Beth continued to struggle, her tiny form writhing in panic. She muttered incoherently, the words tumbling out in a frantic jumble. "This isn’t real, this isn’t real, I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming… Kevin, you have to fix this—now—now!"
Her voice was high-pitched, shrill, and filled with fear, making Kevin’s heart race even faster. She was completely out of control, her mind spiraling in a panic that Kevin had no idea how to stop. Every moment felt like it was slipping further away from him, the weight of his mistake crushing him. His mother, reduced to this trembling, confused little figure, was lost in her terror.
Kevin knew he couldn’t keep going like this. He couldn’t help her if she didn’t calm down. He had to find a way to stop her from squirming, from panicking even more. He remembered something—something he’d heard once. When people were panicking, the best thing to do was to calm them, to immobilize them, so they couldn’t hurt themselves.
He looked around the room, his mind working quickly, trying to think of what he could use to hold her still. His eyes landed on the small roll of tape on his desk, a pair of scissors nearby, and then—his gaze drifted to the straws in the cup on his shelf. It wasn’t much, but he could work with this.
Kevin, his hands shaking with determination, grabbed the scissors first. He carefully cut two pieces of straw into short segments, trying to measure them out in his head. Then he placed them on his desk, forming a cross shape. He could feel the weight of the situation pressing on him, but he focused, determined to solve the problem. One thing at a time.
Next, he grabbed the tape, ripping off several strips as he began to secure the ends of the straws. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to manage the next part, but he was determined to make it work.
Beth, still flailing helplessly, caught sight of what he was doing, but she couldn’t make sense of it. "Kevin! What are you doing?! Stop it, please! I don’t want this! Help me!" she cried out, her voice cracking with desperation.
But Kevin didn’t listen. He couldn’t. His hands were too focused on the task at hand, his mind too set on getting this done. He worked quickly but carefully, arranging the straws into a cross shape and gluing them together with the tape. The result was a makeshift structure, small enough to fit in his hands but sturdy enough to hold her still.
Once the cross was ready, Kevin carefully picked his mother up—her body still thrashing, but weaker now as she exhausted herself in her struggle. He positioned her carefully, her arms stretched wide and her legs slightly apart, just like he had seen in the superhero movies he liked to watch.
Beth’s eyes widened in shock as she realized what had happened. "What did you do to me?" she whimpered, her voice barely audible. "This isn’t me… this isn’t real…"
Kevin ignored her questions, his mind racing with relief. He had done it—he had found a way to hold her still. He gently placed her onto the desk in the cross-shaped structure, the tape binding her in place, preventing her from moving too much.
There was something oddly satisfying about it, the way she was held fast, her tiny form immobilized, and yet, there was also a sense of guilt deep in Kevin’s stomach. He had done what he had to do, hadn’t he? He couldn’t let her continue spiraling out of control.
Beth lay there, helpless, her tiny chest rising and falling with shaky breaths. Kevin studied her for a moment, then realized something. In all the chaos, he hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. His mother, now no larger than a doll, was completely exposed, her body bare. Her delicate features were softened by her small size, and Kevin, in an odd way, felt a strange mixture of pride and awkwardness.
She looked so... cute in her current state, he thought, but the feeling was fleeting. There was no time to dwell on it. He had to keep his focus. He had fixed the situation, at least for now. His mother was safe, and he was the one who had done it.
With a sense of satisfaction, Kevin picked up the tape dispenser again and added a little more security to her position. He could now move her around as he wanted, keeping her safe in the structure he had created.
He felt a momentary sense of control—something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
As he sat back, feeling proud of his work, Kevin tried to push the guilt out of his mind. He had solved the problem. But there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his mind: What now?
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