Dave, 21, male

The kitchen smelled faintly of toast and coffee. Dave, 21 years old, sat at the table in a faded t-shirt, spooning cereal into his mouth. Across from him, his mother scrolled through her tablet, robe neatly tied, sipping coffee with calm composure. When she shifted in her chair, there was a soft padded squish, but nothing in her expression changed. It was simply part of life.

In the playpen by the counter, Emily 25, his oldest sister sat on her padded bottom in a pastel onesie that strained slightly at the snaps. A wet bulge sagged between her thighs, swollen and discolored, the fabric around it damp with drool where she’d been chewing her rattle. She cooed at nothing in particular, a grown woman’s frame folded into the posture of a toddler. The seat of her diaper squished each time she wiggled, swollen to the point that it bowed her legs apart.

Dave glanced at her, but only for a moment. She was just Emily.

The stairs creaked. Sophie, 20, padded in, hoodie loose, shorts riding low on her hips. She rubbed her eyes as she went straight to the fridge.

“You look rough, hon,” Mom said without glancing up.

Sophie poured juice, her shoulders hunched. “Didn’t sleep good, that’s all.”

Dave caught it immediately: the stiffness in her movements, the way her hand lingered just a moment too long on the glass, the flicker of her eyes toward the laundry basket in the hall. She didn’t need to say what had woken her. He’d already heard the whisper of sheets being stripped at dawn.

“You’ll get through it,” Mom said gently, turning a page on her tablet. “It’s normal. Just keep track of how often it happens.”

Emily squealed suddenly, flopping onto her back and kicking her swollen diapered bottom against the playpen floor. A wet squish filled the air as she wriggled, grinning through drool, her rattle clattering beside her.

Sophie sat down opposite Dave with her juice, tugging her hoodie lower across her lap. She muttered, “I’m fine,” but her cheeks tightened just a fraction.

Dave didn’t push. He just shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth, though his eyes drifted toward her sleeve tugging nervously at her hoodie hem.