All My Mother's Rules (Ch. 70 & Epilogue - 2/13/24)

[JustaFoxGirl]

30 minutes ago, AndTheChips said:

Her weird behaviors and trauma issues? Not likely she will find friends so true and deep there and even if she did doubt it’d be quick. Her trauma and recovery? Exhaustive for anyone to help with and a family with a new baby who just found out dad has a 3 year old they’re taking in? They could be as amazing as humanly possible and EVEN if they magically are not human and don’t ever feel even a hint of frustration with ALL of Sarah’s issues and probable isolation and appointments and expenses and on and on, SARAH is a bright girl with a tendency to blame herself and question how others must think she is horrible and resent her even for things beyond her control.  And she’d definitely think that she was making things so much harder for their otherwise seemingly perfect life.  I’m not saying she should. Im not saying it’s right, I’m saying she does and that’s a natural and expected outcome. So it just wouldn’t be a good fit, honestly IMO. For EITHER child. 

 

18 minutes ago, spark said:

ilia wouldn't recognize that she was treated as the golden child, but Sarah might have some hidden resentment.  She has two choices because a group home would be brutal, and no chance of getting adopted.   The Higgins could give her a home, and there is a support structure in her house.  It wouldn't mean that Sarah would totally abandon Emilia.  She would be able to visit her from time to time, especially after she is college.

These are both good points, but I don't think it makes it any easier. We obviously see things differently, but now Sarah has to come to terms with the fact her mother didn't love her (something I was wrong about before). In addition to that, Emilia has been conditioned to view Sarah as a baby, even referring to her as one during that singular "big girl" day and using her bedwetting as the reason, but after two whole months of being the "big sister" it would take a lot to convince her that Sarah isn't a baby, especially if Sarah continues to need diapers. As you two said, Emilia will be able to be an actual big sister to the infant and not put Sarah through reminders of the abuse everytime she looks at her. But despite all that, Emilia is still her sister.

 

I described it as a difficult choice, but after thinking about it more, I still believe going with Lisa's family is the best option. I think aside from that, the other hurdle is Sarah needing to accept that it's okay to want to be a baby. If not for herself, but for Samantha's sake so there's no animosity between them. Whatever happens between them has been one of my biggest fears. I would hate to see two close friends split apart for any reason.

[AndTheChips]

Okay I’m really stuck on one thing this chapter reminded me that I hadn’t processed that freaks me out and I NEED to know it isn’t a real thing and is just a story thing: the video game club/team thing is a SCHOOL sanctioned thing? And they play FORTNITE?! How is that remotely okay?!?! I have met and worked with and heard from friends who work with teens in many capacities and I am TERRIFIED by and SHOCKED by this concept in the real world.  
 

Please god tell me that’s not a real thing that exists in the real world. Video game clubs/teams sure (though I hope they do set pretty strict limits and educate both parents and the kids on the importance of healthy limits on gaming for hours on end).
 

Games can be great for lots of things when in healthy moderation so yay let’s get kids together in-person to explore that love and give them praise for their successes and skills. But video game clubs/teams playing a game where they are (unless I completely misunderstand the game) expected to kill anyone who isn’t on their team for the sole reason that they’re not on their team without any real-world understanding or consequences? Ummmmmmmm please god not at school. 
 

when did I turn 100? When I realized how emotionally and psychologically immature so many teens can be for literal developmental reasons and some are just so bad at reasoning and reality and omg just no. Like could I have played this kind of game and been fine? Sure. Sarah? Probs. Lisa? Probs. Don’t know enough about the others to know but I now understand that some kids can absolutely NOT. Should any of them at that age? Probs not honestly. But if they’re gonna do it it should most DEFINITELY not be school sanctioned. Esp. With the mass shooting issues we face in schools in this country. Oh god I’m a grandma 😭😭😭

[BabySofia]

3 minutes ago, AndTheChips said:

I have met and worked with and heard from friends who work with teens in many capacities and I am TERRIFIED by and SHOCKED by this concept in the real world.  

Keep in mind eSports players make as much now as many professional athletes. It's a skill set like anything else, and those who have focused and honed it can do quite well. 

 

@MinnesotaWriter Good chapter and I'm glad you're giving her a choice. I don't think either is perfect, and hate seeing the sisters getting split up. I'm glad her younger sister has a better longterm placement option though. Sarah is at least going to have minimal time left before becoming an adult, so in some ways it makes sense to keep her where she has a support system. The uncle has a strong possibility of being an ally with getting caught up with her education too. 

I hope she gets to meet with Lisa and her uncle prior to making a decision one way or another. Thanks for the great story!

[Allman90]

I think you perfectly explained the Dad situation by way of the mom. With her that crazy, who would stay with her?

 

I hate to even wonder if she's crazy enough to have something to do with sarahs dad's death. 😦

[Nat]

We still didn't get an answer who made the call but apparently she has been followed and I wonder if Lisa was set up for it to report so they can take action. I still wonder if it was Lisa that did the call. 

So many kids are not lucky. 75% of cases go unreported, only 15% get removed from their home. Rest of the time, there is no proof so people can't make the call. I have been in situation myself where I wanted to call CPS only to be told nothing would be done because I'm just seeing emotional abuse and it's hard to prove. That kid was eventually removed but she apparently got him back and they moved to Spokane. 

 

Not many abused kids get a happy ending like Sarah. 

[JustaFoxGirl]

9 minutes ago, Nat said:

We still didn't get an answer who made the call but apparently she has been followed and I wonder if Lisa was set up for it to report so they can take action. I still wonder if it was Lisa that did the call. 

I would say it was 100% Lisa. Amanda said that Lisa's family were willing to take Sarah in and the only way they would even offer something like that is if they knew CPS got involved, and the only way they would know that is because they called in the first place. The tip was anonymous, but I could see them reaching out for a status update on Sarah after some time had passed.

[spark]

25 minutes ago, Nat said:

Not many abused kids get a happy ending like Sarah. 

This is why the Hollywood ending is better.  We know that real life, especially for foster kids SUCKS!

However, I know that teachers adopting in

similar situations does happen, and at least in the one case, I know of- a good outcome.  The girls both graduated from college and are still a part of the family.

47 minutes ago, AndTheChips said:

Okay I’m really stuck on one thing this chapter reminded me that I hadn’t processed that freaks me out and I NEED to know it isn’t a real thing and is just a story thing: the video game club/team thing is a SCHOOL sanctioned thing? And they play FORTNITE?! How is that remotely okay?!?! I have met and worked with and heard from friends who work with teens in many capacities and I am TERRIFIED by and SHOCKED by this concept in the real world.  

That part didn't catch me as strange.   I don't pay attention to stuff like that at my school, but I'm almost certain that we have a gaming club.   I had kids play GTA when I taught middle school, so it's not like they are unfamiliar with those games.  It is just my opinion as a high school teacher, but I don't think it's a good idea to coddle teenagers.  They have 4 years to become an adult, and they have a long way to go.  My question of the day was: What is the best part of being an adult?  Two said driving.  Two said they didn't know anything good about being an adult (one will turn 18 in a few months- which scared me).   Only two answered with "I can do what I want to do."

I know the decision dominated the end of this chapter, but I can just imagine what the doctor was thinking when he learned that Sarah had mostly eaten baby food for two months.  It's not a medical condition, it's because your stomach doesn't know how to handle chicken nuggets, especially with sauce on it.

[Lost Little Neppy]

Welp, there goes my dad headcanon, haha.

The narcissism explains everything. The grades, the emphasis on cheerleading, and especially Christmas. It's a shame that people like this exist in real life. There's even a subreddit for people who have/had narcissistic parents.

My dad headcanon, by the way, was that Emilia and Sarah were full-blooded sisters. Dad probably loved Mom, and loved his daughter, but hated the way she was being treated. And the addition of another baby was the straw that broke the camel's back. Divorce, maybe a custody battle, but Mom had a better lawyer or the judge was biased or both. This, sadly, is also something that happens in real life.

My hope was that Sarah and Emilia would stay together in the Higgens household. This is heart-wrenching. 

[AdultInnocence]

1 hour ago, BabySofia said:

Keep in mind eSports players make as much now as many professional athletes. It's a skill set like anything else, and those who have focused and honed it can do quite well. 

 

@MinnesotaWriter Good chapter and I'm glad you're giving her a choice. I don't think either is perfect, and hate seeing the sisters getting split up. I'm glad her younger sister has a better longterm placement option though. Sarah is at least going to have minimal time left before becoming an adult, so in some ways it makes sense to keep her where she has a support system. The uncle has a strong possibility of being an ally with getting caught up with her education too. 

I hope she gets to meet with Lisa and her uncle prior to making a decision one way or another. Thanks for the great story!

100% This

 

[MinnesotaWriter]

1 hour ago, Allman90 said:

I think you perfectly explained the Dad situation by way of the mom. With her that crazy, who would stay with her?

 

I hate to even wonder if she's crazy enough to have something to do with sarahs dad's death. 😦

Thanks, need a way to write myself out of not having explained it earlier.

The mom wasn't so crazy as to have anything to do with Sarah's Dad's death.

1 hour ago, JustaFoxGirl said:

I described it as a difficult choice, but after thinking about it more, I still believe going with Lisa's family is the best option. I think aside from that, the other hurdle is Sarah needing to accept that it's okay to want to be a baby. If not for herself, but for Samantha's sake so there's no animosity between them. Whatever happens between them has been one of my biggest fears. I would hate to see two close friends split apart for any reason.

  It's obviously been a while since we've had a chapter with all of the friends. We will get to that, and their reactions, pretty soon.

19 minutes ago, Lost Little Neppy said:

Welp, there goes my dad headcanon, haha.

The narcissism explains everything. The grades, the emphasis on cheerleading, and especially Christmas. It's a shame that people like this exist in real life. There's even a subreddit for people who have/had narcissistic parents.

My dad headcanon, by the way, was that Emilia and Sarah were full-blooded sisters. Dad probably loved Mom, and loved his daughter, but hated the way she was being treated. And the addition of another baby was the straw that broke the camel's back. Divorce, maybe a custody battle, but Mom had a better lawyer or the judge was biased or both. This, sadly, is also something that happens in real life.

My hope was that Sarah and Emilia would stay together in the Higgens household. This is heart-wrenching. 

  I'm very familiar with that subreddit, I've stumbled across it before. Even if you take personal stories on reddit with a large grain of salt (which is advisable) there's some pretty chilling stories on there.

Yeah, there isn't any way Emilia would be staying with the Higgins, not over the choice of being with a biological parent.

1 hour ago, AndTheChips said:

Okay I’m really stuck on one thing this chapter reminded me that I hadn’t processed that freaks me out and I NEED to know it isn’t a real thing and is just a story thing: the video game club/team thing is a SCHOOL sanctioned thing? And they play FORTNITE?! How is that remotely okay?!?! I have met and worked with and heard from friends who work with teens in many capacities and I am TERRIFIED by and SHOCKED by this concept in the real world.  

It's actually a real thing. And it really isn't that big of a deal. E-sports competitions are already a big thing with adults. And frankly, Fortnite is quite tame compared to other video games out there. But even then, there is no research that shows there is any link between video games and violence, and that's something that has been extensively studied. That doesn't mean that some games aren't age-appropriate for certain kids, but there wouldn't be any reason a teenager shouldn't be allowed to play Fortnite.

I chose Fortnite specifically because it happened to be what I was playing at the time, so it was easy to describe. And I wanted an activity that allowed Lisa and Sarah to meet and began to develop their friendship with that common interest.

4 hours ago, JustaFoxGirl said:

I'm glad we finally get an explaination of Sarah's father. I had wondered where he could have gone after the mother was pregnant with Emilia, but this revelation makes sense. Hopefully Emilia and her mother being found will allow Sarah to have less guilt about everything.

As for Sarah's choice, I do not envy her in the slightest. At least Emilia can easily have a fresh start and potentially forget most of this happened, if not everything. My own memories of being three are fuzzy at best and if you told me something had happened during those years, I wouldn't be able to doubt it. But choosing to leave Emilia or leave her friends is such a heavy decision for a fifteen year old to make, especially after everything. The idea that Emilia's foster family would be farther away never really crossed my mind. This is a heck of a twist.

It certainly is going to be a tough choice for Sarah, but I wanted it to be up to her to make that decision, rather than having someone make it for her.

2 hours ago, spark said:

Great Chapter. and boy is that a tough decision

The poor girl has a long way to go and needs a lot of time.

There are so many questions.  I'm glad Emilia has a family to go to, and a 3-year-old would transition to her father's family fairly quickly.   She will love being an actual big sister, and there won't be much of a gap. 

Emilia also seemed to enjoy being a big sister, even in a way that wasn't healthy. So to be an actual one to a younger half-sibling would be a better dynamic for her.

[JustaFoxGirl]

7 minutes ago, MinnesotaWriter said:

It certainly is going to be a tough choice for Sarah, but I wanted it to be up to her to make that decision, rather than having someone make it for her.

This is honestly such a brilliant part of it. Sarah, after 15 years of living under her mother and her rules, not being able to do what she wants unless given permission, finally gets to make a serious decision for herself. This is the first real step on her road of recovery.

[spark]

40 minutes ago, Lost Little Neppy said:

My dad headcanon, by the way, was that Emilia and Sarah were full-blooded sisters. Dad probably loved Mom, and loved his daughter, but hated the way she was being treated. And the addition of another baby was the straw that broke the camel's back. Divorce, maybe a custody battle, but Mom had a better lawyer or the judge was biased or both. This, sadly, is also something that happens in real life. 

I didn't know what to make of Sarah and Emilia's dad.  Up to this point, I assumed they were full sisters.  I just could never conceive of a way that Sarah would have no reference to her dad.

FTR- from a narrative standpoint, I think the way her father was disclosed worked out for the best.  Up until this point, it didn't matter that Emilia was a half-sister.  As a reader, we didn't need to know that Emilia and Sarah were half-sisters.  I think it might have distracted from the story because Sarah didn't think of Emilia that way.

15 minutes ago, MinnesotaWriter said:

Emilia also seemed to enjoy being a big sister, even in a way that wasn't healthy. So to be an actual one to a younger half-sibling would be a better dynamic for her.

I'm wondering how you will address the relationship between Emilia and Sarah in the sequel.   At that point Emilia will be 9 or 10.  There is a pediatrician who wrote that the 'empathy' of 8-year-old girls is oh so heartwarming, but Emilia would likely have only vague memories of the two months of being her big sister's big sister.  

PS- I hope that you let us see Mom get arrested when you write the screenplay.   I also want to see the interrogation where the good cop asked, "WHY?"   

[spark]

15 minutes ago, JustaFoxGirl said:

This is honestly such a brilliant part of it. Sarah, after 15 years of living under her mother and her rules, not being able to do what she wants unless given permission, finally gets to make a serious decision for herself. This is the first real step on her road of recovery.

I didn't even think about that.   I keep my students through their entire high school career, which would really suck for them if they hate me.  Watching the emotional growth they show between the first day of high school is amazing.  Freshmen are just dumb (sorry- but it's the truth.  I was dumb as a Freshman).  Sarah has been sheltered because her mom didn't let her grow up.  Yet- she parentified Sarah by making her an indentured servant.

I kind of know which decision will make.  We all need closure on Lisa, Samantha, and Desi.   

[JustaFoxGirl]

14 hours ago, spark said:

I didn't even think about that.   I keep my students through their entire high school career, which would really suck for them if they hate me.  Watching the emotional growth they show between the first day of high school is amazing.  Freshmen are just dumb (sorry- but it's the truth.  I was dumb as a Freshman).  Sarah has been sheltered because her mom didn't let her grow up.  Yet- she parentified Sarah by making her an indentured servant.

I kind of know which decision will make.  We all need closure on Lisa, Samantha, and Desi.   

I was a dumb freshman too, don't worry lol. I agree though. Maybe her mother was jealous because Sarah was smart and successful at school while she wasn't? One thing I've learned is that her mother apparently never spoke about herself, except the one time she told Sarah she used to be a bedwetter too. Sarah didn't even know where she worked, and she knew nothing about her father other than he died when she was a baby. That goes along with her controlling nature. Not telling Sarah anything she didn't deem important enough and Sarah being raised in such a way that she never questions it.

 

I know MW said we wouldn't see Sarah's recovery in this, and that would be unrealistic, but I am hopeful for closure with her friends.

[kerry]

16 hours ago, MinnesotaWriter said:

It's obviously been a while since we've had a chapter with all of the friends. We will get to that, and their reactions, pretty soon.

I like pretty much everything about the way this is wrapping up. However, I'm finding it hard to understand why her friends have not visited her in hospital. It makes no sense to me, especially for Lisa. She's been there more than a week and no communication at all?

[MinnesotaWriter]

17 hours ago, spark said:

FTR- from a narrative standpoint, I think the way her father was disclosed worked out for the best.  Up until this point, it didn't matter that Emilia was a half-sister.  As a reader, we didn't need to know that Emilia and Sarah were half-sisters.  I think it might have distracted from the story because Sarah didn't think of Emilia that way.

It's OK, as a writer I wasn't aware they were half-sisters until several dozen chapters in, when I realized that was really the only way the story would make sense.

1 hour ago, kerry said:

I like pretty much everything about the way this is wrapping up. However, I'm finding it hard to understand why her friends have not visited her in hospital. It makes no sense to me, especially for Lisa. She's been there more than a week and no communication at all?

There are a few reasons for that.

Hospitals are pretty big on protecting patient privacy, same with kids in CPS custody. It would be doubtful that any of her friends know for sure that Sarah has been taken in my CPS, let alone know where she is for sure.

As far as the Higgins' offer to care for Sarah, that's something they could make from their end without CPS or the hospital confirming directly to them that Sarah is in their care. I envisioned it more as them telling CPS "If Sarah happens to be in your custody, we'd be open to being foster parents for her if she wants that," rather than CPS explicitly confirming any private information from Sarah.

But, just as importantly, Sarah does need some time to recover, both medically and with therapy, and having some time to do that before having to deal with seeing her friends again is probably for the best. She also doesn't have access to her phone yet, so doesn't have any means of communication with them at the moment.

[spark]

4 hours ago, MinnesotaWriter said:

It's OK, as a writer I wasn't aware they were half-sisters until several dozen chapters in, when I realized that was really the only way the story would make sense.

One of the reasons that I try to complete my narratives before I start publishing it is that I got tired of writing myself into a corner.

I had questions about the father in the story, but it didn't seem important to the story.  I visualized Emilia as a four-year-old until I realized she was three years old.  That would be an 11 year gap between the children, which would mean Sarah would know her father, and it would be hard to explain why she didn't reference him after all her troubles.   The one takeaway from this is just how isolated Sarah has been all her life.  She couldn't sleepover, and couldn't have friends come over to her house. 

I also have this vision of what Emilia's dad was thinking when he learned about Emilia.  His wife must be the most understanding woman of all time considering that she was willing to take in Emilia and Sarah.  Your husband, who you just had a child with had a short-term relationship with a crazy lady who didn't even tell him that she was pregnant.  Now you are the mother of an infant, a preschooler, and possibly a high school student.

[Night Rain]

Sarah's left with a very hard choice to make I think. She should stay with Lisa's family as they can offer her a lot of help rather then being in a new area. With only her half sister and people and places that she doesn't know.

[Allman90]

If she goes with Emilia, she'll end up having to recite everything that happened over and over as Emilia questions things. Otherwise a clean slate would be very appealing in its own way. 

Does she value her sister over her friends? How much does what happened to her affect that?

And no matter what anyone says, she has a limited time to make that choice. 

 

The struggles continue. 

[spark]

54 minutes ago, Allman90 said:

If she goes with Emilia, she'll end up having to recite everything that happened over and over as Emilia questions things. Otherwise a clean slate would be very appealing in its own way. 

Does she value her sister over her friends? How much does what happened to her affect that?

And no matter what anyone says, she has a limited time to make that choice. 

 

The struggles continue. 

Much like Hollywood movies, and with the secret CPS reporter, I think I know which direction MW will go.  There is one direction that opens up a whole other narrative, and the other provides some closure.

The realism is what makes this story so good.     There are very creative reaches that MW uses in this story, and those make sense when he is required to tell a story.   In reality, she is faced with a very difficult decision, and it is made even worse because Sarah can't get out of her own head.   I reread the section where she is weighing the pros and cons, and she is concerned about how the friend group will receive her.   

The four girls appear to have a very strong bond, and Lisa appears to be the tipster who rescued Sarah from a horrific fate.  I think the three girls would be extremely relieved and proud of the role they played in saving Sarah's life, and Sarah will feel the same way once she gets more than a week out from her rescue.

I fully expect that Lisa will have a hard time dealing with Sarah's acceptance of diapers, and Sarah and Samantha will process the baby treatment in their relationship.   I suspect that Sarah's 'babyness' will be like a sin wave that gets tighter and settles closer to being little than hating it.

Desi and Lisa need to make sure that Samantha is between them and elbow her in the ribs if she gets too inquisitive about Sarah's treatment.

 

[JustaFoxGirl]

21 hours ago, spark said:

The four girls appear to have a very strong bond, and Lisa appears to be the tipster who rescued Sarah from a horrific fate.  I think the three girls would be extremely relieved and proud of the role they played in saving Sarah's life, and Sarah will feel the same way once she gets more than a week out from her rescue.

I fully expect that Lisa will have a hard time dealing with Sarah's acceptance of diapers, and Sarah and Samantha will process the baby treatment in their relationship.   I suspect that Sarah's 'babyness' will be like a sin wave that gets tighter and settles closer to being little than hating it.

Desi and Lisa need to make sure that Samantha is between them and elbow her in the ribs if she gets too inquisitive about Sarah's treatment.

Lisa seems mature enough to understand that if Sarah turns out to be medically incontinent, then choosing to wear diapers is the right choice and be accepting.

The real issues are with Samantha. Sarah thought about how being a baby meant no stress, and it took being regressed for months for her to realize how stressful her life had been in. On some level, she liked that part of it. Her mother's abuse is awful, but this could be something like finding the good even in the worst situations.

We don't know why Samantha likes it. She claimed she didn't understand why either, but that private chat with Lisa either brought the truth out, or uncovered it for her. Either way, she enjoys being babied for her own reasons.

Meanwhile, Amanda and others are telling her that she should not be acting like a baby at all, and even disapprove of her choice to wear diapers. Of course, they don't know the test results yet and when those come out, depending on what they are, they may ease off on Sarah's decision.

Jane and the therapist tell Sarah that wearing diapers doesn't make you a baby, which is the idea that her mother successfully instilled in both Sarah and Emilia. However, she also seems like she wouldn't judge Sarah for how she felt about it.

Sarah has to accept it's okay to be babied, because the alternative is that Samantha is wrong for wanting it and I doubt Sarah wants to think that about one of her best friends. Even if Sarah never acts like a baby again, I hope she at least continues to accept, or even better understand, Samantha.

[Bonsai]

At this point mom is probably trying to play the victim and blame someone else for her decisions. 

She's not the sort of person that admits guilt, so a process is to be expected and I guess Sarah will be there to testify.

That would be an interesting future to explore.

[AdultInnocence]

18 hours ago, JustaFoxGirl said:

We don't know why Samantha likes it. She claimed she didn't understand why either, but that private chat with Lisa either brought the truth out, or uncovered it for her. Either way, she enjoys being babied for her own reasons.

Maybe we'll get to read about Samantha telling Sarah about what she likes and what she told Lisa to help and then the audience will get to find out.

[Nat]

4 hours ago, Bonsai said:

At this point mom is probably trying to play the victim and blame someone else for her decisions. 

She's not the sort of person that admits guilt, so a process is to be expected and I guess Sarah will be there to testify.

That would be an interesting future to explore.

I suspect the mom is one of those parents who thinks they can punish disabilities out of their child and can't be bothered to get them treatment and therapy because they don't believe in doctors. You will see plenty of posts by adults with disabilities who will say how they were abused for their ADHD or autism and I have even seen posts here and in other ABDL communities how they were punished with diapers and humiliation because of their incontinent issues all because their parents thought they were just lazy. 

I wonder if MW has been through it himself so he writes these stories. It's not uncommon for authors to write about their experience in stories and make it be fiction. 

Maybe Sarah will develop a diaper fetish and paraphilic infantilism but this time she would be in control of it and it's not forced upon her. Right now she is preferring diapers because she has given up with her bladder. Now she is being told by Jane diapers are okay to use and you are not a baby and you can still be an adult and use diapers to manage your incontinence. Before, she was just using pull ups and using the toilets constantly. Now her mindset is why even bother if her control won't get better? She realized something is wrong here with her body.

I hope they figure out soon it's nerve damage once she mentions she had a fall in cheerleading practice and bruised her side and started having accidents after that. Then the doctor will put two and two together. 

 

[MinnesotaWriter]

2 hours ago, Nat said:

I wonder if MW has been through it himself so he writes these stories. It's not uncommon for authors to write about their experience in stories and make it be fiction. 

Nope. Had a fairly normal, healthy childhood and upbringing. I just have a pretty creative imagination and lots of real-life stories on from reddit to get a sense for the types of crazy situations that kids can find themselves in with NPD parents.

3 hours ago, AdultInnocence said:

Maybe we'll get to read about Samantha telling Sarah about what she likes and what she told Lisa to help and then the audience will get to find out.

The exact details of that conversation may remain private, but there will eventually be an explanation from Lisa to Sarah of what led to that change of heart. 

7 hours ago, Bonsai said:

At this point mom is probably trying to play the victim and blame someone else for her decisions. 

She's not the sort of person that admits guilt, so a process is to be expected and I guess Sarah will be there to testify.

That would be an interesting future to explore.

You're almost making me wish I wasn't wrapping this story up. There's a lot that could be covered during Sarah's recovery. A trial, if it were to happen, would be fascinating, along with all the details about how she gets re-integrated with school.

I could probably find a way to outline another 20 chapters that would inevitably turn into 40, but at the same time, I think we'll get to a clear ending to her story arc and they main premise of the story. Yes, I could continue writing about all the characters and keep it going as a long soap opera, but that wasn't ever the intent of the story.

There's always a balance between ending too abruptly or over-explaining, and I don't want to venture too far to the latter option.

At this point, I can say fairly confidently that we've got three chapters + an epilogue to be posted here, with things wrapping up early next week. I'm also just about finished with the sequel, which jumps ahead six years, skipping past a lot of the immediate recovery to look at how things are for Sarah a long way down the road. I'll have some more details about it when I post the next chapter sometime tomorrow evening.