandra, seemingly realising she was losing her meal ticket grabbed on to George’s arm.

“Please don’t go.” Sandra said as she sunk down to her knees pathetically, “I love you!”

“I don’t believe you.” George said as he pulled his arm away, “I think you love controlling Tommy. You never loved him or me. You’ll hear from my lawyer soon.”

George walked into the hallway where the front door was still open and Tommy was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He looked down at the floor and then up at his adult son, there were tears in his eyes.

“I’m so, so sorry.” George said, “I don’t expect you to forgive me for leaving you here with these people but I want to help you get better and rebuild things. This is all my fault.”

Tommy leaned forwards and wrapped his father in a hug even tighter than the one he had given his best friend. He felt too choked up to speak but he knew his message was getting across.

“Let’s go.” George said as he released the hug, “And Rob. I want to thank you so much as well, for helping Tommy.”

George took Tommy’s hand and the two of them walked out of the open front door with Rob right behind. Tommy looked back at the house and saw Sandra on her hands and knees in the doorway looking very upset, Erin was stood behind her just looking shocked at what was happening.

Tommy climbed into the backseat of his father’s company car and waved goodbye to Rob who gathered up his bike. Both young men had smiles that wouldn’t leave their faces and Tommy rolled down the window to promise he would be in touch with Rob soon.

As the car pulled out of the driveway Tommy watched the two women who had tormented him for so long get left behind. He sighed with happiness and got comfortable in his seat as they drove down the street and out of sight.

Epilogue

George drove the car straight to a very fancy hotel nearby and checked the pair of them in for a couple of days as he arranged something more permanent. Getting away from the house was a major plus but there was a lot of work needed to undo everything that had happened.

For a start, Tommy was almost completely incontinent. After using his diapers so freely for so long he had to start re-learning to hold everything and get to a toilet. Tommy had a lot of trouble doing this and it seemed like if he felt any bathroom urges whilst distracted he would start wetting or pooping himself without a second thought. He always felt bad when he had these accidents but his dad was very patient.

Tommy was treated like a king in the hotel where his father was a frequent stayer. Tommy could order room service whenever he wanted and basically had free reign to do whatever he liked whilst George went out looking for a permanent place. George considered taking the house they had been living in but felt like it had too many bad memories, he wanted to move out of the area anyway because he felt Tommy needed a clean start.

One thing Tommy refused to let go was Rob. Almost as soon as Tommy and George were settled at the hotel Tommy was inviting Rob over. They had a great time playing video games and being regular guys.

There were a lot of other things that needed to be undone as well. Tommy found himself crawling if he didn’t actively think about standing up, he still got very emotional very quickly and his pacifier continued to bring him a great deal of relief. These were all things that would take a great deal of time to change.

Eventually George found a nice place to move to and the two guys packed up their things and moved into a very nice place very similar to the one they had originally lived in. George’s promotion made it affordable and it was both far enough away to be in a new neighbourhood and close enough for George to get to work.

It took some getting used to but the two of them were much happier alone. Tommy even learned how to change his own diapers, it turns out it wasn’t nearly as difficult as Sandra had said. Being able to change himself did wonders for Tommy’s self-confidence.

George knew Tommy wasn’t ready to go straight back to school thanks to the trauma he had suffered and his continued problems with acting like a baby. That wasn’t a problem though, a therapist was hired to help Tommy come to terms with what had happened and a tutor was hired to give him a correct home schooling.

Tommy saw Rob as often as he could. Rob soon learnt how to drive and he would visit most weekends and it was something that Tommy always looked forward to. Rob was always very encouraging to Tommy and always praising the progress he made.

After a few months Tommy was out of diapers and into pull-ups during the day. Soon even the pull-ups were unnecessary and he was finally back in regular underwear. He still felt nervous going out and about without padding so he continued to wear in those situations. At night his bed wetting showed no sign of abating but he barely even cared after he had seen such improvements.

Eventually both Tommy and Rob finished high school and made their way to school. They had already decided that, if possible, they would go to the same place and they found a small apartment to rent whilst they were away. It took some getting used to for Tommy who was still struggling with independence but it helped him to adjust as much as any therapy did.

The one thing more than any other that Tommy didn’t miss in his new life was Sandra and Erin. He had absolutely no interest in ever seeing either of them again and went out of his way to avoid the neighbourhood they lived in. Tommy had been surprised that George had agreed to a divorce that handed over the house to Sandra but Tommy soon realised why. The house made up Sandra’s part of the divorce settlement and with that settled George never had to contact her ever again.

Of course, Sandra and Erin were in trouble without George’s income to pay the bills. Sandra was still very against working and after a string of boyfriends who saw that she was using them for their money she was forced to sell the house and move into a very small apartment with Erin.

Tommy finished school with a good degree and got a job with the company his dad worked for before moving out on his own. He found a wife and they had a child, one that he promised he would never treat like he had been.

Shortly before Christmas around ten years after everything that happened before his father’s divorce Tommy received a letter. It was written in his father’s handwriting and when he opened it he found a small note as well as another letter.

“Hi Tommy, I really don’t know whether I should be doing this but I received a letter from Erin. She asked me to forward it to you.” George had written, “I’ll let you decide what you want to do with it.”

Tommy had thought about the letter for several days. He really didn’t know whether he wanted to read the letter or not. A lot of time had passed and a lot of healing had been done, these were old wounds that may be better left alone. His first thought had been to throw the letter in the trash but a small voice in the back of his mind stopped him from doing so.

One night with Tommy struggling to sleep he sat up and heard the crinkling from his waist. His wife was snoring next to him but he only had one thing on his mind, he knew that if he didn’t open the letter he would forever wonder what was in it. He threw on his dressing gown and walked downstairs to where he had put the letter. He opened it with shaking hands.

“Dear Tommy.” The letter started, “I don’t really know how to write this and only know that I had to say something to you. The past has been eating me up and I wanted to sincerely and completely apologise to you from the very bottom of my heart. The things I did were unforgivable, I know you can never forgive me but I need you to know that I’ve grown up and I’m a different person now. I’m deeply ashamed of what happened when we were younger. If you want to talk here’s my address, e-mail and phone number.”

Tommy didn’t know what he expected from such a message. If he had expected piece of mind he didn’t really get it, he put the letter back down and went back up to bed.

It took another few days before Tommy sent an e-mail to Erin. It was very cautious and he was very careful not to be specific with anything in his life. The e-mail he sent started a conversation with Erin, something he never expected to happen after everything that had happened. A meet-up was suggested by Erin who promised her mother would not be with her, Tommy was very reluctant but eventually agreed as long as it was at a little café he knew where he felt safe.

Tommy hadn’t been this nervous about anything in his life and when he arrived at the café he saw a young woman sitting in a nearby booth who looked very different from his former step-sister and yet was also clearly her. She smiled a little cautiously and Tommy had flashbacks to the times she had laughed at his misfortune. He shook his head and sat down opposite her, he was determined not to be hostile, he didn’t want Erin to know just how much of an effect she had had on his life.

“I never thought this would happen.” Erin said as she looked across the table, “Hi Tommy.”

“Hello.” Tommy replied very shortly.

“How have you been?” Erin asked awkwardly.

“Fine.” Tommy replied. He found it hard to look at Erin and wondered if this was all a mistake, “You?”

“I’ve been OK.” Erin replied.

An awkward silence fell across the table. Both people had things they really wanted to ask and say to each other but neither knew how to do it. The silence stretched from a little awkward to downright uncomfortable and Tommy started feeling hyper aware of the diaper he had worn to the meeting. He wore it because it soothed his anxieties but in this situation it may not have been the best idea.

Just as Tommy thought that maybe they should call the whole thing off he saw Erin suddenly put her head in her hands. She was shaking slightly.

“I’m so sorry.” Erin said tearfully, “I’m so sorry for everything.”

“It’s…” Tommy was about to say “it’s fine” but it really wasn’t. He fell back into silence and felt unsure how to proceed, he had never seen Erin this vulnerable. Was this an act?

“I’m not going to excuse how I treated you. Nothing ever could excuse that, but can I tell you what happened after you left?” Erin said as she wiped her eyes.

“Sure.” Tommy replied feeling unsure what else he could say in this situation.

“When you left mom went into shock. I don’t think she ever expected George to stand up to her.” Erin said, “She found it difficult and I would see a new man in the house every few months. She was really erratic and whenever she was alone with me she would start ranting about George and you. She wo-”

“What did she say?” Tommy interrupted Erin, “About me and dad.”

“Mostly she would say how ungrateful you both were.” Erin said, “She would say that you needed her to show you proper discipline and he needed her because he could never live without her. She really ranted and raved, it was like she was crazy.”

“Crazy? Your mom?” Tommy asked sarcastically, “No shit.”

“I know, but listen, please.” Erin said. Her voice was very plaintive, “I started to see her for how she really was. Look, I lived alone with mom for a long time and I had no idea that what she did wasn’t normal. I’m serious, she always told me I had to manipulate and lie and do whatever I could to get through life. I was a kid, I believed her!”

Tommy looked Erin in the eyes for the first time since he had sat down. He could tell she was being honest, he was very used to seeing Erin at her worst and it seemed very clear that something had changed.

“It doesn’t excuse anything and I’m not trying to find excuses for the way I acted.” Erin clarified, “But it was only after you and George left that I started to realise everything was wrong.”

“What happened?” Tommy asked.

“Mom moved us into a small apartment and sold the house.” Erin continued, “I went along with whatever she said because I started realising she was wrong about a lot of things but I couldn’t afford to be kicked out. I would have nowhere to go.”

“What changed?” Tommy asked, “What made you go from the person who basically tortured me to the supposedly better person you are today?”

“I am a better person.” Erin quickly said, “But you are right to be suspicious. You have no reason to trust me. Simply put, I grew up and the more life I lived through the more I realised how bad things had been. It had all been a game when I was young but as I grew up I realised everything I did was so horribly wrong.”

“And what did your mom think about your change of heart?” Tommy asked.

“She disowned me.” Erin said shortly and simply.

“Are you serious?” Tommy asked. It was the first time his voice had betrayed any hint of shock.

“She accused you and your dad of turning me against her. She was quite obsessed with you two.” Erin said with a hung head, “She kicked me out when I was seventeen-years-old. That was when I found out I had no actual friends, no one would take me in. Could you blame them? After everything I had done?”

“They knew what you had done to me?” Tommy asked.

“No, but you weren’t the only person I treated badly.” Erin admitted, “Remember mom told me friends were to be used for gain and nothing else.”

“What did you do?” Tommy was actually starting to feel bad for the vulnerable woman in front of him.

“An aunt took me in for a little bit until I could go to school and get myself on my feet.” Erin said.

Tommy nodded his head. He had no idea Erin had things this rough, he had always assumed Erin and Sandra were living well somewhere. He wondered if he would’ve acted any differently if he had known of Erin’s troubles. Probably not was the answer.

“I’ve never been able to forget what happened nor forgive myself.” Erin said, “I’ve wanted to get in contact for years but your father said I should wait.”

“You talked to my dad?” Tommy was surprised.

“I managed to find his address and we spoke through letters.” Erin said.

Another silence dropped between them. Tommy really didn’t know what to say, he didn’t feel hostile towards the young woman in front of him but he didn’t feel ready to forgive her either. He really didn’t know what to think, it felt like there were a thousand emotions swirling around his head.

“Do you still speak to your mom?” Tommy asked to break the silence.

“Nope.” Erin said with a small smile, “The last time I tried to contact her was about two years ago and she said, what was it, oh yes “You are dead to me.””

Tommy couldn’t help but chuckle when Erin laughed. It seemed that Erin didn’t particularly miss her mom.

“It took me so long to convince anyone she was crazy.” Tommy mused, “It seems the penny finally dropped for everyone.”

Tommy and Erin ended up spending half an hour together in that café and after the initial talk they spoke of other things. They discussed their lives and what they hoped for the future and they kept away from any heavy subject until it was finally time to go. They walked out of the doors and into the cold streets together.

“I just want to say…” Erin said before they split up, “Even if you never contact me again I’m so happy that you have a good life. I know there must be scars but I’m so happy I didn’t ruin everything for you.”

Tommy looked down. He wasn’t sure how much he appreciated that comment. Sure, his life wasn’t ruined but did Erin really understand how deep the trauma was?

“I’ll leave it to you to decide if you ever want to meet for coffee again or anything.” Erin said, “You have my details but if you decide to never contact me again I will not blame you.”

Tommy nodded his head in acknowledgment. If he was honest half of him said delete the numbers and never speak to Erin again whilst the other half wanted to hug her and tell her everything will be fine. It was two extremes that seemed to rip Tommy’s mind apart.

“Bye, Tommy.” Erin said as she held out a hand, “I hope to see you again.”

“Bye.” Tommy shook the woman’s hand and then watched as she walked off down the street.

Tommy stood on that corner for five minutes and thought about things. He really didn’t know what he was going to do but as he turned away and towards his car he felt like he had made the right decision in coming here today. Would it start a new friendship between the pair of them? He couldn’t answer that but he was fairly confident it wasn’t the last time he would ever see Erin.

[Les Lea]

Excellent ?

[Sarah Penguin]

[Lost Little Neppy]

Wow. That was a really good ending, very heart-wrenching. To be quite honest, I was expecting Erin to receive the baby treatment, but I'm glad she didn't. When it's done by force, it really is traumatic. Therapy and time really do help in situations like these, and I'm glad Tommy was able to get the help he needed.

Another thing I expected and hoped for was that Tommy and Rob would end up together. I'm still going to ship them.

[Mugi]

1 hour ago, Lost Little Neppy said:

Wow. That was a really good ending, very heart-wrenching. To be quite honest, I was expecting Erin to receive the baby treatment, but I'm glad she didn't. When it's done by force, it really is traumatic. Therapy and time really do help in situations like these, and I'm glad Tommy was able to get the help he needed.

Another thing I expected and hoped for was that Tommy and Rob would end up together. I'm still going to ship them.

I got kind of the same vibes about Tommy and Rob

What a nice story!!! Not really the ending I was expecting though. I thought Sandra and Erin would have a worse time after the divorce, but it was nice how Erin could see the error in her ways.

[Elfy]

23 hours ago, Lost Little Neppy said:

Another thing I expected and hoped for was that Tommy and Rob would end up together. I'm still going to ship them.

 

21 hours ago, Mugi said:

I got kind of the same vibes about Tommy and Rob

I'm glad people enjoyed their friendship and it is somewhat gratifying as an author to have people shipping my characters!

Maybe there is some alternate universe where the two of them bonded and became closer over Tommy's trauma and got together

For Sandra and Erin... I wanted to keep the story somewhat realistic (I know, I know...) so I didn't think them getting babied would work and would take away from Tommy's story. In the end I thought that Erin deserved a second chance of some sort. As horrible as she was she was only a teenager who was clearly very much encouraged by their mother to do the things they did. I thought it was only right that when she got older she would reflect on what happened and feel awful. I was less kind to Sandra who I definitely picture as going off ther rails when George and Tommy left. I picture her growing old as that bitter elderly woman who no one wants to be around as everyone else gets on with their lives. That is often what happens to abusers when they no longer have power over those they abuse.

I would sincerely love to write Tommy's Tribulations 3 and I have a few small ideas percolating around. If they become anything more I would like to put them down

[dribblez]

Yes please! This was a rather harrowing and dark read, but it had me hooked nevertheless, and I was glad to see the way you resolved it.

[Lost Little Neppy]

Hm. I don't know about a Tommy's Tribulations 3, because I think this wraps up Tommy's arc very well. But I wouldn't mind a story that takes place in the same universe. For example, a pair of parents/guardians seeing the news about Tommy's bullying at school, and thinking that their son/daughter could learn a lesson from it. "You want to bully someone because they're in diapers? See how you like it."

Just an idea, of course!