Chapter 6: First Day

I shot up out of the bed before I was even fully awake, my heart hammering in my chest. For a second I didn't know where I was—then I looked down, saw the soaked sheets, and my stomach dropped straight through the floor.

My first night here.
My first night.
And I already wet the bed.

I stood there frozen, trying to decide if I should run to Jenny and tell her or try to hide it and pray no one found out. I could hear voices and footsteps out in the hallway—everyone getting ready for school, talking, moving around. When I glanced at the alarm clock, it was already morning. Too late to pretend I was asleep.

Footsteps started coming toward my room.

Panic shot through me. I yanked the blanket up and covered the huge wet spot, then spun around just as Scott knocked and poked his head inside.

"Good morning, bud," he said.

"Good morning," I answered, trying to act normal. I kept my soaked crotch turned toward the bed and pretended I was stretching or rubbing my eyes so he wouldn't come any closer.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Good," I said quickly.

"Alright, well—we're not doing school today," Scott told me. "We gotta get you and your sister enrolled first. It'll take some time, so you'll probably start the week after next."

"Oh... ok." That actually didn't sound bad at all. But the comfort lasted only a second before the cold, clingy feeling of my pajamas snapped me back to reality.

"Go ahead and get dressed and come on down for breakfast," he said. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Okay, thanks," I replied, trying not to sound weird or suspicious.

As soon as he left, I whipped off the wet pajamas, threw on a new outfit, and started thinking fast. I couldn't let anyone see the sheet—not if I wanted even a chance at surviving this place without being labeled a baby.

In the upstairs bathroom, I noticed a stack of towels. I grabbed one, hurried back to my room, pressed the towel down hard over the soaked spot, and held it there. It wasn't perfect, but it helped. I pulled the blankets tight over everything until it looked normal enough.

Satisfied enough not to freak out, I went downstairs.

Jenny greeted me with a smile. "Good morning, kiddo. Oatmeal or cereal?"

"Cereal, please."

Everyone ate, the girls rushed out to catch the bus, Scott headed to work, and then it was just me, my siblings, Jonny, and Jenny. The whole day was calm—TV, lunch, chores, talking about room decorations. I even played the Wii with Brianna later and actually had fun. She was cute, nicer than she looked, and I found myself relaxing a little.

By dinner I almost forgot about the morning. Pizza, laughing, talking about our day—it felt like being part of a real family. Afterward we watched a movie, and Jonny curled up on Jenny like a little koala. It was... nice.

Then Jenny told us to get pajamas on before starting the next movie. I ran upstairs to grab my Batman PJs, opened the bedroom door—

—and froze.

The bed was different.

The blanket.
The sheet.
All changed.

The towel was gone.

My whole body went cold. Jenny had seen it. She had to have. She must've cleaned it while I'd been in the basement with Brianna.

I stood there motionless for a long minute, then quietly got dressed and headed downstairs, hoping—praying—she was just going to ignore it.

All the girls were already on the couch. Jenny called Josie and Jonny over to get their nighttime underwear on.

Then:

"Hey Jake? Can you come here for a second?"

My heart dropped. That was it. She knew.

I got up, trying to keep my face neutral. "Yeah... sure."

I followed her and Josie up the stairs. She helped Josie into a pull-up, laid Jonny in his bed, and then looked at me and motioned toward her room.

I walked in, the door closed behind us, and I thought:

This is it. She's going to bring up the bed.