Lauren successfully escapes

As quietly as she could, Lauren eased the door open. She tensed as the door made a long, creaking noise. Thankfully, the tv was loud enough to cover the sound, and she managed to slip out of her apartment and shut the door behind her.

Letting out a long sigh, Lauren leaned against it for a moment. That had been too nerve-wracking! To have a strange teenager burst into her home and forcefully diaper her…she hoped that babysitter ended up in prison! Or an asylum. How on earth could anyone mistake her for a child young enough to need diapers?

Glancing down at the pink, frilly dress, Lauren grimaced. Talking to someone like this was going to be embarrassing, even if they were a stranger. She didn’t have a choice, obviously; she couldn’t call the police without her cellphone. But still, what would they think, seeing a grown woman dressed like a little girl? She normally went to such lengths to be seen as sexy and mature. To be seen as childish would be mortifying.

Gathering up her courage, Lauren exited her apartment building, thankfully not encountering anyone on the way out. She wanted to get a ways away before she approached someone for help, to minimize the chances of running into them again in the future. The last thing she wanted was for her neighbors to be laughing with each other about how short and flat Lauren really was.

When she was a few blocks away, she spotted a woman walking. “Excuse me!” she called, waving a hand. “Please, could you help me?”

The woman looked at her with concern. “Oh, goodness! What are you doing out here by yourself?”

“A woman broke into my apartment,” Lauren explained. “She thought I was a child! Please, you have to call the police!”

The woman studied her for a moment, before dramatically covering her mouth. “Oh no! How terrible! Were they an evil goblin, come to kidnap the princess?” she asked playfully.

“What?” Lauren asked, confused, before remembering how she was dressed. Frankie had said that she looked like a princess. “No, I’m serious! Please, call someone!”

“Alright, alright! Just relax, sweetheart,” the woman said soothingly, taking out her phone. “Do you think this woman is still there?”

“Yeah, she should be,” Lauren said, relaxing slightly. For a moment, she thought that this woman wasn’t taking her seriously. “She called herself Frankie.”

“Okay. Now, this is very important, sweetheart,” the woman said, crouching down to be at Lauren’s eye level. She winced, reminded of just how short she was. “Do you remember your home phone number?”

“Well, yes,” Lauren said slowly. “But…why?”

“I’m going to try and talk to this lady, and sort this all out. We don’t want to bother the police unless we have to!”

Lauren was about to retort that she was very willing to bother the police about this, when she paused to think. What if they wanted her to go down to the station dressed like this? What if they took her picture? She couldn’t let that happen! “Fine,” she said sullenly, rattling off her cell number.

“Good girl!” the woman said approvingly. “Now, you’ve probably have been told not to talk to strangers, so I better tell you my name is Denise. I left my phone inside. Why don’t you come in to wait while this gets fixed up? I just made cookies!”

Embarrassingly, Lauren’s stomach growled at the mention of cookies. She had been planning to eat after her bath. “Sure,” she said stiffly. She followed the woman inside, taking a seat at her dinner table.

“And what good are cookies without milk?” Denise asked, reaching into the refrigerator.

“I can get it myself,” Lauren said impatiently. She just wanted the woman to make the call!

“I dunno about that, honey,” she said, glancing at her cupboard. “The glasses are stored awfully high!”

After glaring at them for a moment, Lauren was **** to concede that she was too short to reach them herself, and consented to Denise getting one for her. After the milk was poured, and a small plate of cookies were placed in front of her, Lauren reached for one eagerly. Only to feel a cloth placed around her neck.

“Wha-what is this?” Lauren asked, lifting the cloth to look at it.

“Oh, just a little bib!” Denise said happily. “You wouldn’t want to get crumbs all over that beautiful dress of yours.”

A bib? Why would this woman think she was a messy enough eater to need a bib? “I don’t-” she began to say, before there was a ring at the door.

“Oh! Who could that be?” Denise asked, with a small frown. “Excuse me for just a second, dear.” She exited the kitchen before Lauren could respond.

Lauren sighed, before picking up a cookie. This wasn’t quite what she had planned, but at least this woman seemed friendly enough, if a little condescending. She supposed she couldn’t blame her; it would be hard to take anyone seriously dressed like this. It wasn’t as though Denise actually thought she was a child, after all. That would be ridiculous! And if she really could persuade Frankie to leave her apartment of her own free will, Lauren could just get back to relaxing peacefully. All she had to do was wait.