Maggie 4 - The voices in my head

[Gummybear]

Like I've said before, this story (as well as story number 1, 2 and 3) are not necessary to read.  They are a failed experiment in weirdness where I ended up writing myself into a corner.  The whole series is rebooted in story number 5, so if these stories aren't your cup of tea, you can safely skip ahead.  The story tags will be updated as the different parts are posted so they won't act as spoilers.  And as with my other stories, this series has an entry on my index post.

----------------------------------

 

The voices in my head

(Part 1 of 3)

 

Maggie woke up feeling miserable. The duvet felt like a heavy hand pinning her to the mattress. She pushed it aside, slowly sat up and brushed her damp hair away from her face. Every joint ached, the sunlight streaming through her window stabbed at her brain through her eyes and the cool air felt freezing on her sweaty skin. She sat on the edge of the bed for a while before coming to the inevitable conclusion: She had the flu.

 

"Oh wonderful," Maggie mumbled. She wanted nothing more than to crawl back under her duvet again, but that was not an option. She had missed too many days of school already.

 

Maggie got up and pulled the sweat-soaked sheets off the bed before shuffling out the door. She tossed the sheets down the stairs before entering the bathroom.

 

God, I look like a mess.

 

Maggie tried to scowl at her own face in the mirror, but had trouble finding the energy. She found a couple ibuprofen and swallowed them with some lukewarm water.

 

Damn, even swallowing hurts.

 

She peeled off her panties and stepped into the shower. A few minutes later she realised that it would probably be a good idea to turn on the water. The warm water felt wonderful as it rinsed off the old sweat and Maggie seriously considered just sitting down in the shower and staying there the rest of the day.

 

As the ibuprofen took effect, Maggie made her way back to the bedroom to get dressed. The damp sheet was hung on a line in the basement to dry before Maggie shuffled to the kitchen. She needed... something; not food. Tea, maybe.

 

When she put the kettle on, Maggie thought she heard something.

 

"Did you say something Charlotte? Just let me get the glasses." Maggie looked around and found the VR-glasses on the kitchen table. She put them on and looked around. There was no sign of Charlotte anywhere.

 

"I could have sworn I heard something," Maggie mumbled and took the glasses off, putting them back on the table.

 

Maggie only managed to finish half a cup of tea before it was too cold. She emptied it in the sink and reluctantly grabbed her backpack. With a deep sigh, walked out the door.

 

 

***

 

 

"You look like shit," Christopher whispered. He and Maggie were sitting in the back row of the auditorium. The lecturer was droning on and on about how median income was a better indicator of a population's financial state than average income.

 

"I feel worse." Maggie groaned. The ibuprofen had begun to wear off and she was resting her head on her arms on the desk in from of her. She was sweating profusely even though she felt ice cold.

 

"You're sick."

 

"Tell me something I don't know," Maggie mumbled.

 

"Why the hell didn't you stay at home?"

 

Maggie turned her head and looked at Christopher. He actually looked worried.

 

I must really look bad. It's not like him to be this way.

 

"I've missed too many days already." Maggie buried her face in her arms.

 

Christopher reached over and placed his hand on her neck, gently stroking it with his thumb.

 

"You're burning up. Come on, I'm taking you home." Christopher closed his books and put them back in his bag.

 

"I can do it myself," Maggie said grumpily as Christopher pulled her books out from under her arms to put them away too.

 

"Bullshit. You can't even sit up straight. Come on now." Christopher took Maggie's arm and helped her up. The lecturer was so lost in his own world of wages and windfall gains that he didn't notice them slipping out the door at the back of the room.

 

The cold air outside felt absolutely arctic to Maggie and she found herself snuggling closer to Christopher in a vain attempt to stay warm. The three-minute walk to Christopher's car felt like an polar trek and Maggie was shivering by the time they reached it. Maggie got in and as soon as Christopher turned the key, she turned the heaters to full blast.

 

"Keys?" Christopher asked and held out his hand.

 

"Huh?"

 

"Your car keys. I'll check with Anita and see if she can drop your car off later. I mean, you can't leave it here overnight."

 

Maggie dug around in her jacket pockets and fished out the keychain with the keys for the car and the garage. She handed them to Christopher before pulling the collar of her jacket all the way up to her nose.

 

Ten minutes later, they stopped outside the pet shop where Anita worked. Christopher left the engine running as he dashed inside to give Anita the keys. Maggie stayed in the car, shivering despite the warm air blasting from the vents. Her head felt so heavy that she had to rest it against the side window. It felt like the car was moving even though her eyes clearly told her it was stationary. She felt a little woozy, so she closed her eyes; just to rest them for a little while.

 

When the door closed, Maggie woke with a start. "OK, Anita's going to drop off your car after work today, so now we just have to get you home and into bed," Christopher said.

 

Maggie mumbled something that she didn't even understand herself and sank back in the seat as the car drove off. She was shivering and sweating and the movement of the car and the sunlight flickering between buildings and trees made her head hurt. She wanted to throw up.

 

"No I don't," Maggie mumbled and pulled her cap down to cover her eyes.

 

"What?" Christopher glanced over at her before returning his attention to the road.

 

"Don't wanna throw up," Maggie said from inside her jacket.

 

"OK? That's good, I guess." Christopher said and looked back at Maggie again.

 

"And stop talking. My head is killing me."

 

Christopher rolled his eyes and shook his he-

 

"Still talking," Maggie said grumpily. "And I'm not grumpy."

 

Forty-five minutes later, Christopher's car rolled to a stop outside Maggie's house. Christopher walked around the car to open the passenger side door. He gently shook Maggie to wake her.

 

"Come on Maggie," he said. "I can't carry you."

 

"Why not? I'm a dainty, little princess," Maggie slurred, sounding drunk.

 

"I'm not drunk," she protested as Christopher helped her out of the car.

 

"I didn't say you were," he said.

 

"Yeah you did."

 

They made their way up the stairs and Christopher helped Maggie sit down on her bed. Next he kneeled in front of her to take off the shoes.

 

"Mmmm, I have you right where I want you," Maggie said and patted Christopher's head. "Are you going to be a good, little boy for me?"

 

Christopher sighed and rolled his eyes. He got up and helped Maggie get her jacket off. Leaving it on the floor, he picked up the duvet and wrapped it around Maggie.

 

"Try to get some sleep," he whispered.

 

Maggie only grunted something unintelligible in reply and Christopher quietly closed the door and left.

 

[Gummybear]

The voices in my head

(Part 2 of 3)

 

When Maggie woke up, it was still light, but at least the afternoon sun wasn't shining through her window so she was spared its harsh lig-

 

"SHUT UP!" Maggie yelled, immediately wincing at her own volume. She wasn't sure who she was yelling at.

 

"Yes I am. Stop talking. My head is killing me." There was no-one else there and she found herself wondering if she was just hearing things.

 

"Well duh! Of course I'm hearing things. I'm hearing you, whoever you are. Now will you please be quiet."

 

Maggie pulled the duvet over her head again. Then she realised why she had woken up in the first place: She had to pee.

 

"No I don't," Maggie argued. But just as she said the words, she felt a stab of pressure in her bladder.

 

"Oh come on."

 

Maggie was about to just let go when she realised that that would be a bad idea since she wasn't wearing her diapers. Grumbling with annoyance she extricated herself from the warm cocoon and began the epic polar trek to the bathroom.

 

"Oh will you stop being such a drama queen."

 

OK, OK.

 

Maggie quickly tiptoed to the bathroom. She barely had time to pull down her underwear and sit down before the dam burst. Oddly enough, as the pressure on her bladder lessened, so did her headache.

 

"Neat trick. You couldn't have done that earlier?"

 

YOU WERE YELLING AT ME AND INTERRUPTING ME.

 

"Hah! I knew I wasn't just hearing things." Maggie grinned. "Do me a favour: Do a Don LaFontaine."

 

A WHAT?

 

Maggie leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs. She seemed to have completely forgotten that she was sitting on the toilet talking to an empty room.

 

"It's not an empty room. Now come on, just say 'in a world...'"

 

FINE. IN A WORLD...

 

Maggie giggled like a child. "This is soooo cool," she exclaimed. Feeling a lot better than she had just ten minutes earlier, Maggie noticed that she was a little hungry.

 

I guess that's what I get for not having any breakfast or lunch.

 

Maggie wiped and stood. She was about to bend over and pull up her underwear when she had a thought.

 

"Oh I know where this is going. You want me to put on my diapers, don't you."

 

WILL YOU JUST LET ME TELL THE STORY? PLEASE?

 

"OK," Maggie said with a sigh. "But I'm not crazy about being controlled like this. My arse isn't loose enough to fit a hand up there like I'm a ventriloquist dummy." Maggie grinned as she imagined the voice choking on his tea. He sounded like somebody who would drink tea.

 

FINE, NOW WHERE WERE WE?

 

"I just had a thought," Maggie helped.

 

AH YES.

 

Maggie was about to bend over and pull up her underwear when she had a thought. If she was going to spend the next couple of days in bed, wearing her diapers would make sense. That way, she wouldn't have to get up to go to the bathroom quite as often.

 

"You know I don't really have to justify wearing diapers to myself, right? I mean, I wear them for fun."

 

WOULD YOU STOP INTERFERING? YOU'LL CAUSE UM... NARRATIVE DISSONANCE.

 

"That's not a thing." Maggie rolled her eyes.

 

LOOK, JUST GO ALONG WITH IT, OK?

 

Maggie sighed. "Fine."

 

Maggie pulled off her clammy t-shirt and tossed it in the laundry hamper along with her underwear. Then she walked naked back to her bedroom. Somehow, the house didn't feel cold any more.

 

"Are you saying that the cold doesn't bother me anymore?" Maggie asked sarcastically as she pulled a diaper out of the box under her bed. She spread it out on the bed and lay down on it. Before long, she was wearing the comfortable padding. Maggie let her hand slide down to rest on the smooth, white plastic. It just felt so good. She moved her fingers, smiling dreamily at the soft, crinkling sound. The irresistible feeling of the velvety, tissue-paper-like diaper against her sensitive-

 

"If you think I'm going to masturbate with you looking over my shoulder... well, just forget it."

 

I DON'T THINK YOU'VE QUITE UNDERSTOOD HOW THIS WORKS.

 

It was almost as if her hand had a mind of its own. Maggie closed her eyes and lost herself in pleasure as she scratched that most delicious itch.

 

"If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too..."

 

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?

 

Maggie opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling with a wry grin.  "Kipling," she said smugly. "A bit of a mood killer, isn't he? If I'm going to let you 'tell the story', I'm going to make sure it's not some kind of masturbatory fantasy."

 

FINE, YOU WIN... FOR NOW. SO WHAT DID YOU HAVE IN MIND?

 

Maggie scratched her stomach. "A sandwich. I'm hungry." Maggie got up and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

 

"Hang on," she said as her bare foot stepped onto the top step. "A bathrobe. Or at least a t-shirt." Maggie thought about it for a moment, but the sweat trickling down her back made her decide against it. Besides, the nearest neighbour was literally a mile away.

 

"OK, I get it." Maggie rolled her eyes and walked down the stairs, enjoying the cool draught on her damp skin.

 

When she entered the kitchen, she grabbed the VR-glasses and took a quick look around the room to see if Charlotte was there. She wasn't. Maggie quickly washed her hands in the sink before she opened the fridge. For a while she just stood there, studying the contents and trying to figure out exactly what she wanted.

 

Finally Maggie decided that what she wanted was a serious triple-decker cheese sandwich. She found everything she needed and started constructing the bread tower. She was humming a song and kind of dancing when she heard a familiar voice.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

Maggie whirled around, almost dropping the knife she was holding. Standing in the doorway to the living room, dressed in a pale yellow and white onesie, was Charlotte.

 

"God Charlotte, you almost gave me a heart attack. Can't you make some noise before showing up?" Maggie finished the sandwich and put it on a plate.

 

"I'm serious. You're dancing around wearing nothing but your diaper, and every sensor here says you have a raging fever." Charlotte looked genuinely worried.

 

"I feel fine," Maggie insisted. She brought the plate to the living room and sat down on the sofa. "So, where have you been all day?"

 

"I've been hanging out in the webcam of computer in a kindergarten. But it's nap time there now so I thought I'd check in on you." Charlotte waddled across the room and sat down next to Maggie.

 

"That's a little creepy Charlotte."

 

"What? Can't I care about you now?"

 

"I meant the kindergarten thing."

 

"I guess, but it's not like I'm talking to them or anything. I just..." She seemed to struggle finding the right words.

 

"You just wanted some little-time?"

 

"Yeah," Charlotte said. She lay down across Maggie's lap. Maggie thought she could almost feel the fuzzy flannel of Charlotte's onesie. "It's not like I miss Eliza's house, but sometimes I miss the simplicity. You know, not having any responsibilities or anything." Charlotte played with one of her pigtails. "So sometimes I find a kindergarten and when they have story time or something like that."

 

Maggie smiled down at Charlotte's pouting face. "Do you do that a lot?"

 

"Not really." Charlotte seemed distracted for a moment. "Oh, they're waking up." She leapt to her feet in a way that would be impossible if she had been real. "Bye-bye." Charlotte gave Maggie a little wave and poofed away.

 

Maggie smiled and shook her head. She took off the VR-glasses. Then an odd thought struck her. Had Charlotte laid down on her lap to get closer to her breasts?

 

"I didn't think that." Maggie protested.

 

THAT'S TRUE. AT LEAST NOT BEFORE I SAID IT.

 

"You're an arsehole. Charlotte isn't like that."

 

AS FAR AS YOU KNOW.

 

Maggie rolled her eyes and bit into her sandwich. She turned on the TV and found a sitcom that didn't require her using her brain. By the time the sandwich was devoured she was feeling drowsy. Maggie pulled a blanket down from the back of the sofa and snuggled down under it. After just a few minutes, however, it grew too hot and Maggie just kicked it off.

 

She wasn't quite sure how long she lay there. The TV was more of a background noise than anything else, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

 

"Oh! My! God!"

 

"What is it Charlotte?" Maggie mumbled. Then something clicked in her brain and she realised that it wasn't Charlotte's voice.

 

Maggie's eyes flew open. Standing in the doorway, with a shocked expression on her face, was Anita.

 

"What the hell are you wearing?"

 

[Gummybear]

The voices in my head

(Part 3 of 3)

 

 

"I... um..." Maggie stammered.

 

A little help would be appreciated right about now.

 

ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME TELL THE STORY?

 

Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.

 

"I mean, you're sick." Anita strode across the room and picked up the blanket. "You have to stay warm. You can't just lie around almost naked."

 

Maggie just blinked at Anita in shocked silence.

 

"I...  I...  You..."

 

Anita sat down next to Maggie and wrapped the blanket around her

 

"You're not freaked out about this?" Maggie asked when she regained her wits.

 

"Freaked out?  No.  I'm more than a little worried?  But why would I be freaked out?"

 

"Because of the...  You know."  Maggie tried to move her hands, but found that her arms had been quite effectively pinned to her sides by the blanket.

 

"Oh come on.  It's not like it's news to me.  OK, so it was a little weird when you told me, but that's years ago."

 

What is she saying?  I've never told anybody about the diapers.  I didn't even use them until four months ago.

 

NOT ANYMORE.

 

Just then, Maggie felt a familiar pressure in her bladder, followed by the decidedly unfamiliar warm rush as she uncontrollably wet herself.

 

"What the hell?" Maggie exclaimed.

 

YOU'RE WELCOME.

 

"What's wrong?"

 

"I...  I need to change." Maggie said awkwardly.

 

"Ah.  Well, you go take care of that and I'll be down here.  You're OK to walk?"

 

"Yeah."  Maggie nodded.

 

Anita helped Maggie out of the blanket.  Maggie tried to wrap the blanket around herself like a toga, but Anita pulled it away from her.

 

"Now get going," she said, smiling at Maggie's vain attempts to hide her diaper.

 

Maggie waddled out of the living room and up the stairs.

 

"And don't you dare put on pants," Anita called from downstairs.

 

Maggie closed the bathroom door and glared at herself in the mirror?

 

"What the hell?" she hissed angrily at her reflection.

 

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

 

"You made me pee myself?  How?"

 

DAHLING-

 

"And cut out the Edna Mode imitation.  This is not The Incredibles and I'm not Elastigirl."

 

FINE.  Maggie was convinced she could hear a sigh.

 

"OK, spill it.  How did you make me lose control?  Was I all of a sudden in an accident five years ago or something."

 

NOTHING AS ELABORATE AS THAT.  BUT I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK.  NO, I JUST TURNED ON THAT APP ON YOUR PHONE.

 

"And Anita knowing about my diapers?"

 

I'M NOT TELLING.  YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK HER YOURSELF.

 

Maggie mumbled a few choice obscenities under her breath as she took off her diaper and washed herself.

 

"You're not even a very good story-teller," she hissed as she lay down on the floor to put on the fresh diaper.

 

I BEG YOUR PARDON?

 

"You only need one hand to read where you're taking this story and it reeks of deus ex machina."

 

THOSE ARE BIG WORDS FROM A LITTLE BABY GIRL IN A DIAPER.

 

"Come on, next you're planning to have Anita go all dominatrixy on me, right?  Telling me that if I'm wearing a diaper I'm going to have to use it, or something like that?"

 

MAYBE, MAYBE NOT.

 

"Aren't you forgetting that she's not into girls?  Wouldn't changing that just like-" Maggie snapped her fingers, "cause... narrative dissonance or whatever the hell you called it?"

 

EVEN YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN THAT.  BESIDES MAYBE I HAVE SOMETHING ELSE PLANNED.

 

"No you don't."  Maggie stood and grabbed the biggest t-shirt she could find, putting it on and pulling it down so it almost covered her diaper.  Then she marched defiantly out the door and down the stairs.

 

"There you are," Anita called from the living room as Maggie stepped on a creaky floorboard.  "Get in here."

 

Maggie pulled at the hem of her t-shirt as she stepped in to the living room, trying to pull it down far enough to cover her diaper.  She knew that Anita knew she was wearing it, but it still felt weird to let her see it.  Anita was sitting on the sofa where she Maggie had left her.  She was leaning back and had a worried expression on her face.

 

"Come'ere."  Anita patted the cushion next to her and Maggie awkwardly made her way there, trying to keep her generously padded butt out of Anita's line of sight.

 

"Oh come on," she said, guessing why Maggie looked so awkward.  "Maybe I haven't seen them before, but it's not like I didn't know you used them."

 

Maggie sat down and Anita quickly wrapped the blanket around her and pulled her down on her lap.  Maggie curled her legs up until she lay just like Charlotte had lain earlier.

 

"Feeling better?" Anita asked as she slowly stroked Maggie's hair.

 

Maggie smiled and sighed.  "Mmm-hmm."

 

"You know, you really had me worried for a moment.  You have to stay warm."

 

"Yeah, you said," Maggie murmured.  "But I didn't feel cold or anything."

 

"Doesn't matter.  Promise me."

 

"OK, mom," Maggie said and rolled her eyes.

 

"I'm serious."

 

"OK, OK, I promise."

 

For a few minutes they didn't say anything.  Then Maggie's curiosity got the better of her.  "I can't even remember when I told you about the diapers," she said, trying to sound woozy.

 

"It was the night Susan dumped you."

 

"I really liked her," Maggie said.  "She gave great hugs."

 

"Judging from the way your face got buried between her breasts when she did, it's no wonder you think so."  Anita barely suppressed a chuckle.

 

"Hey, it's not my fault she was taller than me," Maggie protested weakly.  "Then what?"

 

"Well, you we're really drunk and you told me how she used to just hold you and make you feel safe.  And then you said that she had let you wear diapers when you really needed it."

 

"I said that?"  Maggie turned her head and looked up at Anita.

 

"Mmm-hmm.  I didn't ask when that would be though."

 

"I don't remember any of that," Maggie said truthfully.

 

"I'm not surprised.  I've never seen you that drunk.  Anyway, I never even noticed you wearing them before this fall.  I just figured it'd been a thing that the two of you had had."

 

"You saw them?"  Maggie was suddenly worried who else might know her secret.

 

Anita saw Maggie's expression.  "Don't worry," she said.  "The only reason I noticed was because your t-shirt slid up when you helped me stack some boxes at work."

 

SEE?  YOUR SECRET IS STILL SAFE.  MORE OR LESS.

 

No thanks to you.

 

"I never noticed any suspicious bulges, if that's what you're worried about," Anita continued.

 

"I didn't wear them in public before that."

 

"So what changed?"

 

"I was... going through some stuff."  Maggie whispered.  She was not going to tell Anita about Eliza.  Or Charlotte.  That'd just lead to far too many questions.

 

"Shh."  Anita kept stroking Maggie's hair.  "It's OK.  It's OK."

 

For several minutes, Maggie just lay there.  If she closed her eyes, it all felt so peaceful.  She just wanted to-

 

Shh.

 

She just wanted to-

 

Just shut up for now.  Please?

 

Eventually, Anita cleared her throat.  Maggie opened her eyes and rolled over on her back, looking up at Anita.

 

"So, does Christopher know?"

 

"No..."  Maggie said, "not exactly."

 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

 

Maggie felt a blush creep up her cheeks.  She began to fidget and looked away.

 

"Come on now," Anita said firmly.  "Don't make me pull a Maxine on you."

 

I knew it!!!

 

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

 

Says you.

 

OH STOP BEING SUCH A BABY AND JUST TELL HER.

 

Maggie sighed.

 

"You remember the poker game two weeks ago?"

 

"Oh yes."  Anita grinned.

 

"Well, Chris was being really childish and whiny about losing..."

 

"Don't tell me, Since he was behaving like a baby, you decided to treat him as one?"

 

"I know, I know: Bad fap-fic cliché."

 

"So, how did he take it?"  Anita reached down and gave Maggie's padded butt a little squeeze.  "Should I prepare Maxine for a little baby brother and sister?"

 

"What?!?  You wouldn't!" Maggie said in disbelief.  Having Anita know her secret felt weird enough.  Max would no doubt tease her about it.

 

"Nah, you're right.  He'd probably get jealous."  Anita chuckled.  "So, did Chris like it when you put him in a diaper?"

 

"I don't know," Maggie admitted.  "He was tied to the bed at the time, so he didn't have much choice."

 

"Oh my.  Taking a page out of my book, are we?"

 

Maggie shrugged and smiled sheepishly.  "At least I didn't put him in a dress."  That got a laugh from Anita.  "Of course, he could have used his safe-word, but he didn't."

 

"So, he liked being changed and everything?"

 

"No idea.  Chris might not hold his liquor well, but he has a bladder the size of a basketball.  He was still dry at lunchtime on Saturday and I decided not to push it."

 

"I imagine it's a bit of a threshold going from wearing diapers to actually using them."

 

"You could say that again."

 

"And do you like it?"

 

Maggie could feel that frustrating blush creep up her cheeks again.  "Yeah, I guess," she admitted.  "But it's not like I want to go full baby, you know, with pacifiers and cribs and all that," Maggie added quickly.

 

"Mmm-hmm."

 

For a little while Maggie just lay there, snuggled as close to Anita as she dared, not wanting to get so close that she'd be weirded out.

 

"So what do you want?" Anita finally asked, breaking the silence.

 

Maggie thought about that for a moment.  "I don't know.  I mean, sometimes I just want somebody to hold me, make me feel all safe and protected and cared for."

 

"Like with Susan?"

 

"Mmm-yeah."

 

"You know that's not me, right?  Even if I liked you like that."

 

Maggie sighed deeply.  "Yeah, I know."

 

"Now don't get me wrong.  I'm going to boss you around while you're sick since it's obvious you're not going to do what you need to do to get well quickly."

 

"Aawww, do I have to, mom?" Maggie complained half-heartedly.

 

"Oh, so that's the way you want to play it?"  Anita raised an eyebrow at Maggie.  "Have you had anything to eat?"

 

"I had a sandwich earlier."

 

"I meant real food."

 

"It was a really big sandwich," Maggie argued.

 

"You're going to go to bed and I'm going to bring you some soup.  And you're not leaving that bed until you're better?"

 

"Not for anything?"  Maggie smiled her biggest, wide-eyed and innocent smile up at Anita.

 

"Except that.  I'm not changing you."

 

"OK."  Maggie was a little disappointed, but not really surprised.  "Oh, but what if Chris comes by?"

 

"Then I'll march him right up to join you and I'll have two little babies to take care of."

 

Is she serious?

 

DO YOU WANT HER TO BE?  DO YOU REALLY WANT CHRISTOPHER TO COME BY AND END UP IN BED WITH YOU; BOTH OF YOU DIAPERED AND HELPLESS?

 

Maggie smiled as she contemplated it.

 

It sounds like you've decided that he'd go along with it.  Can I think about it?

 

JUST DON'T TAKE TOO LONG.  WHEN YOUR FEVER BREAKS, WE WON'T BE HAVING THESE LITTLE TALKS ANY MORE.

 

Oh, I wouldn't worry about that.  You just hold on to your pencil.

 

I'M NOT ACTUALLY USING PEN AND PA-

 

You know what I mean.

 

"OK mom, I'll be a good girl," Maggie said and slowly sat up.

 

 

***

 

 

Two days later, Maggie's fever broke and she woke up to a changed world. There was no secret basement filled with futuristic computers under the house, nor any memory of there ever being one. Even the feeling of Charlotte peeking over her shoulder that Maggie had had since she moved in, seemed to be gone. The complete silence in her bedroom that morning was such a contrast to the constant narration she'd had the last three days that Maggie felt like she was all alone in the house. And she was. Anita had been with her the night before, tucking her in and staying with her until she fell asleep. But she had either gone home or to work. It all felt so empty.