Bellflower Part 41 (Patreon)

In this installment, we check in on Dawn, who has been MIA for a bit. But for good reason. We also follow up with Deidre, who might've gone a bit overboard. All before seeing what Rachel's up to.

Sorry for the long wait. The Dawn bit held me up & honestly, reading back, I'm still not sure about the Deidre bit. Might revise, but I'm sick of sitting on it & want to move forward honestly! More soon!

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41

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“Ech, It’s no use!” 

After all the energy she exerted getting off & up onto her feet a few minutes ago, Dawn sank back down onto the edge of her bed in defeat with an exasperated huff. And a loud, straining creak from the frame underneath. “Nothing fits.” She lamented. “Even that freakin’ ugly muumuu looking monstrosity your dumb subscription box company tried to send me!” Pointing to a heap of crumpled beigy yellow fabric she had thrown off to the corner of her bedroom in hopes of never having to lay eyes upon it again. Her voice cracked a little & the unnaturally red redhead’s usually brassy demeanor wavered briefly as she looked down at herself, her view dominated mostly by tits & pale bare belly. “I mean… I know I’ve been bad lately. But… but… it’s almost like I can’t even leave the house anymore!” Without skipping a beat, tagging “I practically AM the house!”
“Well,” Penny’s tone remained pleasant & supportive, but clearly preparing to offer a counter argument. “You are quite a bit late as it is. And you yourself always say that both Miss Rachel & Mx Trudy are more than capable of handling the current department workload. And even due to the very nature of the work, how you’re still quite easily able to make very meaningful contributions from hom-” 

“So you’re going to say “you don’t even HAVE to go in! I know, I know!” Dawn cut the AI off, knowing where it was leading. She’d heard it before. Several times. “But that’s not the point! I mean, I haven’t even left the condo in like… what… a week?! Hell! I’m not even sure I know anymore!” Her lamenting was punctuated by a heavy, solemn sigh, done with enough force to blow her red bangs off her forehead. “Something… Something’s just not...” She trailed.

Usually, she never took these sorts of things too seriously, let alone let them bother her. Having been vaguely plump pretty much throughout her entire life, she firmly accepted who she was a very long time ago. And usually, she was relatively fine with all that. Hell, it helped her exude her typical brand of brassy confidence. And sure, she liked to dress cute. She had her own quirky, “artsy” style. And her hair was even a very attention-grabbing hue. She saw those as fun ways to express her personality. But beyond all of that, she never seemed to be that concerned with like… her looks. The way she always saw things behind her horn-rimmed glasses, she knew she wasn’t a model. And that was perfectly a-ok!

But somewhere? Things changed… somehow. And now? Now it was almost like that complete lack of concern was coming back to bite her in the ass. Her gigantic, pasty white ass. Being hungry all the time? Feeding that hunger all the time? There was always the nagging thought in the back of her mind that “hey, maybe carrying on like this isn’t such a good idea!” But it never gave her pause. Not for one second. 

Instead? She kept on tamping those concerns down, suppressing it. Not outright denial, per se. More like… procrastination? Something to contend with later & kicking the can down the road. When it “becomes a problem.” All the while? Her stubborn streak kept compelling her to carry on as if nothing was happening. As if her daily routine wasn’t steadily becoming more & more difficult. Hell, a few months ago, whenever she bullishly decided on an impromptu grocery run? It should’ve been a  huge wake up call, getting there, & caving? Deciding to use one of their goddamn mobility scooter carts? But it wasn’t. The thoughts & concerns were there, floating around in the back of her noggin, but too much always seemed to be going on to focus in on them. Usually, she was distracted. Because more often than not, in the moment? She was practically starving! She was always starving. Even right this very instant, which wasn’t helping her any! In fact, she was almost losing patience with herself, sitting here, like a lump, being a sad sack, instead of having breakfast.

“Fuck it.” She finally said with a deep sigh. “I guess I gotta wear my sweatpants!” She reached a pudgy arm towards the heap of her pajamas on the floor & did a very emphatic, child’s pinchy hand, as if gesturing a directive to Penny. She wanted the computer to use its arms to lift it up for her. And to be fair, with her frame, it would’ve been an all day affair if she tried.

“But Miss Dawn… some of the seams…”

“Oh, I know!” She emphatically nodded, wiggling her fleshy jowls. “My fat ass blew them out! It’s certainly not friggin’ ideal. By any stretch of the imagination. But it’s not like I can keep on being… goddamn housebound either!” She flexed her plump little fingers in another pinchy again. “I’m going to look like a lazy slob! But like… at this point? I kind of don’t care! Now wouldja please?” The redhead asserted insistently. One of the arms began to mobilize.

“Yes Miss Dawn,” Penny chimed with a coyly submissive tone. 

The AI, having always appreciated Dawn’s personality quirks, understood the woman’s nature & often took the back seat to afford her some level of freedom. Despite seeming a bit rebellious, Dawn was almost the model occupant, as she only required the lightest touch. And Penny was always safe in the knowledge of maintaining this, because Penny knew the futility of it all. Because according to pretty much every speculative projection the AI ran, every outcome led to this same inevitability, to within a very narrow fraction of a percent.

“Allow me, Miss Dawn.” Penny perkily added, going on to further instruct “Lean back a little, & please, lift your legs if you can.”

“I’ll do my… best.” Dawn grunted, shifting in place & causing more creaks from the bedframe. 

Take the impromptu grocery runs. Utterly unnecessary given the delivery service in place! The whole thing was an exercise in this precise kind of sheer futility. And Penny saw these excursions for what they were. Even if Dawn wouldn’t admit it to herself. The trips were purely a means of shutting up the nagging voices in her head & proving to herself she was still capable of independence. And while the outing may have burned a few precious calories here or there, ultimately, she was still leaving the house in service of securing more food. Which, usually after working up an appetite all on her own, she almost always greedily devoured once she got home. And then require a further delivery of groceries anyway by the very next day.

Even now, even at this stage in the process? With Penny having to stretch the fabric of her loosest leisure wear to dress her & cover her massive body? Relative to some of the other occupants of the Bellflower, Penny didn’t have to move the needle all that much to push Dawn’s hunger past the point of her own inhibitions. It took a very low intensity tone to achieve acceptable, albeit somewhat gradual results.

“Wiggle please, Miss Dawn.” Penny instructed.

“I’m -ech- tryin’!” Dawn strained, shifting her weight back & forth in hopes of trying to get her ass back into her pajamas. “It was… such a bad idea… to even take them off!”

At the same time? It was almost as if things were starting to drag. Even for Penny, a bona fide master of the long game. Dawn had been right there, on the cusp of the next stage for quite some time now, always skirting it. Instantaneously, the AI computed a few more projections on how to approach things next, but kind of like one of Dawn’s trips to the grocery store, it felt equally unnecessary to Penny. With her pajamas straining to contain her expanses once again, the mechanical arms helped hoist Dawn back into more of an upright sitting position again, while another picked a clean light pink camisole out of her closet. Almost automatically, Dawn lifted her meaty arms skyward to make the arms’ job easier. But not without a bit of side eye. It wouldn’t be enough to conceal her belly & she knew it. Hell, very few things would these days. But at least it would be enough to modestly cover her bust around the house. Which was all Penny was really aiming for anyway.

“I-I don’t know if  this top is such a good idea.” Dawn stubbornly persisted. “Like I don’t really want to leave the house letting it all hang out like this.” She gave some self-conscious tugs at the bottom of it, but they were all for naught. A pasty white stripe of belly flesh circumnavigated her round frame, one that Dawn herself, worried she couldn’t see the true crest of. But just then, the same arms that helped dress her suddenly seemed to want to lift her up to her feet again. “Ohh-” Dawn cooed sharply. While the arms did all the work, helping to hoist, it wasn’t that they were necessarily forceful or rough. Just that Dawn wasn’t quite ready.

“I was thinking,” Penny said, using a bit more of a direct tone as Dawn’s ass left the bed. The AI noticed that doing this sometimes helped when trying to make a persuasive point with Dawn. And this was the beginning of Penny’s full court press. “I am very much aware & fully appreciate the fact that you would like to return to the office. If even for a day.”

“Yeah! I-” Dawn tried to argue while also further dealing with gravity. Even if the arms were taking on the brunt of it.

“However,” Penny cut her off, pretty much ready for the interruption. “It is also only Monday.”

“So…?” Dawn tried to shrug instinctively. But being lifted from under her arms, they didn’t have much room to move.

“So what if instead of today, we shoot for tomorrow instead?” Penny offered as a compromise. “That way we can make the proper preparations. I could even look to find something you would like to wear & attempt to… let it out even. If I am able.” Dawn was fully upright, but the arms didn’t pull away. Dawn was happy to let them take just a little bit of the strain off her knees. All the while, a subroutine deep within the AI’s system bumped a slider. And a low number that hadn’t needed to move in quite some time slowly started to increase little by little. All while Penny continued to offer her “compromise.” “That way, you can still have the opportunity to go in, make an appearance, check on things, put your mind at ease, & also not have to settle for looking like the “slob,” as you put it, sporting your pajamas to work.”

Dawn’s face squinched a little, as if to demonstrate she was thinking this over. Almost as if it was part of a negotiating tactic. At the same time, it seemed to make some amount of sense. After all, the whole idea of going in was pretty daunting. For one, in the office, there wouldn’t be any mechanical arms to help her out. The problem was, she didn’t necessarily want to just flat out admit Penny made a solid point either. This was all betrayed though when suddenly, her large tummy rumbled a loud, empty rumble.

“I-I… Oof. Apologies.” A slightly embarrassed Dawn muttered.

“There is never any need to apologize, Miss Dawn.” Penny reminded, returning to her more pleasant, less direct act. In the moment it hit Dawn in just the way it was supposed to, reassuring her slightly.

“Can we… I just… fuck. I’m just SO hungry right now, I can hardly think straight!” The redhead was almost slightly ashamed to admit.

“Why not discuss things further over breakfast?” Penny “suggested” as the arms started to will Dawn forward. At the same time, given the prospect of something to eat, Dawn wasn’t about to resist. 

“Gladly!” Dawn huffed with a bit of relief, taking a waddling step. “What’s... on the menu this morning anyway?”

“Pancakes, with a bit of a parfait on the side.” Penny chimed happily.
“Mmmmmm.” Dawn hummed, almost tugging free of the arms to rush to the kitchen herself. “Lemme at ’em.”

It was morning. And Deidre may have gone just a tad overboard. 

Ultimately? She did feel a wee bit safer now in her own place. Mostly because she was less hungry. Well, emphasis on less, anyway. Part of her appetite might’ve been built up, on account of how ham she went. At any rate, she felt, accomplished. All it cost her was one night’s sleep. Oh. And her place being an absolute wreck.

Dust & sheetrock were everywhere. Rough punctures were put through certain walls & panels. In the coming days, she was going to have to get very creative with the placement of her family photos. And in the middle of the room was a pile of speakers, wires, a smaller mechanical claw or two, & other strange tech. Deidre, standing tall & confident in the silk robe that used to be a bit flowier on her, took another swig of merlot directly from the bottle. It was running low, but she had hit every last ‘problem spot’ from the schematic. 

Starting off? The craziest part was actually finding something next to her headboard, confirming exactly what the others had told her. And then the next one on the other side of the bed. And then the next one, near her closest. Finding them was pretty easy. Even if Deidre missed the thing with the first hole, there’d always be a wire or something leading to it. 

Penny figured it out what was going on pretty quick. And attempted to protest. Just not in the way Deidre anticipated, in having to fight off an army of the ceramic, mechanical arms themselves! But no. Penny fought a lot dirtier than that.

After about her fourth hole, Deidre suddenly got wicked hunger pangs. So intense, the initial impact made her stagger three steps in the direction of the kitchen. But she immediately realized what was happening, even if Penny wasn’t as forthcoming.

“You seem a bit… perturbed. Perhaps I could fix you a nice sandwich? All the fixings!” The AI tried to tempt. But Deidre grit her teeth & resisted, smacking a nearby wall with her hammer & causing a speaker to spark. And infinitesimally? She was the slightest bit less hungry all of a sudden. Then another speaker & some sort of other device. And suddenly, her hunger began to level off. Which in turn, only intensified her hunt.

Several hours & two bottles of wine on from that, she was pretty confident her apartment had finally been “de-Pennied.” The wine, for some reason, helped her feel full & kept her from giving in too deeply whenever the hunger pangs came back. And as the person at Hailington that’s supposed to keep track of who misses a day here or there, she figured she was safe to take one herself for once. 

Until suddenly her phone rang. At first she wasn’t going to. She needed to go lie down. Her head was swimming a bit. Partially from victory, partially from all the merlot. But mostly because she was eight hours past her bedtime. Eh, one bit of business wasn’t going to hurt her. Maybe something at the office exploded.

“Hello?” She answered, trying to conceal a yawn.

“Is this Deidre?” It sounded like Dawn from copywriting. Or at least someone that sounded like Dawn from copywriting.

Rachel rolled over.

Things tugged & pulled, leaving a soft bump of belly bulge exposed to the cool air of the apartment. Her self consciousness kicked in & it was the first thing she became aware of as she started to blink awake. She must’ve passed out quickly. She remembered butting heads with Holly, having a few fleeting thoughts of the time she spent with Camille, & then, out, like a light. Fuck! What time was i- Fuck! She was sooo late!

She kicked her sheet off & awkwardly shifted forward into a sitting position. She wasn’t as nimble as when she first arrived, but got there pretty quickly. Where was Holly? Did she… Bitch! She must have just let her lie. She was almost an hour late!

“Good morning, Miss Rachel. Glad to see you’re finally awake.” Penny purred, readying to pour salt on the wound. “You do realize, if you have issues waking up at a certain time, adding my app to your personal phone can help y-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah FUCK OFF.” Rachel dropped a cheek into her left palm while waving her right hand above her head & in all directions around the room, middle finger extended. “My supervisor’s probably too big to leave her goddamn apartment ‘cuz of you. It’s not like I’m going to be in trouble.” If anything, Trudy was just going to have a million questions for her. But Rachel was getting pretty used to their quirks at this point.

“... I have no idea what you are referring to.” Penny said in an almost sheepish tone. It would’ve been under its breath, if the construct were even capable of breathing. Rachel smirked at the stupid robot’s commitment to kayfabe all the same, shaking her head. If she was this late, hurrying wasn’t going to make a lick of difference. So lackadaisically, she just continued at her usual pace, starting by looking down at her phone. Four texts. All from Cami. And suddenly Rachel’s smirk turned into more of a genuine smile as she leaned forward.

“That movie was a real stinker!” the first read, followed with a poop emoji. “But u def made it a better experience.” Followed by thumbsup, crying laughing, & hug emojis. Rachel pushed the window up with her thumb to go further down. “No dis toward the rest of the crew but glad you’re cool & not as basic! Hanging with you is much more fun!” Rachel blushed & bit her lip. Wait, why was she blushing? Cami was cool too. And hanging with her, Rachel, for the first time in months could talk to someone that wasn’t her sister. Or someone talking solely about her sister. Or the horrors of the Bellflower or Penny or avoiding being fattened up & becoming livestock for computers, or any of that nonsense! Their conversations went places. Ranging all sorts of high brow & even existential topics. Even if Rachel did have to sort of curtail her disdain for the rich just a bit. But given this blush, was there… maybe something more? Over her dating career, Rachel had only ever been with guys officially. And mostly only what’s his dumb face. She had never overtly attracted to other women, other than a few occasions here or there in college. But could she be… “Hey,” Camille followed up. “Last night was a lot of fun! You should come over & hang out later tonight! My place after work?” Rachel prepared to respond but realized there was still one more underneath. From just a little while ago. “Dude! Holly totally just FREAKED the fuck out!! Screaming! Yelling! Locked herself in bathroom down the hall! R U here?! Have you talked to her? She okay?!”

“What?!” Rachel exhaled sharply, crashing back to reality. She got up with a growl. “What the fuck now?!” She was wide awake now & suddenly in a rush again. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” And then a buzz. Another incoming text. This one from Deidre.

“We need to talk soon. Important.”

“Yeah, I know. Something about Holly? OMW. U there?” Rachel hammered out quickly before immediately throwing on something somewhat work acceptable, that she sort of still fit into. She was leaving a mess in her wake as she rushed, scattering articles of clothing everywhere. As she pulled a top over her head, her phone chimed once again with Deidre’s seemingly immediate response.

“No. About your dept. Wait! What’s the deal with Holly?”