The Second Surrogate (Patreon)

Note: This is a story-prompt for iluvfoodbabies.

A spin-off of Surrogate.

-

“Well, any friend of Cona’s is a friend of ours,” said Barbara.

Amanda smiled. “Well, we weren’t that close. She was always so busy. But we had Statistics together, and we would do these study sessions after class. I haven’t seen her in a while, though. She missed the last semester. I think she had some fight with her boyfriend and ended up transferring colleges.”

Charles frowned. “That’s a shame. Things haven’t been the same around here without her.”

It was Amanda’s first day on the job as a live-in nanny. It was the perfect fit for her. She loved children, and figured she would cut out her huge boarding expenses at the University dorms and just live at her workplace. It was a win-win situation.

Barbara and George seemed generous and kind, and were happy to accommodate her class schedule. Sure, between college coursework and the new full-time job, Amanda wouldn’t have much time for herself. But she considered it an investment. A couple of years of hard work was definitely worth a debt-free degree, in her books.

-

Things went well for Amanda’s first couple of weeks. Of course, Barbara and George proved to be an eccentric couple. She found their sheer multitude of children to be quite bizarre. Like, physiologically impossible. At Barbara’s age, it just didn’t make much sense that she could have given birth to them all. Dozens. Of course, there was the possibility of adoption. Amanda found it best not to pry. Instead, her time was spent running around after toddlers and babies any moment that she wasn’t at campus or studying. At least she was getting some exercise.

When Barbara and George happily announced that they were expecting another child, Amanda was just stumped. They already had so many! How many kids did the couple need?

Amanda smiled, not voicing her puzzlement. She was silently calculating how she was going to manage a newborn on top of all her other responsibilities. Well, with lots of caffeine. That was certain. “Congratulations!” she said.

-

In another two weeks, things were getting harder than usual. Amanda had unwillingly slowed down.

She just felt sluggish lately. There was persistent nausea, oversleeping, headaches, and even a few episodes of vomiting.

The oddest part was the missed period.

All of the symptoms pointed to one thing, but that one thing was ridiculous. Amanda hadn’t been physically intimate with anyone for ages. Months, at least!

Nevertheless, Amanda went to a drugstore on campus and purchased a pregnancy test. Following a stop in a math department bathroom and a ten minute wait, she found herself staring down at a little pink plus sign.

What the hell? was all she could think.

How was this even possible? It wasn’t. Additionally, it was super weird that it coincided with Barbara’s pregnancy. Then again, Barbara was probably always pregnant.

“What the hell,” Amanda breathed aloud, still staring down at the stick. How could this have happened? And when could this have happened? She was always so careful. It just…it didn’t make sense!

-

Her symptoms escalated fast.

Amanda’s appetite surged and she found herself snacking constantly. In only another week, her stomach was getting a little curve. This couldn’t be normal, could it? She was putting on weight fast, her appetite relentless.

“Seconds, dear?” asked Barbara that evening.

Amanda looked up from her empty place she had scraped clean of lasagna. She had positively gobbled the stuff down. Her insides lurched and gurgled, stomach uncomfortably full. Yet despite herself, she found herself nodding mechanically, pushing her plate towards Barbara and the large portions of leftover lasagna sitting in a pan on the table, waiting to be devoured.

That night, Amanda didn’t stop at seconds. She went for thirds, George and Barbara all too happy to supply her with delicious, greasy food, practically glowing at the sight of her indulging until her stomach ached and she was trying to suppress burps.

Amanda could tell that the couple liked her. Maybe a little too much, she thought wryly. And she knewthey were just trying to be kind and welcoming, but they were pushing food at her at every opportunity, and in her panicking, pregnant state, Amanda was helpless to refuse.

Amanda also felt that Barbara and George were somehow becoming even moreoverbearing than usual. They checked in on her at any moment of the day, or insisted on her company even when she was off work hours. ‘Come join us for tea, dear.’ ‘How are you feeling, darling? Can I bring you a blanket? I just baked some cookies.’

Inconveniently enough, the job might have been having a negative impact on Amanda’s health. Her weight was rapidly climbing, her belly seeming a bit larger every morning that she woke up and slid her hands down her torso. She swore, she was positively inflating.