Secrets in A Small Town

Brooke wakes up suddenly in the dead of the night. She feels her heart racing, though she isn't sure why. When her speeding mind finally catches up with her, she realizes she is laying in a puddle. She looks around the mostly dark room, somewhat expecting one of her friends to be over in a corner laughing. There is not, though. She looks over to Cade, who is still sleeping, head rested on the edge of her pillow. "Cade." she says gently. "Cade." she nudges him. Cade starts to roll over, stretching. Suddenly he sits straight up. Even though the room is only barely lit, by the light seeping in from the Chirstmas tree lights outside the window, she can already see the look of horror spreading across his face. He looks down, then over to Brooke. Brooke turns on the bedside lamp. She can see his chest rising and falling with each deep breath. She waits for him to talk, still not processing what has happened. "Are you okay?" she finally asks after a long pause. Cade still doesn't answer. He just nods his chin to his chest. She wasn't supposed to know about this. No one is supposed to know. Cade slides his hand to his crotch, gently feeling around it. Hoping he will wake up and realize this is just a terrible nightmare and he is really just at home in his own bed. He can feel the warmth all too real, though. Then he starts crying. This can't be happening. "Cade." Brooke slides her hand up and down his back. "It, it's okay. We can clean it up." she says, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. Cade is still crying, face pressed into his hands. She leans over to him, wraps her arms around his shaking body. She holds him like that for a second. Then gets out of the bed, turning on the lights. It is only then she gets the full picture of what has happened. Her comforter is wet. Mostly where Cade is laying. She can see a full wet outline of his boxer briefs around his crotch. She can see it is all the way up his back. "I gotta go." he jumps up suddenly, trying to hurry out of the room. Brooke stands in the doorway, stopping him. Cade starts to panic trying to push past her. Then he falls to the ground. Brooke, unsure what to do, sits down next to him, wide eyed. And she waits. And waits. And waits. 20 minutes must go by before Cade finally lifts his face from his hands. He looks over to Brooke, who he is surprised to see isn't angry, but concerned. "I-I'm so sorry." he sputters out. "Cade, do you wanna talk to me?" Cade feels his stomach crawl into his throat. He shakes his head, and pulls his knees to his chest. "It was just an accident, we can clean it up." she has to admit, it sounds pretty weird saying that to a 23 year old guy and not a toddler. Cade still doesn't respond. She gets up and walks over to the bed. It really wasn't that much. She pulls the comforter back. It wasn't even enough to get the mattress wet. They had fallen asleep while watching a movie. She looks over at the clock, 1:36, blaring bright red. She pulls the sheets off, bundling the comforter up. She walks out, past Cade, who is still bunched up on the floor. She throws the entire wad in the wash and presses start. She stops in the hallway outside the bedroom, peering in. Cade hasn't moved. She can see dried tear streaks on his face, but he is silent. She steps in and offers out her hand. To her surprise, he takes it, pulling himself up. She hugs him. She can feel his wet jeans against her skin tight leggings.He relaxes a little, enough to let himself fall weakly into her arms. "It's okay." she whispers. Cade takes a deep breath. Cade breaks free from her arms and sits on the bare mattress. She tags along behind him. "Is-Is this why you never wanted to sleep with me?" she says, thinking back to all the late nights when Cade would make any excuse to leave, even when the clock is pushing 3 am. Sure, they have slept together, but not actually slept together. She hadn't thought too much about it. Cade looks her up and down and sighs. "It's been forever." his voice cracks. "I went to so many doctors, specialists. Nothing ever worked. They all said I would outgrow it." he huffs out a disbelieving laugh. Brooke stays quiet. Waiting to see if Cade is going to talk anymore. He doesn't. "I'm not going to judge you, I just want you to tell me." she tries. Cade's eyes fall shut. "I don't know what to tell you. I am 23 and I still pee my pants." tears start falling from his face again. "Every night?" Cade nods. "Every night." he reiterates. So many things fall into place in that moment for Brooke. "Cade..." she says, draping an arm over his shoulder. Not knowing what to say. He shakes his head again. "It happens in the day sometimes, too." he says, finally laying all his cards on the table. He figures he has nothing to lose at this point. Brooke had noticed Cade used the bathroom a lot. She never noted it, though. She had chalked it up to having a small bladder, or drinking a lot. He would use the bathroom 3 or 4 times over the course of a couple hours, no matter where they were. Neither of them say anything for a long few minutes. Brooke takes his hand and squeezes his hand. "Well, you don't need to hide this from me, okay? I am here, I want to help. I want you to be comfortable." Cade smiles. "Really?" "Of course. I love you."