Bellflower Part 34 (Patreon)

In this installment, Veronica shows up for Ladies Night, while Deidre tries to warn the others of the dangers of the Bellflower. But even those in the know aren't safe, as Rachel finds out first hand.

Second half of that last Ladies' Night part. Crazy to think I wanted them both all as one chapter, but glad to be done with this part of the story. A decent chunk of the next part's been started already too.

Hope you enjoy the bit of a cliffhanger at the end of this one! More soon!

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34

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“I felt bad!” Regina timidly admitted, eyes lowered. “So I told her maybe stop by if she was free…”

“You’re too nice.” Andrea muttered. The impromptu sidebar taking place Holly’s couch wasn’t terribly discreet. Unlike Deidre, Rachel hadn’t opted to lean in to join the others. Because that meant she’d have to lift her butt up off the floor. But she could hear their whispered discussion without even a bit of difficulty. But from that spot on the floor, she stared up at Veronica, who shot her a stern look with her steely eyes. With the others not looking, she didn’t seem to mind dropping her usual faux pleasant facade as she eyed Rachel, presumably remembering their own fairly recent Friday night encounter. Rachel tilted her head in a subtle nod, but it was only reciprocated by tightened eyes, & possibly a soft “hmph,” felt more than heard.

But then Veronica quickly looked away, more out of distraction than backing down & wavering towards Rachel. Her eyes seemed drawn towards the table, adorn with all the pastries, & cupcakes, & pies, while her body still faced the group in the living room. It seemed as though she took the time to come home & still change into comfy athleisure wear, & not her office wear or some other gussied up outfit. She gave an air of not giving a fuck, as if she was slowly starting to favor comfort over appearance. That said, given the snugness of everything, Rachel couldn’t imagine she was all that comfortable. Like the way her top clung a bit too tightly to her, especially her bust. The flesh seemed to spill both over & under a sort of decorative seam that snaked its way symmetrically across each breast. It seemed as though she tried to splay the blonde strands of her ponytail over at least one side of it, as if to cover the bulge effect. But her hair wasn’t nearly long enough, as the same tight fabric continued to show off her belly & every inch of its recent gains. At first Rachel wanted to offer the benefit of a doubt. Like maybe, just from this low angle? But no. After their brief run in earlier in the week, it wasn’t just the angle. And Veronica’s once tight-er sort of waist had all but disappeared, diffused into the flab of a substantial potbelly, holding its own & playing catch up as everything else on her had thickened. And the way she longingly eyed the treats on the table? It seemed like that thickening was only going to continue.

Veronica spun her head around, trying to conceal her fixation on the food. Rachel, trying not to be so conspicuous at assessing the Southern girl’s growth, darted her eyes more in the direction of the others. She noticed that Deidre, as tall as she was, was bent in awkwardly. She was the only one to succeed at keeping her tone hushed only amongst the group. Because she seemed to be doing a good deal of the talking, but Rachel hadn’t heard a thing she said. And once or twice, she even seemed to look over in her direction, as if to signal to get in on their discussion. Offer some input. But Rachel felt she had already given Veronica a chance. And she chose to… well, be Veronica.

“But after what she said?” Rachel heard the typically mousy Camille raise her whisper slightly into a growl amongst the huddle. For such a usually quiet girl, she wasn’t as good at this as Deidre. Then again, this topic seemed to animate her more than most things. “And she’s always been such a… such a…” Her tone gradually seemed to lower back down, but Camille’s expressions only seemed to intensify. But not too much to deter her from stuffing another creampuff in her mouth. Rachel could see it in her eyes as the pastry seemed to help pacify her some.

It was a good reminder. That’s when Rachel tried to take stock. Be mindful. The awkward situation had worked as a bit of a distraction. But throwing yet another woman in the room, with another phone, with another app on it, pumping out subliminal “eat waves” or whatever? That’s when she realized that her hand & mouth were operating on autopilot, cramming one of Regina’s cupcakes without her even realizing it was happening. Almost automatically, they worked independently to address the gnawing emptiness, at the behest of her tummy, instead of her brain. She realized just as the sugary sweet frosting first hit her tongue. And despite its shoddy appearance, it tasted sublime, causing her to stave off a guttural moan. But then her hand & mouth took another quick, immediate, second bite, almost before her lucid, conscious mind was ready for it. She couldn’t help it if she tried. She needed it. And while chewing the overfilled contents of her mouth, she inhaled & exhaled through her nose, but couldn’t stop the moan this time. And that moan pulled Veronica’s attention back towards the living room.

Watching her & her seemingly possessed hand seemed to be driving Veronica a little crazy. If the eye twitch wasn’t enough on its own, it was getting to the point where Rachel thought she could see beads of sweat forming on the girl’s forehead. She looked desperate to attack the table & score some for herself. And while Rachel wasn’t thrilled by the prospect of all these extra calories she was consuming? On some catty level, the idea that it tempted Veronica to frustration offered the slightest iota of solace.

“Ok, Veronica.” Holly sighed in seeming resignation as the huddle broke. “Grab a plate.”

“Good!” She asserted, side stepping towards the table. “Because this spread looks ah-may-zing!” To Rachel, & probably some of the others since it was so obvious, she seemed happier she was permitted to partake in the sweets than the social gathering aspect. 

“I did the cupcakes!” Regina seemed proud to announce. But given the tension of their huddle, Andrea & Camille gave her sidelong glances that seemed to take a little bit of wind out of her sails by the end of it.

“You sure did!” Veronica said. On some level, it sounded judgy, given their sloppiness. And it fit Veronica’s MO. But Rachel shook her head as she finished hers, knowing full well that if she couldn’t pass them up, there was no well in hell Veronica would either.

“You did a great job, Regina.” Rachel said with a full mouth, trying to offer a bit of support. It helped puffed the well-meaning, but flaky girl’s shoulders back up as she beamed a tight-lipped little smile back.

“Mmmmmm!” A delighted Veronica cooed shrilly from the kitchenette. She was in the process of sucking frosting off her fingers, with her plate already mostly full. “Whoever got the rest of these went to the good place to get ‘em!”

“I don’t mess around.” Camille mousily snorted, concentrating on her own plate.

“There’s pie too.” Andrea added, semi-begrudgingly. “And Holly was just talking about maybe pizza, but…”

“Oooooh! Pizza?!” Veronica seemed to gasp. “Yes! I’m definitely up for pizza!” She responded, while still scanning the table for more things to pile on her plate. Rachel looked to Holly, who suddenly seemed a lot less reticent to have Veronica there.

“If she’s game, maybe I’ll put the call in now?”

“No need, Miss Holly.” Penny chimed. “An order, based on everyone’s individual preferences has already been placed. It should arrive in about twenty minutes.”

“Oooh! Thank you, Penny!” Holly seemed thrilled. Regina gave a toothy grin. “You’re too good to us!” Rachel’s face immediately folded into a scowl.

“Wait…” Camille seemed to have moan with an entire creampuff in her mouth. She struggled to gulp it down. “Seriously?”

“This… too much… food.” Deidre despondently seemed to mutter, lowering herself onto the ottoman off to Rachel’s side.

“Mhm.” Rachel agreed, her mouth too full to speak. Of course Penny would jump at the chance to throw fuel on this dumpster fire, she thought. Her hunger hadn’t been sated, but at least, she had regained just enough motor control to lower her plate & stave off another pastry. At least for a very short while. But she welcomed any & all of the breaks she could muster, given there was now definitely more food coming. She tried setting her plate off to the side, to focus back in on her wine. Only to realize that Veronica was sashaying her way towards the rest of them with a plate stacked high & a wine she had poured for herself in hand. She lifted it up.

“To Courtney!” She saluted, stirring up an immediate reaction. One that could only be called mixed as Regina happily echoed, & Andrea, squinting, seemed to feel almost obligated to cosign. But the others, Rachel included, took it quite differently. As if “Courtney” wasn’t a name they wanted coming out of Veronica’s catty mouth. Rachel almost felt like she couldn’t in good conscious take a sip. Not until the bad vibes passed.

“Yeee-ah.” Camille sighed, tipping the half eaten cupcake she had in her hand. But ultimately, the mood wasn’t ruined enough to prevent her from cramming the rest of it past her lips.

Speaking of the vibe, Rachel couldn’t help but feel like something was different this time. She wanted to chalk it up to Veronica’s sudden appearance, & the cold, uneasy reception that seemed to generate. Or the fact that Deidre, who had always seemed to be like a big sister to the group, recently had her whole perception changed, & was waiting for the perfect time to let them all in on the secret. But Rachel had the very disquieting feeling it was something else. Something both sinister & a little more intangible than that.

Because while the others would make their typical inside jokes, or gossip about the goings-on in & around HR, it all seemed to come with a lot less frequency. Unlike before, where there were hardly any gaps in the conversation, now long lulls had started to form. And other than maybe the occasional satisfied moan, no one would say a word. But each & every single one of them, Rachel included, continued to shove food in their mouths, too overwhelmed by the compulsion to eat. Whether they were keen enough to even realize it or not. Rachel really hated to admit it, but she was actually starting to miss their shrill cackles!

And that’s not to say the Ladies’ Nights of the past, at least the few Rachel had been privy to, hadn’t been pig out sessions in their own right. But this was different! Whereas in the past, the girls would hang out & be themselves, only to ultimately end up pigging out, this felt a lot more like a group binging session, where occasionally one of them crackled a funny. Almost as it had at some point unspokenly superseded as the larger focus of the whole get-together. 

Rachel scanned the room, remembering just how high each girl seemed to have her plate stacked & comparing them to just how empty they were starting to look now. Even Deidre. For all her bluster, she still seemed to lose herself. When Rachel happened to look in her direction, she caught Deidre’s eyes ecstatically rolling to the back of her head from the taste. So much for having each other’s back. Or breaking any news. Meanwhile, Holly seemed  as though she was fixing to go for seconds.

And that’s when Penny seemed thrilled to announce that the pizzas arrived.

Holly instructed Rachel to get it. And to just forge her signature. She rolled her eyes, but it did make the most sense. After all, she was the most nibble amongst them. The trouble became immediately apparent to her when she opened the door to reveal not one, but two bewildered delivery guys, having split a stack of boxes in almost cube-like insulated bags.

“That’s not… all of that…?!” Rachel gasped. If the door to Holly’s unit was a traditional hinged door & not some weird pneumatic Star Trek nonsense, she would’ve maybe had the impulse to slam it, to get the sheer amount of grease & cheese away from her as fast as possible.

“Um 12 pizzas.” One stepped forward, but almost like he was worried. After all, the Bellflower for a food delivery man must’ve been like a watering hole on the savannah for an antelope.

“Yeah, uh, three supreme, three meat lovers…” The other timidly interjected.

“... And three veg, one extra cheese with half green peppers, one Hawaiian, & one pepperoni.” The first finished.

“There’s… no way…” Rachel attempted to protest. Not to the delivery guys.

“I knew this was a crazy order,” the second guy seemed to let slip to the delivery guy that took point. “Even for this place.”

“Shh.” His superior seemed to hush back. “Prank or not, it’s already been paid for upfront.” He turned to Rachel, getting a bit more assertive. “You want them or not?”

“What’s a matter?” Holly bellowed from inside impatiently.

“Penny order way, WAY too much.” Rachel shouted back.

“Miss Rachel, I-” The AI seemed to chime from within, almost as if she had a retort planned, but Holly jumped back in before it could get very far.

“Great! So we’ll have leftovers! Just bring them in here already!” She laughed. “I’m starving!” Rachel turned back to see the delivery guy shoot her a sort of coy look before awkwardly handing her a pen. After she signed for the receipt in Holly’s name on the top of the top box, & did the math for two tips, the guy smirked, dropping six boxes in her barely steady arms. His helper looked ready to stack his on top, but Rachel struggled to tell him to wait a second. Awkwardly she backed in to put the first stack on the table.

“Woooh!” Holly seemed to bounce to her feet. Something of a feat at her size. “Pizza party!”

“Okay…” Camille nodded, seemingly warming up to the idea upon the sight of the boxes.

“Oooh.” Veronica tried to make her presence known. “Can’t wait!”

“Oh my god!” Deidre gasped, visibly upset. But also while compelled to approach the kitchen.

“And this is quite literally, just the half of it.” Rachel dropped them on the clearest portion of table with a sigh as the others started moving the pastries out the way. Her & Deidre shared a long, head shaking glance before she spun on her heel to fetch the remaining.

“Oh my goodness.” Veronica cut the room tone of cheesy chomps, moans, & lip smacks. She seemed to regain her usual faux-pleasant, but layered tone quickly. She shook the folded veggie slice she held in her hand as she swallowed her previous bite. “Everything’s so delicious, &... &... it’s sooo good to catch up with y’all again. Outside the office, I mean.”

“It’s not like we haven’t seen you.” Andrea smuggly seemed to remind her. As the night went on, it seemed as though the penance Veronica was going to have to face for being allowed back in the fold was allowing everyone else to have a much lower tolerance for being able to call her on her bullshit. Rachel, disheartened that she was munching into her second slice of supreme, tried to pick up some smidgen of solace from anywhere she could get it. And to her? It was funny.

“Ok, but like…” Veronica attempted.

“I mean we don’t even really sit that far apart.” Camille asserted in her dry, soft spoken way, with a little waggle of her nose in a tight head shake.

“But like…” Veronica tried again, her expression softening into something a little more vulnerable.

“And you’re right outside my office.” Deidre seemed to take the slightest bit of joy in joining in on this softest of dogpiles.

“We see you every damn day.” Holly snickered before ramming a giant slice of extra cheese into her mouth. It was the last remaining of four different types she had stacked onto her plate.

“Fine! I missed you ladies! Okay?” Veronica seemed compelled to admit. It almost seemed too honest, too raw for someone like her to say. Maybe that’s why there was a brief pause following it, not entirely sure how to react. Eventually, Camille obliged.

“Well next time? Maybe you should listen when we try to tell you something might hurt somebody’s feelings.” Camille shrugged before another big bite. And it was followed by another pause.

“Um, actually?” Veronica waited to respond. Rachel could just tell by the way she said the word “actually” this was going to be annoying. “I hear this guy all the time talk about how facts don’t care about fee-”

“Still?” Andrea cut her off with a frustrated sigh. “You’re still not sorry?”

“Yeah,” Regina added. “You really hurt Courtney’s feelings that time! And that was the last time a lot of us got to see her!”

“That was the last time any of us got to see her.” Holly huffed with some amount of melancholy, finishing that last slice on her plate. She continued with a full mouth & bulging cheeks. “She was really upset. What you did was fucked up.”

“But it needed to be said!” Veronica maintained, only building more ire amongst the rest of them.

“Well, then,” Deidre started slowly, with a deep breath. “I think it’s only fair that it needs to be said to you too.” Rachel fought back a chortle, as a series of gasps went out amongst everyone else. Including Veronica. Only hers was accompanied by actual words.

“What?!” she lowered her pizza slice, just a little. There was a quiver in her glassy looking eyes that almost seemed as though she was about to cry.

“During your time... away.” Deidre continued. “You might’ve put on a few pounds. Not to be catty or anything.”

“Well you certainly sound catty!” Veronica scoffed loudly.

“To be completely fair?” The boss still held the floor. “I honestly think we all have!” Veronica this time let out a little chortle. Instead of gasps, this time, the room seemed to just freeze. Except Rachel. Rachel just clenched, having braced for this all night. Was this really how Deidre wanted to play this?

“Did Rachel put you up to this?” Holly immediately asked with a deep, side-eyed squint. Her gaze darted between both Deidre & Rachel.

“No-uh!” Rachel denied, not realizing that the Ladies’ Night lilt rubbed off on her a little. 

“It’s just the truth.” Deidre tried to say plainly. Tried ignoring the other slice still sitting on her plate. “Look at that stack of pizza boxes on your table over there & tell me you honestly think what we’re doing is… healthy.”

“Miss Deidre,” Penny chimed in. “Just so you are aware, when it comes to local pizza, Pazuzzi's actually is the healthiest opti-”

“Fuckin’, not now, Penny!” Rachel fended off.

“Pizza’s still pizza,” Deidre chortled. “And that?” she waved her arm in the direction of the kitchenette. “That’s a LOT of pizza. On top of a lot of pastries & pie & cupcakes we had before.”

“You’re no better.” Andrea seemed to almost snarl. The emotion seemed to tongue-tie her a little as she needed to process it in a language that wasn’t her own. “Not like you’re having just a salad!”

“Oh! I most definitely didn’t mean to say I was!” Deidre tried to insist, eyeing that last slice of hers again. “I’m not trying to be holier than thou. I’m just as guilty.” She tried to take a sip of wine instead.

“Well I’m still getting more!” Holly defiantly hoisted herself up to carry her plate back towards the kitchen. Deidre raised her voice, so Holly could listen on her slow wobble towards the kitchen.

“I’m just saying maybe we should look to… cut back?” She threw it out there, but no one seemed all too receptive to the idea. “Or maybe next Ladies’ Night? Instead of here in the building? We go out? Do something? There’s that rock wall climbing place just of Kitson? Or bowling?”

“Bowling?” Camille cringed. Rachel could in no way imagine the chubby little rich girl, obsessed with the finer things in bowling shoes.

“And there’s no way I’m doing a rock wall!” Holly laughed, slapping another couple slices on her plate. “My ass all hanging out twenty feet off the ground?!”

“It’d probably cushion the blow when she pulled the whole wall down with her for being too heavy!” was exactly the sort of thing Rachel fought off retorting in a kneejerk reaction. Instead, she just took another bite, trying to keep it to a nibble. Instead, she tried to have Deidre’s six. “I think it sounds kinda fun.”

“We could… try it… I guess?” Regina seemed to waver. But a look Camille shot her seemed to quell that quickly.

“Why not leave well enough alone?” Veronica joined in, sensing where the majority was on this. “If it’s not broke, don’t try & fix it, my daddy used to tell me.”

“But it is broken.” Deidre contended. “We shouldn’t be… eating like… this.” She fought the urge long enough. But the compulsion made her take another bite. It was weird seeing Deidre look defeated. It just didn’t seem her.

“I’m going to get some more too.” Camille announced. “Rachel, can I get you any? Deidre?” The two of them took every ounce of willpower to shake their heads. But they both knew they’d both probably get up to get more in time anyway. They were just that hungry. And now? Slightly forlorn. From her spot on the floor, Rachel looked up at Deidre on the ottoman next to her.

“You tried.” She patted her on the leg, trying to be supportive while also shoveling more pizza into her own mouth.

“That was fun.” Holly sighed, doing that thing where she used her belly as an armrest again. Only now, it acted a bit sturdier as a shelf given just how full she was. But despite that fullness, she still found just enough room to comfortably nibble on a bit of pizza crust she held in one hand. To Rachel, this was a bit telling in its own way, as she up until recently, never seemed to like the crust. In her other hand, she cradled a nearly empty glass of wine. 

Everyone had left. The pizzas were thoroughly picked over & Rachel had insisted the others take whatever pastries or pie. But they were still stuck with a lot of food that frankly, she did not want around. Even at her heavier size & despite the sheer amount of food & grease in her, Holly was still something of a lightweight in one regard. A little wine-drunk & maybe out of some vestigial force of habit, she had seemed to make her way to the kitchen in order to straighten things up after company. But forgetting this was the Bellflower, mechanical arms whirled & danced around her doing most of the work. Ultimately, she just stood there supervising, looking very fat.

“Mmmm.” Rachel hummed after some time to give at least some acknowledgement. Not only did her being there do little to quell Holly’s appetite, she was a little too stuffed to move herself. Deidre had tried to do her thing, but overall, it all felt like a net loss. Even though that’s not what any scale would ever reflect for either sister. But the end of the evening was in sight, & she just wanted to get there. To lay down, & digest everything, even as horrifying as the prospect of metabolizing this many calories was to her. At least that way she could maybe think about going for a jog tomorrow. Maybe all day!

Careful to not touch her tender middle, she flapped her sheets out over the couch again. She was almost ready to forego them entirely, but the thought of potentially laying in crumbs really bummed her out. Then again, at the rate everybody was going, would they even make crumbs? The way each girl seemed to hoover up everything on their plates, did they even really miss their mouth all that much? But whatever. It took two flicks to shake the sheet out over the entirety of the couch. And the motion was enough to give her pause for a few seconds, as if she had jostled herself a little too much, & with a sharp “urp,” she needed to wait for things to settle.

“You had fun, right?” Holly stepped slowly, but had a bounce to her step. Rachel couldn’t figure it out. She was so full of food right now, she could hardly think, but Holly still had way more than her, & seemed almost unphased. It seemed like after her regular gorging sessions, she was maybe just a lot more used to this feeling now. Feeling positively ready to explode.

“Oh. A blast.” Rachel groaned plainly, sarcastically. Trying to get across the idea that she was too stuffed to even talk right now. She just needed to sleep. And not think about the atrocities she had committed.

Tired, she collapsed back on to the sheets she had unfurled without properly tucking them. And just with everything sitting in her tummy, she felt heavier. Denser. Landing with a bit of a plop, that shook a slight groan out of her. Once again, it took a second to regain her composure. Then again, she wasn’t sure she was even going to be able to stand up again if she needed to. Not without letting things sit for a bit.

“Well goodnight to you too.” Holly sniped snippily, but with a wry little smirk. Rachel could tell her sister was taking some weird sadistic joy in her agony right now. And she wanted to say something, but it was hard to come up with something, anything, to put Holly in her place. Instead, she just flapped a meek hand gesture in her direction as Holly, arms up on her belly, seemed to almost waddle towards her bedroom.

Rachel remembered she had the decent sense to kick her knapsack within arms reach of the couch. While it technically wasn’t that far of a reach, in her current condition? It felt like a lot. But she managed, slipping on her wireless headphones. She popped on her playlist of what would’ve been a complete cacophony of early to mid-aught angst to anybody else. But to her, it was just a wash of soothing noise. Nothing was more comforting. She tried to calm her brain. She did her best to not think about all the calories her body was currently metabolizing into fat. Or get too anxious about which articles of clothing she might’ve out grown after tonight. Or all of the jogging she’d probably end up having to do tomorrow in hopes of working off this evening. Time to just slowly drift off.

Only she didn’t.

Sure, she was relaxed. She was very close to sleep. But there was something that also started to keep her very much awake. It started off oh so subtle. Gradual at first. Even on top of pigging out on everything else earlier that evening? She began to notice that hunger, that compulsion to eat that really never went away? It only slowly started to intensify. Becoming almost stronger than it had at any point over the course of the night! Even with the subsonic feedback loop of all the girls’ phones in the room. But why?

Laying there, Rachel tried shutting her eyes. Tried to put off the temptation until the morning. Or at least after some of what was already in her had digested. She could hold off. After all, this wasn’t the first time she had to curb the urge that eat. But instead of relaxing & allowing herself to actually drift off, the fact it was happening at all started to bother her. 

Why now? After everyone had already left? That was what weighed on her mind, keeping her awake. Well that, & the fact that oddly, this somehow seemed a little different than usual. Like more direct & overt. And getting even stronger. Like a drumbeat willing her on. She rolled over, a bit careless trying to steel her resolve. But a loud grumble echoed through her, cutting through the slightly too loud volume of the headphones. She lucidly started to wonder if just maybe, she had drifted off & this was possibly just the prelude to one of her Penny nightmares. It had a lot of the same hallmarks. The simultaneous sensations of being so impossibly full, almost sick to her stomach, & yet still so intensely hungry at the exact same time. As if one had nothing to do with the other.

As if to contest this very assertion, her tummy emitted another rumble. A loud one. So loud, that if it were a dream? She’d be up & wide awake right now. In fact, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Holly’s head pop out of her bedroom, trying to tell her something.

“Whaaa?” A beleaguered Rachel was forced to ask, leaning & lifting one of her headphones cans to get an ear free. Holly, moderately full & a bit tipsy laughed & rolled her eyes.

“I said “If you’re that hungry, there’s still some munchies left over! Go on!” Holly repeated. But when Rachel didn’t seem to start moving, she suddenly got a bit more stern. “Seriously though. I’m not having you keep me awake all night, shaking the walls with that!”

“Was it… really that loud?” A self-conscious Rachel drooped.

“Uh yeah!” Holly snapped cattily before slipping back into her bedroom abruptly. 

“Well fuck…” Rachel murmured, realizing that in the process of leaning in to hear what her sister was trying to say, she was already halfway to her feet. She sighed deeply & looked at the fridge with a great deal of trepidation, slowly, carefully lifting herself off the couch. She tried to tell herself that one more slice of pizza wouldn’t kill her. Even though she had up until a few minutes ago thought she was on the figurative verge of popping. But also, as a realist, she knew full well that if she started even just saying one slice, there was a pretty good likelihood it all wasn’t going to stop at just one slice. Not with how hungry she was feeling. 

After some of the most reluctant steps she’d ever taken in her life, Rachel’s hand gripped the cold, metal handle. This felt like her last chance. She wanted to fight it. She was already full after all. And she tried to shut her eyes & focus in on that. But her tummy now seemed to go rogue once again, this time, almost expectantly. Another loud, lying, empty-sounding rumble. If she hadn’t kept her headphones on, she probably might’ve heard Holly bellow “Omigod! Would you seriously just eat already?” through the wall too. With one last sigh, her arm seemed to move with more force than she wanted it to. As she opened the door, the fridge’s light flooded the dim room.

It was something like 3:30 when Deidre first heard the pounding. That sort of in between time when you’re not quite sure if it’s too late or too early. But definitely too something! And it didn’t sound as though it was coming from her door. Or no. Maybe someone’s nearby. Still, she was compelled to see what the matter was.

With a rocking motion, she willed herself upright with a slight grunt. She was once again reminded she had overdone it that evening. More than just by a little. As she walked by a chair in her bedroom, she snatched the silk robe she’d tossed over the back of it & whipped it on in one quick motion. As she left her bedroom & slowly started down the hall towards her front door, she slowed to see if she could hear anything further. Barely audible through the thick door, she thought she could make out a very familiar voice out in the hall.

“Fran, please!” It sounded like Rachel. And she sounded distressed. It hastened Deidre’s pace.

“Rachel?” She asked with concern, but was interrupted by a yawn. The maroon haired girl standing off to the side of her door in the hallway turned her head to face her. She looked a mess. In her pajamas, with a bulky hoodie draped over her & her headphones pulled down around her neck. It was clear she had been crying, but the most apparent detail were the numerous smudges & blotches dotting her cheeks. Some red, like sauce, others brown, like chocolate. But all in a gross manner that was very uncharacteristic for Rachel. Just like the pizza crust she was still in the process of munching on.

“Oh Deidre, I’m sor-” She winced as Fran’s door started to open. At her rounder size, it probably took just a few more seconds to get to the door.

“What?!” she asked, in a tone that started grumpy. But taking in the full sight of Rachel that Deidre had missed, it became suddenly a bit more urgent.

“Marissa…” Rachel huffed. “She… she said she had been listening to music, right?”

“Yeah, but everything she wanted to listen to was awful so I made her- Oh god!” Fran seemed to react to something Deidre couldn’t see. And she did so with a gasp. It caused the tall, short haired blonde woman to take another half step outside for a better view. As she did, Rachel noticed her, & with some reluctance obliged, turning all the way around, awkwardly shifting her weight to do so. That’s when Deidre caught full view of Rachel’s impossibly stuffed, turgid belly. So full & tight, it seemed cartoonish. Not to mention a little oblong. Starting just under her breasts & bulging almost all the way down past where her waist used to be. For all the hyperbole, talking about looking or feeling ready to burst? Nothing described her more accurately. Maybe that’s why Deidre had immediately froze at the sight. To avoid any sudden movements. As jostling her probably wouldn’t be such a great idea. And yet still, she gnawed the quickly disappearing nub of pizza crust, through the tears, out of sheer compulsion.

“I… I just wanted to fall asleep to a little music, &... &...” She stammered, seeming as though the sheer amount of food in her gut was keeping her from managing a full breath. “... I think I might’ve just ended up emptying my sister’s entire fridge. Some cabinets too.” She whelped, trying to fight more tears as she went on to admit, “And what’s worse? I-I don’t think I can stop! I want to keep going!! I mean… I NEED to! It’s… it’s making me...” She winced a bit too loudly for three whatever in the morning. She tried to calm herself with a deep breath. Or at least as much as her tummy could let her muster. “Help.”