Lauren reluctantly decides to try Vanessa's suggestion

"Okay," she whispered finally, surprising even herself. The word felt like a surrender. "We can try it your way."

Vanessa's eyes widened, but then she smiled, giving Lauren's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Good girl. I think you'll find it's much less stressful this way. This might be just what your body needs."

The phrase "good girl" sent an odd flutter through Lauren's chest, embarrassment mixed with something else, something that felt disturbingly like satisfaction. She pushed the feeling away, unwilling to examine it too closely.

For the rest of the afternoon, they continued cleaning and organizing Lauren's room. True to her word, Lauren didn't ask to go to the bathroom the next time she felt the urge. Instead, she just paused in what she was doing, her face burning with shame as she deliberately wet her diaper while standing right next to Vanessa.

The sensation was strange. It was humiliating, deeply so, knowing that she was wetting her diaper without even the most minimal effort to avoid it. Her cheeks burned. Yet, she also found, it was oddly freeing. No mad dash to the bathroom, no anxiety about whether she'd make it in time. Just an intense need to go, then a release and immediate relief, followed by the warm, wet padding against her skin.

"Good job telling me," Vanessa said when Lauren quietly admitted what she'd done. "Let's get you changed."

The praise shouldn't have mattered. It was ridiculous, being complimented for something so infantile. Yet Lauren couldn't deny the small flutter she felt in her chest at Vanessa's approval.