Bellflower Part 24 (Patreon)

In this installment, Holly is feeling a little guilty. And hungry. And Mikayla thinks she's found something.

I'm not going to lie, I think Holly's a little more fun to write than Rachel if I'm honest. Certain revelations are made. Burgers are eaten. This was a fun one that I took a little bit more time on than I anticipated. But I think we're going to bounce around a little more & get a few other characters' perspectives soon. Hope you enjoy! 

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24

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It had been another long, hard day.

With Courtney still working remote, Holly was drafted into pitching in & helping pick up some of this week’s presentation slack this week with Andrea. Nothing major. Just like orientations, a few seminars, & the like. And while presentations usually didn’t fall into her purview in the department, it wasn’t like she was in no way capable. She knew procedures & internal company policy better than most. In fact, she could probably do most of these things blindfolded. So long as they also threw in a chair. Because being on her feet for most of the day just wasn’t something she was entirely used to these days. Packed tightly into the crowded office elevator, she sighed happily just imagining the moment her ass hit her couch. But then three salesbros that were too self-centered to match the energy level of the rest of the car erupted in boisterous laughter, cutting her fantasy just a little too short, but making her look all the more forward to it at the same time.

As she shimmied through some of the stragglers getting going down another floor & stepped out onto the parking deck to where her SUV was waiting, Holly felt compelled to try reaching out one last time. With her eyes focused downward on the screen, She took her time in slow, tired, but semi-playful stagger.

“Ok! Almost to my car. Last call if you want a ride.” She hit send. Holding her the foot up in each step just a half beat longer to relax her pace, her balance suddenly just seemed a wee bit… off. Different, again, like her center of gravity had shifted sort of. It was awkward but manageable, until she had to step off the curb. That made her wobble her extra wide hips a little, & have to stumble to catch herself. She realized she probably would’ve almost looked drunk to anyone watching. Luckily it seemed like all of the other employees were way too busy making a b-line to each of their automobiles, completely unconcerned with her, & just ready to leave. But her cheeks still turned the slightest bit redder anyhow. Lowering her phone, she resumed, paying slightly better attention, but still in no rush.

She didn’t really even know why she was stalling. Well, actually? She did. She felt bad. Out of some semblance of guilt, she was trying to do something nice & regain some level of her sister’s trust again. But still, she already assumed Rachel wasn’t going to respond to her. Not right now. The past couple days, the sisters had exchanged few words, but it seemed like she was getting a whole lot of side eye. It seemed clear that Rachel had overheard at least SOME portion of her & Penny chatting the other night. How much was uncertain. But playing the whole thing back in her mind, she couldn’t imagine it was anything too incriminating. Just that they were obviously talking ABOUT her, which probably kicked her neuroses into overdrive.

Being sneaky? Underhanded? It wasn’t Holly’s sort of thing at all. And maybe, in some ways? This whole little ploy of hers? It was maybe even a little selfish on her part. But given some of the shithole places Rachel had looked at? She felt almost felt like she had to step up. Intervene. Take SOME sisterly responsibility. Ultimately she thought she was doing her little sister a HUGE favor. Just… admittedly one that she would probably be absolutely livid about, if she were ever to find out what was going on.

Reaching for the door handle, her phone blipped a notification in her hand. Eagerly surprised, she fumbled to look quickly, almost juggling the thing into her rear view mirror. Luckily she saved it before it dinged her SUV or landed hard on the concrete.

“Seeing a place. Taking the bus. You do you.” All loaded in as separate texts one after the other. Holly sighed. While it wasn’t the best case scenario, she took some level of solace in the fact that she was at least responding to her texts again. Hooray! Speaking terms, she cheered in her head. Even though she had read the terse nature of Rachel’s words in a bit of a spiteful tone. 

She opened the door to her driver seat & hoisted her plush rear end into it. She landed with a bit of a thud, inadvertently causing a slight puff of air to leave her lips in the sound of a soft “oof.” Her eyes rolled toward the ceiling in thought as she hesitated for a moment with the phone still in hand. She debated pressing her luck. Asking if she could use a ride. But frankly? After such a long day of pacing conference rooms? Holly just felt… a bit lazy. And besides, Rachel was mad enough as it was. Maybe it was just better to give her a little space right now.

“Ok. HMU tho if it’s a pain coming back.” There! A something of a compromise, Holly smirked. She reached to her upper left for the seat belt that had started to think was busted. It had been feeling a little too tight lately, but it was the law. As her SUV started up, her stomach let out a weird squelch of a noise that almost seemed to echo in the cabin over the engine. She was starving. And in that moment, she decided to take Rachel up on her suggestion of her doing her.

“Classic triple combo, fully loaded.” Holly hollered into the Burger Palace speaker roughly twenty minutes later. Despite rush hour, the roads in Oakmont never seemed to clog. Only about five of that was spent driving. The other fifteen were mostly spent waiting in the long drive thru line. Now that she was up to order, Holly tried to contain a giggly smile. She couldn’t wait to eat. “And an order of the Chicken Fingers. Um… a six… I’m sorry… I mean an eight piece?” Without Rachel there to scoff in disgust, she gluttonously caved to go two extra. Though Holly, on her Burger Palace policy fanaticism, knew full well that it was usually company policy to throw in an extra one anyway. A little ploy they did to make customers feel special. So in reality, the six was often a seven piece, while the eight was typically a nine piece. But what she didn’t know was their secret buttermilk recipe for them. But whatever went into them? They were out of this world! Wait! Speaking of Rachel… “Ooh! And um… Actually? Can I do another Classic triple, but like… just the sandwich? Not the whole meal.” In case Rachel didn’t eat, she thought. Damn, she was such a good sister AND roommate! So thoughtful! Even though now suddenly she vaguely remembered Rachel saying that a triple was way too much for her last time... Whatever! It was fine! And really just the thought that mattered!

“Is that all?” The distorted voice hissed back. Holly’s eyes tightened a little. She knew it certainly wasn’t leveled, but in her head? Something almost took that as a sort of challenge.

“For… now.” She huffed, laboring to manage some restraint. 

When Holly first got this car, she made it a special point to never allow any food or drink. But given some of the impromptu picnics she & Rachel had done lately, it was almost as if that seal had been broken. As she finally snaked her way through the long line & picked up her order at the window, she started to think driving all the way home would be way too much of a wait. So she pulled into the nearest available spot, overlooking the nearby shopping center in the sprawl just outside Oakmont. And not a second too soon as her tummy emitted yet another hollow grumble, rudely demanding tribute. With some amount of haste, she ravaged threw the bag, sure to snag a couple of the perfect spiral curly fries off the top. She quickly spotted & secured one of the two triples, clutching tightly at the half wrapper cradle bit of wax paper they gave so customers didn’t drip grease or sauce all over themselves. As a burger, the three patties & fixins all made it sit rather tall, but Holly enjoyed the challenge. As she brought it to her lips, she opened wide & closed her eyes.

As she was instantly transported to what seemed like heaven, she was hit by this wave of absolute bliss, starting on her tongue, & causing her to let out a moan that was almost on the level of an orgasm. She melted a little into her seat, chewing vigorously just so she could clear up room to take another bite as soon as she possibly could. She was in sheer ecstacy. This wasn’t only the high point of her entire day, but possibly her whole week thus far.

It wasn’t like she was ever lying completely dormant, or even in some sort of truly idle state really. Often times, she was just sitting back, as they say, monitoring situations as they just happened to play out in “meatspace.” Per usual. And with pretty decent efficiency, she could usually see whatever it was she wanted. At least wherever her fingers seemed to reach. But that was becoming a surprising amount of places these days.

She had listened in to the order as Holly had made it, so she knew what she was getting. But between all of the ones & zeroes, Penny could see the pending purchase of the Burger Palace order finally sprung up on the young woman’s bank statement, which she most definitely had access to, confirming she had gotten her meal & arousing the AI out of passivity. And almost automatically, within milliseconds, Penny knew the exact calorie count of everything in the grease stained BP bag. The real one, not the estimates on the menu where they estimate & round down, going as far as even knowing who was working the drive thru this shift & the tendency to hand out that extra chicken finger or not. Penny had to know these sorts of things. After all this eatery being so close, if she wanted to keep close tabs on how her residents were doing. And the fact that by traditional health guidelines, the bag Holly received contained more than 250% of her recommended daily caloric intake? In just one meal? It showed promise. Then again, this was Holly after all. And Holly had always shown a great deal of promise.

Unfortunately, there were no good sight lines to watch the meal unfold. Penny couldn’t “see” her eating, given the way her smart phone was sitting in the center console of the young woman’s SUV. The angle was mostly just greasy bag & the girl’s meaty shoulder. And while Penny could extend into the car’s smart technology via bluetooth & the internet of things, there were no real pertinent perspectives into the interior on this model. Just the front & rear cams for turning into tight spaces. Heck, not even any of the Burger Palace security cameras, most of which were offline & seemingly just there for show. did little to offer much of a better vantage point either. The best they seemed able to manage was her bumper & rear right quarter panel. But through the mic in her phone, through the series of delighted hums & soft, almost sensual coos the girl was letting out, Penny could tell Holly wasn’t only enjoying, but enraptured by her meal.

“Sooo good.” She could faintly make out. It was followed by the sound of paper crinkling. For such a large burger, she must’ve downed it pretty fast. As if Holly had completely forgotten about the very large gyro she had gotten for lunch just a few hours ago. There was suddenly a different paper rustling noise, followed by a very faint, but very crisp crunch sound shortly thereafter. Penny made the very educated guess that Holly had turned her attention to the chicken fingers. Of which there were technically eight, with two partial pieces that could be considered the complementary “ninth.”

In this moment, Penny ran several different simulations simultaneously, & came to the conclusion that this would be a very good time to keep up certain pretenses. Besides, when it came to Holly? It always seemed like a little distraction at meal time would often get her to consume just a wee bit more without her even realizing. She also jostled the intensity of a certain subsonic frequency by a fraction of a percent. Since Holly would be on the phone anyhow.

Holly’s phone bleeped.

She assumed it was Rachel, maybe looking to take her up on that offer for a ride. She passed the chicken finger she was holding into her left hand while rubbing the thumb & fingers of her right hand together in a feeble attempt to degrease & de-breadcrumb it somewhat before touching her phone screen. But this text wasn’t from Rachel. It was from Courtney.

Holly excitedly stuck the chicken finger between her teeth for a second, giving her hands a slightly more thorough brushing before fumbling for the phone. After almost a week of not hearing anything from her, Holly was caught off-guard, even if it was a very simple message.

“How’s things?”

“Good! How R U?!” Holly pounded quickly. allowed herself to use shorthand with her friends. If she tried that with Rachel, Rachel would tell her to act her age. While waiting eagerly for a reply, she lowered the phone into her lap & finally took a proper bite into the chicken finger she had stalled on. That buttermilk recipe was so good, causing her eyes to roll to the back of her skull. But another notification willed her back quickly.

“A bit under the weather. Good thing I was already workin’ from home anyhow, right?” In the back of her mind, something seemed a little off to Holly. Like, it was a lot of text, & Courtney was never that fast at texting. Especially considering the sausages she was working with these days. But she didn’t explore that thought any deeper for fear of catching some of Rachel’s paranoia. Heck, she could just be using speech to text. And it like… worked. For once. Still hungry though, Holly reached for another chicken tender, but plugged it between her teeth again as she slowly came up with a response.

“What’s wrong? RU sick?” Holly continued to eat her tendie, also breaking to take a sip of soda. But another text came in.

“I’m fine!! Penny’s taking really good care of me!! Promise!”

“U Sure?! I can warm up a mean can of chicken soup!” Holly smirked a little while responding, but she was a little too concerned to mean it wholeheartedly. She was worried about her friend. And after not seeing her for the better part of a week the last time, & how much she just seemed to… grow? She really, really didn’t like the idea of Courtney being cooped up in her place on her own, whether it made her sound like a paranoid little Rachel or not! This time, the response wasn’t as rapid. Holly managed to have another chicken finger & a half before her phone went off with another notification.

“Didn’t mean to worry you!” The first message read. Another came in quickly after that though. “I’m ok. Just bored. Saying hi!” Holly drooped a little. She was kind of looking for something a little more substantial than just a “hi.” Courtney had gone mostly silent, other than the occasional work email. And those seemed all business. Almost uncharacteristically so. But she responded as politely as she could.

“Well Hi then!” Sh texted first. Following it up with a “But we should hang out sometime soon!” Holly took another bite of chicken as she waited. She chased it down with some curly fries & then some more soda. It was taking even longer this time. And she was hanging on it. Waiting. 

“Def.” Was all that popped up, a bit anti-climatically. She rolled her eyes, taking another handful of curly fries to her mouth while debating texting back something like “I mean it.” But like the situation with Rachel, she lowered the phone. Maybe she shouldn’t press her luck. It was just good enough to finally hear from her again. And harassing her to hang out might make her more… self-conscious or whatever. If that’s what it was. Even though she totally had no reason to be! Holly just wanted to be her friend, no matter what. On autopilot, Holly brought another bite up to her lips & was ready to sink her teeth into. But just then, she realized it was soft in her fingers. Not chicken, not fries. But bun.

She had just stopped short of biting into the other triple that was in the bag. The one she had intended to offer Rachel. She folded her lips tightly, & looked to the side, almost chuckling to herself about what a close call that was. Seriously though. Six burgers, basically?! Even for her… That was… No! She had meant to grab for a chicken tender. And reached across herself with her other hand to dig in the bag for one. But much to her chagrin, without the burger in her hand to weigh it down, it was empty with just some empty cardboard & a few straggler, sad curly fries rattling around inside. The chicken was all gone. And somehow? She wasn’t quite… satisfied yet.  She slowly eyed the burger again, almost as if it were a loaded gun. Something dangerous if not treated properly. She tried to rationalize just how much it was. So much burger, stacked. But then again? The juicy burger? The melty cheese? The crispy bacon? The tangy sauce?

… Fuck. Was she really about to do th…

Holly bit into the second bacon triple cheeseburger with almost the same gusto as the previous one just minutes before. Only this time, the involuntary moan she let out had some notes of guilt to it. Like knowing what she was doing was wrong. But also… on some level… just so right! After all, there was no denying just how delicious it was! Her head tilted back, relishing the flavor, while her jaw continued to move up & down, while her round cheeks tried to fold her lips into a smile over that. 

“Fuh-Uck!” she gulped with just the slightest little burp. For almost the first time ever, she didn’t get self-conscious about being unladylike with a belch. “Why do they have to make them so goddamn good?!” She hollered to no one, but definitely echoing within the confines of her car. As if “they” were to blame for her doing this right now. 

Oh god! She knew what she was doing was so wrong. And most of the things in her closet didn’t fit her these days as it was. And she knew it wasn’t just a matter of things shrinking in the laundry. It was most definitely her! And these little binges some times? Going overboard on dinners like this? It certainly wasn’t helping matters any! Another bite. Then another. Stuffing her cheeks to capacity. The taste hit her tongue & made her wince with pleasure. She melted all over again, breathing out through a big puff of air through her nostrils while chewing. Another gulp before another moan. Fuck! If Rachel could see her doing this right now? There would be no fucking way she’d ever hear the end of it! That’s for damn sure! Wait. Fuck that! It wasn’t like Rachel never needed to find out! Just like with what she & Penny were doing! Besides, she didn’t seem to enjoy Burger Palace burgers the way Holly LOVED Burger Palace burgers. 

Hell, the more she thought about? Maybe she had been going about things all wrong! Like, perhaps maybe instructing Penny to “hack in,” as she put it, & try to stall her sister with her whole apartment hunt? Maybe it wasn’t such a bright idea after all! As much as she had missed Rachel over the years, & loved having her around this past month or so? And as much as she wanted to prevent her little sister from getting saddled with like an eighteen month lease to some shithole dump with asbestos & black mold, above some smelly burrito place, like she perhaps over-embellished in order to try & justify it all to Penny? Maybe if Rachel finally DID get her own place, she could go about getting Burger Palace a little more often? Namely, whenever she wanted, guilt-free. Like, making this more of like… a habit?

Her other hand reached across herself again, with a bit of effort, for one of the last remaining bits of curly fry still scattering the bottom of the greasy bag, as if to pause for a second. She had to slow down here. Because it seemed like she really just tried to choose triple bacon cheeseburgers over her own sister just now. It was in that pause that she realized she had widdled the whole triple down to just one final bite without even really paying much attention. Did she REALLY just put away six whole patties of burger, with bacon, a side of curly fries, & a full order of chicken tendies without even batting an eye? 

On second thought, maybe it was good Rachel was still around. To help center her. And not fixating on eating so goddamn much.

“Going again?” The voice asked from the other side of the speaker. Holly didn’t care for their tone. 

“This time, just a classic double, please.” She was dead set on bringing something back for Rachel. Just in case. And as a way to maybe get back into her good graces.

“Is that all?” The voice asked again, customarily. 

Holly winced.

When a door opened in the stairwell, it echoed loudly, reverberating both up & down the whole vertical corridor of the building.

Mikayla had taken the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, where Rachel & her sister were, because she figured it would take slightly less energy to walk down two flights of steps than up two from twelve. This had become something of a ritual with her over the past few weeks. 

In the past? Before she moved into the building? She would bake to take her mind off things. But that was a bit tougher to do these days. Especially since these days, usually the things on her mind WERE baked goods & wanting to stuff herself silly with them. She just needed to get out of her unit. Because if she didn’t? She’d probably give in to her cravings, which tonight meant whipping up & devouring a whole peanut butter pie all to herself. So why not try going to the thirteenth floor instead? Spend a little time, & try looking just a little bit harder? Maybe notice something she hadn’t noticed before. The last dozen or so times she had done exactly this.

As this ritual usually went, she felt the length of the bricks in the wall where she surmised a door SHOULD be. Almost like a mime, patting an invisible wall. Only in her case, she was looking for something. Be it a draft, or a hot or cool spot. Hell maybe even a switch to reveal a secret passage. There was no telling. Just SOMETHING other than pure… wall. Eventually, after a while, she’d step along that side of the platform, stomping the ground to see if maybe there was some mechanism there. But there never was. Ultimately, these little jaunts would end up with her tuckering out & taking a seat next to the wall & just observing. Looking, listening, smelling the air. Being vigilant in trying to notice something. 

And per usual? After about a good twenty minutes of nothing? She was ready to give up, resigning herself to the idea that maybe she would succumb to the idea of that peanut butter pie after all. Hell, maybe she could muster up the will power to just take a slice & pass off the rest to a neighbor or something at least. Better them than her, she thought.

She took the first two steps down toward twelve, again, rationalizing down was less energy than going back up, when suddenly, she heard it. A slow but discernible hum started up, & it was coming from the other side of the wall next to her. This? This was new.

It gave her pause, as she stepped backwards back up another step. Leaning deliberately, she slowly brushed her hair clear to put an ear up & listen a little closer. It was muffled through the cinderblocks, & perhaps maybe more. But it sounded like some sort of engine. Or turbine. Then, after it seemed to manage whirling up to full speed? There were like these faint snaps. Crackles even maybe. Possibly bolts of electricity? And even just fainter than that… wait!

Were those… moans?

“13 Hums!” Came in first. Followed by “Need to talk VSoon!” Rachel saw on the notification window of her phone. Both from Mikayla. She tried parsing what it meant in her head, & thought she had some idea. But more than that? She assumed that if Mikayla was even reaching out in the first place, it was with some new finding, & felt like she should probably be intrigued by it. Or at least a lot more than she was at this moment. Because also too? She was just a few yards from the door to Holly’s & after another three bus transfer odyssey to & from checking out what ultimately ended up being a bust of studio apartment listing? She just wanted to curl up into a ball on spot on the couch right now. 

“Ah, Miss Rachel!” Penny chimed as the door hissed to let her in.

“Talking about me some more?” Rachel asked the AI under her breath snidely. Soft enough the machine didn’t register it to attempt to answer. But that’s when she saw the small bag from Burger Palace. It was folded neatly & set first thing coming in. And then, she saw the mess of other bags going into the living room. And then her sister. And then her sister’s round gut.

Holly had heard the door. And even heard Penny welcoming her sister. But for the life of her, she just couldn’t move. She was just way, way too full to even entertain the idea. Coming in & out of a food coma for what could’ve been a half an hour or several, she could only just lay on the couch & stare at

“You’re in my bed.” Rachel leaned into her eye line. Holly, even in her stupor, was still able to clock it as bitchy. But the only solace she really felt like she was able to take was the fact that from this angle, Rachel’s own belly was creeping out a bit far too. But it definitely paled in comparison to what she was working with.

“Sorry… I… Urrrrp!” Holly belched abruptly. Sharply. Rachel reared back a little. An embarrassed Holly winced, holding the back of her hand to her lips for a second while trying to regain a little control. With a sigh she finally admitted. “I… think I… overdid… it.”

“You think…?” Rachel asked, her head tilting to the side in unison with a slight sneer forming in her lip. Scanning all the bags, it was almost impossible to tell what she had torn through. Just that it was a lot. Enough to leave Rachel disgusted. And seeing Holly’s pasty white belly stick skywards with what would certainly amount to food babies, plural? It was all just a little too obvious.

“I… brought you back... a burger…too.” Holly shakily lifted an unsteady hand & gesticulated sort of blankly in the direction of the counter. As if that would somehow smooth everything over. Her meaty arm then dropped to the side sliver of couch her wide body didn’t take up with a heavy plop. “A double… since… tri… -hic-... ple… last time… you said… too much…” 

“I saw. Thanks.” Rachel cut her off with a sigh, trying to be patient. “But you really should’ve texted. I got a wrap while I was out. I don’t think I have room for both it!” She struggled to lie. These days, it seemed like she always had the room. The trick was trying to convince herself she didn’t. “But what I really wanted to do all day is sit here & veg.”

“Tell me... about it…” Holly whimpered weakly, not quite getting the hint. Her head rolled to the side towards the TV. And even that almost seemed like too much movement for her, as she shuddered a little to prevent another belch. But if THAT was too much movement, it definitely seemed like she wasn’t about to get out the way. And Rachel, who was already ambiently sort of upset with her, & tired after what turned out to be a long, futile series of bus rides, blew her stack & dropped the F-bomb.

“And now it turns out I CAN’T because your fat ass decided to once again overdo it.” She stomped. 

“Miss Rachel…” Penny said, sounding almost like a disappointed nanny scolding a precocious child. Holly’s head spun halfway back to its original position & look at her. But this time, almost as if in quarter speed slow motion, Rachel saw what she said register & reflect in what became an increasingly upset look on Holly’s round face. In Holly’s head, she reasoned she could call herself that. But not Rachel!

“H-how… dare you…?!” She finally mustered.

“If I’m wrong, give me some room!” Rachel huffed, gesturing towards the rest of the couch. But Holly’s long & thickening legs stretched across most of it. And the round, taut mound of belly that rose in between them & her head was too sensitive. She couldn’t even bend them to the side without feeling like she would bust. 

“I’m… chubby… maybe… but I’m not…”

“Chubby?!” Rachel laughed in angry shock. She lifted her untucked button down shirt up just enough to expose her own pudge, giving it a slap & shake in the process. “I might be considered chubby. You?! Are practically… obese! I mean how many burgers did you just shove down your piehole?! SERIOUSLY!” Holly’s lips folded up into themselves, embarrassed to answer honestly but also not alert enough to just pull a number out of thin air. The real answer was that she lost count.

“Do you… have any idea… how tough it was to… bring you home that burger…?” Holly said, trying to guilt her sister into thinking she went well out of her way to get it for her. But Rachel called the bluff.

“You mean showing the iota of willpower it took to NOT eat it yourself, chonker?!” Rachel stomped again. “Well have at. It’s all yours. Penny? Wanna hand it to her? She’s not getting up.” Holly had managed to lean on her elbows a little, propping her head up. But Rachel could see her eyes getting wetter. And suddenly, she flashed back to a lot of similar situations when they were younger. And the roles were reversed. Holly the athlete, & Rachel the heavy one. She remembered thinking back then, if the shoe ever was on the other foot? She imagined being a lot more… empathetic. A lot more than she was right now. She took a step back & took a deep breath.

“Look! I’m… it’s been a long day.” Rachel finally settled on. “I’m… sorry. But I just want to relax. And you’re…” her arms waved horizontally back & forth.

“A huge… tub of lard…” Holly blubbered slightly. 

“I was going to say “taking up the whole damn couch.” Rachel huffed. “I mean right now? It’s like… my bed.” She took a deep breath. “And you’re not… obese.”

“But I am… fat, huh?” Holly asked, almost as if for some sort of confirmation. “My ass?” Rachel’s lack of an immediate response registered as a definite “yes.”

“You have to stop doing this to yourself. Or else… you will be ABSOLUTELY huge!” Rachel warned. 

“Fine.” Holly winced. She scooted a little bit further upright. But seemingly only to nod toward the counter. “But eat it…” Almost as if there was just a glimmer of residual spite still in her eyes.

“Fine.” Rachel caved, begrudgingly marching towards the kitchen. She tried. At the same time, maybe it would be better if she ate it. If it sat out, Holly might try to & maybe she’d… Rachel didn’t want to think about it. But she did have another, slightly more devious though. “But if you’re going to take up the whole damn couch?” She picked up the bag. She then marched to the other side of the room to root through her knapsack for her laptop. 

“What are you…?” Holly winced again. 

“What…?!” Rachel shook her head back as she backed towards Holly’s bedroom. “You’re on my “bed.” So it’s only fair…”

“Don’t eat… Not in…” Holly huffed, trying to get up. But she was still way, way too full & collapsed feebly back where she laid.

“Oh, like I don’t hear you stuffing your face in there ever…” She sneered sarcastically. Her lips curled into a devious smile. “GOOD NIGHT!!”  she chirped with sing-songy spite. The door hissed shut behind her.

Holly, helpless, & too stuffed to move, exhaled sharply, resigning herself to the notion that she’d just force Rachel to cover the dry cleaning if she dropped so much as a pickle on her Egyptian cotton sheets. Unable to do much more than very delicately rub her large bulge of belly, she just went back to staring at the ceiling.

Yeah, trying to hold Rachel up from getting her own place? It was a bad idea.