The Bellflower Part 4

Here's this week's installment. The sisters go on a morning jog. Rachel asks some questions, but Holly's not much in the mood. 

This chunk was pretty fun to write & parts of it came together very quickly while I was working on part 3. I had intended on going a little further after as well, but between yesterday & today, I thought I was going to have a bit more time to work on it than I actually have. But it just means we'll pick up there in the very next installment.

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4

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It was Saturday morning. After having maybe a bit too much to drink, Holly seemed perfectly able to sleep past her internal clock this time. And she definitely would have too. If not for Rachel, awakening her with a stir. 

While tipsy, she could remember it pretty clearly. By the time she had staggered in last night, her younger sister was fast asleep, curled up in her corner of the couch like a little angel. At the time, Holly even remarked to Penny how peaceful she looked in some cooing fashion her sister would've hated had she been awake. Now, just hours later, that same "little angel" was violently ripping her comfy blankets off her & clapping her hands, hollering "let's go" like some kind of sadistic drill instructor. 

Minutes later, here they were, outside in the dewy, early morning air, stretching for that jog they had talked about. While it was an experience she had always hoped to share with her sister, part of Holly had held out a bit of hope that maybe, in this one instance, Rachel would've forgotten about it. And now, seeing that she hadn't, the typically perky & chipper young woman was just a wee bit cranky.

"Why did I ever agree to this again?" she whined. Her old performance leggings she had on were from her college days. This meant they were straining so tightly, they almost appeared painted on. These days, they stretched more than they had ever had to stretch in the past, especially after what seemed like months of neglect. And if that wasn't bad enough, the elastics caused large, awkward bulges of flesh to form around their boundaries. At least the hoodie she wore had a bit more room, fitting reasonably well. But given it was re-appropriated from an old boyfriend that left it behind, she remembered how originally, it used to billow off of her. So she took very little comfort in the fact that it actually had begun to fit her well at all. 

Rachel, wrenching her one leg up behind her butt, seemed to be inspecting Holly a little closely this morning. She wasn't as far gone as that woman, Fran, she kept running into. And the point of this whole jog was to help keep it that way. Still, she couldn't help but notice how Holly seemed just the slightest bit... puffier. Like the teensiest bit more than when she had first arrived. Just two days ago! It showed mostly in her cheeks, both up top, & down low. And not without good reason, given the multitude of eclairs she ate last night. 

"Um! I'll have you know," She started, mocking the type of basic condescension Holly herself would use some times. "You were basically ready to cry at the mere mention of me wanting to do this with you yesterday." Not waiting for a retort, she turned & gave herself a bit more room, moving on to stretch out her shoulders by bending her arms across her chest.

"That was before at least a half a bottle of wine." Holly moaned with a huff. "Oh my god, & those nachos." She thought back. "Oh my god! She made the BEST nachos, like... ever."

"By melting some shredded cheese over some tortillas in her microwave?" Rachel rasped with some of her old fashioned squinty sarcasm.

"Well... no... but like..." Holly stammered, finding it hard to dispute. "She had the best guac!"

"Look," Rachel said, feeling limber & shaking her arms out. "I've been totally pigging out too. Ever since I got here. I need this right now almost as much as you, lest I start digging for my old high school clothes. And frankly, I don't feel the need in trying justify a cargo pant, in this the year of our lord 2019." Holly busted out a loud laugh. "So are we doing this or not?" Rachel asked, holding back laughing along with her.

"Fine!" Holly said, getting over her giggles. She bounced a few times on the balls of her feet, her old patented way of shaking out her muscles. The way she used to do before track meets. There were just two issues with this though. First, every muscle in her body felt stiff & weak. In fact stiffer & weaker than they might've felt at any other point in her life. And no matter how much warm up stretching, as cumbersome as it may have become, seemed as though it would help her any. Second? Things... shook. Way more than they ever had in the past. And actually a bit more than she had even anticipated now. And it seemed to cause undue stress upon her synthetic fabrics. Self consciously, she stopped on the third bounce, trying to contain herself. "I... I guess I'm ready... I think." wincing slightly while waiting for the wobble to settle.

"Look, I'm nowhere near the track star you were." Rachel assured her. "We can take this nice & easy. Just a casual jog."

"Just a casual jog." Holly repeated, as if to reassure herself. "Let's... let's go, I guess."

The "shaking" kept happening with each stride. There was no holding the jiggles back. It became abundantly clear this was the most Holly had moved in quite some time & she almost seemed like she felt a stranger in her own, more plentiful skin. Watching her expression, Rachel noticed a bit of concern forming. She didn't look comfortable. But she knew she needed this. So she figured it might be best to get her talking. Keep her mind distracted. Besides, she had some genuine questions about last night. After everything.

"So what's..." Rachel didn't really know how to broach it, so just blurted it out frankly. "What's Courtney's deal? Seriously!"

"Oh god," Holly's eyes rolled as a small sigh was let out of her. Like she had been dreading this inevitable conversation. "Yeah, she's gotten a little... bad recently." Finally, away from others, Rachel had managed to get some form of acknowledgment from her sister. But it wasn't enough. 

"A little bad?" Rachel exhaled something of a laugh mostly out her nose. "All she seemed concerned with was... putting it away."

"I mean," Holly huffed. The pivot was sharp. The way an excuse would be. "She was always a bit... on the heavier side." Like before, Rachel noticed this loop of the same platitudes. She remembered one of the girls, perhaps Andrea, spouting something along those same lines as well last night. "She started out heavy. Oh! And she's just stressed! Because of work!" The sisters circled the parking lot & made their way along the curb toward the exit.

"THAT "heavy" though?" Rachel prodded frankly. Holly, who already seemed to quickly be losing her breath sighed a heavy sigh.

"No." She seemed slow to admit. "Not THAT heavy. Just... a bit... sorta chunky. You know? Just... just a... wee bit... fluffier. At least than the rest of us."

"And now the rest of you too..." Rachel said, thinking it was more under her breath. But apparently Holly cued into it.

"What?!" she huffed, looking a bit wounded.

"I mean..." Rachel backpedaled a little. "Her appetite though. It's... nuts."

"It's... it's a little out of hand, sure." Holly moved on & admitted with a sigh. "But like Camille told us. Her Penny said..."

"Yeah!" Rachel cut her off, waving her hands in front of her to punctuate it. She had reached her limit with this level of blind acceptance. "About that!" They started to down towards the front gate. "That's another thing! A HUGE thing! Her Penny is just blurting out her friend's medication interactions? What?! Her whole medical history?! That's like... sensitive information! That's like a breach of personal data. That's breaking the law!" She gave her sister time to respond, but noticed Holly too busy trying to keep up with Rachel's own, already medium pace. "Does any of that... sound right... to you?" Rachel wasn't out of breath, not yet. Definitely not the way Holly was. She just didn't know how to convey the importance of this point to her sister, who had more of a tendency to marvel at every little thing the software did.

"It... it doesn't." She softly admitted, the wind slowly leaving her in sharper exhales. A redness started to permeate her cheeks. "Like she said... she... had her... as a guest." They started down the slope. "Her Penny was... sharing... pertinent... details."

"Yeah! That's a crock o' shit & you know it!" Rachel scoffed, waiting for a response. Holly was slow, looking as though she knew Rachel was right, but didn't want to just outright say it. Instead, Rachel continued with something of a casual observation. "I have a feeling this hill's really going to stink on the way back." She noted softly with a slight bit of foreboding.

"Oh god," Holly realized, full-on beginning to pant. Seemed like her worst suspicions were correct, & her stamina was nothing close to what it had been in the past. She used to seek out hills as part of her old training regimen. Now she had a hard time conceptualizing herself being able to tackle this relatively mild one in reverse. There was like, no way!

"Anyway, I know a thing or two about meds." Rachel alluded. "And what's going on there? It seems... different. Or else she's on like... some HEAVY DUTY shit! She have any issues like..."

"Look!" Holly, out of breath, finally exclaimed with frustration. "I don't know! I don't know... what's up with her! It bothers me too... Okay?!" Now Rachel was the one a little slow to respond after a pause. Holly resumed before she could. "But like... What am I... supposed to do about it?"

"You're her friend!" Rachel squinted. "All of you girls. Supposedly. Let her know you're bothered by it! What she's doing to herself! Maybe it'll give her some impetus to stop! Or at least slow the fuck down a little. At the rate she was going..." Rachel wanted to actually addend "at the rate all of them were going," as Courtney wasn't the only one going to town on those pastries last night. But she got the feeling that she may have been starting to get through, even just slightly. And she didn't want to ruin it. Her sister cut her off anyhow.

"But I mean..." Holly winced. "It's... it's a really... sensitive... topic." 

"Well, yeah," Rachel agreed. "But sensitivity doesn't mean it's not hugely important. Or worth addressing." They reached the bottom of the hill, but Rachel realized Holly was lagging a little. She jogged in place for a few steps waiting for her to catch up. "And even if it is "just stress," which I still don't buy, talk to her about that! It might help! It certainly beats letting her do her own thing & literally become the elephant in the room."

"That's really... She's not...!" Holly gasped, first offended by her pun, but slowly understanding Rachel's ultimate meaning. "You're... you're right." As she reached her sister, her tone kind of signified that they should move on, in both senses.

As they started jogging the curb out in front of the complex, Holly was always lagging one to three steps behind. Her mind wandered to a few months back. To when she first moved into the Bellflower. It was Courtney who was the one who had sort of welcomed her into their little clique. She introduced herself while they were waiting on the office shuttle one day. And yeah, she was different then. Sure, still a fair bit... tubby, but a far-cry from where she was at now. Or last night at least. Not to mention, how kind & super outgoing she was. She could be a bit rebellious. She seemed to like to buck authority a bit. But unlike Rachel, not so much of a contrarian where it got annoying every ten seconds. In fact, Holly thought about how she & Rachel would have probably hit it off famously back then. Before. They were similar in a lot of ways.

She tried to think back to when she first noticed it though. The... change. When Courtney's eating problem first seemed to get out of hand. But there was no one moment, at least none that stuck out to her more than any others. She always seemed as though she liked to indulge. And over time, that indulgence just seemed to consume her. Her thoughts. Her personality. It would grow to be the only thing the girl ever seemed to care about. Just... eating. And with it, over time, she inevitably grew too. And if Holly was being completely honest, it was A LOT.

And while everyone seemed to notice that part of it, no one ever seemed to say anything about it. Just shoot each other looks. Or sideways glances. Or roll an eye here or there. Once, Deidre gave her a discreet heads up that her shirt was riding up, exposing a lot of bare belly & backfat. Courtney acknowledged her with a thanks, readjusted, & seemed undeterred to just dive right back in with her gorging. They just never seemed to overtly talk about that sort of thing. It was just... not something to talk about. In fact, it only ever sort of came up once. Briefly. About a month & a half ago. And not to Courtney's face.

They were all over at Andrea's. And upon moving to her living room, Courtney had eased herself down onto a small but cushy Ottoman of hers. And after about an hour of greedily putting away slices of pie, there was a loud crack & for a second, Holly remembered locking eyes with Court. Time seemed to freeze. 

Courtney's small features in her round, fleshy face fought back for real estate, expressing shock. And for a second, all of her weight was weightless, suspended in the mid-air. She let out something of a shriek, maybe more of a yelp. As gravity began to take hold, some of her excess... flab, seemed to hang, as did her dark hair. And slowly, the whole mass that was her friend began to plummet. That's when the normal flow of time seemed to resume.

It was a loud thud on Andrea's hardwood floor. As well as something of an "ooof" emanating from Courtney herself. The ottoman was crushed, one of its legs splintered & snapped completely off, while another was bent to all hell, hanging on by the thinnest fibers of wood.

"Oh god! I'm... I'm soooo sorry!" Courtney reflexively shuttered. 

"Are you okay?!" Andrea asked panicked.

"I'm... I'm fine. I just... I'm sooo sorry." She struggled. She looked absolutely petrified. Slowly, she tried to get up off the floor. It seemed difficult, eventually she had to roll over onto her hands & knees & push herself up. Before she could get there, Holly & Regina had mobilized to help her get to her feet the rest of the way.

"Oh," Andrea waved. "Don't worry about it. That thing was old. I was probably going to get rid of it anyway! As long as you're alright." It seemed semi-genuine, but maybe as though there was some sort of sentimental attachment.

"I... I think I should go!" Courtney decided.

"NooooOOoooh." The room cooed, in unison.

"It's alright," Regina tried.

"It's no big deal." Camille followed. "Andrea said."

"It was old!" Andrea repeated.

"Nah, but..." Courtney seemed a bit lost. Almost as though she was in shock, even though she didn't hit anything hard. Her fall was pretty cushioned after all. It seemed more the whole... situation. "Thanks. And again, I'm like... super sorry about that! I... I had no idea..."

"It's fine!" Andrea insisted. 

But eventually, Courtney still left in a bit of a tizzy. And as the dust settled, as Andrea set the busted ottoman to one side, someone piped up to fill the silence.

"She's getting like... really fat, right?"

"Veronica!!" Andrea chastised. Similar gasps were had by others. The whole room was appalled. Holly remembered scowling & shooting daggers. Courtney, whom she was talking about was one of the girls she was closest to after all.

"But like... she is though. Or am I like, completely insane?" she remembered Veronica pushing. "I'm not TRYING to be mean!" And slowly, their collective outrage relented, just slightly.

"She... is getting a bit... round." Deidre tried to put diplomatically. "Is everything alright with her? I'm getting a little... worried." And with Deidre saying it, it seemed to give others permission to divulge their true thoughts & feelings too.

"Omigod," Regina sighed. "I'm so glad you said something. I was starting to worry too!"

"She mentioned something about how busy she's been the other day," Camille added with a shrug.

"So stress?" Holly remembered interjecting. "Dang, can I relate!"

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy though!" Veronica continued, in her uncouth way. "She IS getting fat-TER?" The room winced again, getting a little quiet.

"I... I think... well... Who isn't though?" Camille said softly, looking down at herself, with a slight band of pudge giving her distinct muffintop. And she wasn't entirely wrong. Holly was never one to judge, but had noticed smaller changes amongst the others as well. Some items of clothing not fitting the way the wearer thought they did. A new bulge here or there. Nothing as bad as Court, but distinct enough to tell.

"As if!" Veronica responded on reflex, offended at the implication. But even her bitchy expression slowly softened, & Holly remembered the room growing quieter still. Everyone seemed lost in some sort of self-reflection. She remembered herself genuinely having a very loose thought about how "bad" she had been lately. "Pigging out" the other girls. But thinking she could always just turn it around whenever she wanted. She was an athlete after all!

At least, she thought she used to be.

"You good?" Rachel asked. Holly snapped back to reality. And reality sucked. Fatigue was setting in & everything was starting to feel sore. She couldn't seem to catch a satisfying breath. And her rapid heartbeat pulsed sharply in her ears.

"Never... better..." Holly managed, just.

Rachel had been right about Courtney. Rachel always seemed to be right. About Holly's own weight. And her eating. And needing this jog, as much as it really, really sucked right now. And yeah, while Holly welcomed the fresh perspective, she knew everything her sister was right about meant leaving this relative comfort zone was so accustomed to. And Holly started to think that maybe she had just grown way, way too comfortable.

"Hey! Can we maybe... slow it down to... maybe like... a power walk instead?" Holly tried.

"Nice try!" Rachel chuckled, starting to feel a bit winded now too. But she had enough fuel in the tank to accelerate & outpace her older sister for a few strides.

"No... St-stop!" She whined. Holly looked over to see Rachel had spun around & was jogging backwards. She was about to call her a show off but noticed she was intently staring back at the building from street level. 

"Does... the Bellflower have a thirteenth floor?"

"Hah! No!" Holly chuckled. As if for once, she knew something her sister, the know-it-all didn't. While she was zapped of her energy, she was able to find just enough to pick this moment to pounce. "You're supposed to be the smart one! Dontchu know? Building's aren't built with a thirteenth floor. It's unlucky."

"I KNOW that, but... well, leaving Deidre's last night, I actually took the stairs." She said, not intending it to be a humblebrag. But her sister's cranky mood wasn't just going to let it lie.

"Oooh," Holly mocked. "How... health-conscious... of you! We're all... so... very proud." Demonstrating that some of Rachel's own sarcasm may have been rubbing off on her. "Why though?"

"Elevator took forever, & it was... weird..." she didn't want to get into it. But she figured the delivery guy must've got out of there safely, given the lack of a crime scene. "Anyway, I took them... thinking it was only going to be one floor up." Rachel explained. "Because yeah... you're right. They're supposed to skip. But it was strange. There were... two floors. Between us & Deidre's I mean. On the way back, I can show you!" She offered. "One's just not marked. But there's DEFINITELY a floor there."

"A jog... AND take the stairs?" Holly shrieked between panting breaths, the redness spreading everywhere. Every bit of Holly's exposed skin was an exasperated shade of pink now. "Are you TRYING... to kill me? No... No.. I'll just... take your... word for... it." 

"But..." Rachel tried, but Holly shot her a mean look. Perhaps the meanest look she had maybe ever given her. Figuring she was already putting her through more "rigorous" physical activity than the girl had seen in months, she relented. "Alright. Another time." 

As they jogged to the next block, Holly couldn't help but think about her own indulgences leading her up to this very point. Out here now, at the ass crack of dawn, running in extremely tight leggings she felt ready to bust out of, with her once couch potato of a little sister out pacing her. Right now, she was really feeling every single one of those little pig outs she had been prone to. The ones from ladies' nights. And the others, just 'cause. How had it become this hard? She used to do this all the time. Nevermind jogging, full-on sprints! Now, every step felt... seismic. Partly because of how heavy her steps were, feeling as if she was shaking the Earth. Partly because how much everything on her shook with each foot fall. All the while, her heart was pounding. Her breathing sharp, sticcato'ed little pants. Not one square inch of her now many square inches wasn't at least slick, if not soaked with sweat. And it all just felt... awful.

"Miss Holly!" Penny's voice was muffled, but came loudly from out of nowhere, surprising Holly, but straight up scaring Rachel. 

"What the fuck?" She froze. Rachel had figured she wouldn't have to worry about the damn thing this far out from the building.

"Miss Holly!" the AI repeated as Holly stopped short to wrestle her phone out of her hoodie pocket. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's... fine... Penny." She winced between pants, using this as an excuse to droop, her free hand falling onto her thick, corresponding thigh.

"Miss Holly, your heart rate is elevated & you sound as though you're having difficulty breathing."

"It's called working out, ya dummy." Rachel snarled at the phone. "To lessen the impact of all that pizza &..."

"I'm... fine... Penny." Holly insisted as an interjection. "Really. Just... a bit... out of breath. Got to... start again... somewhere." She said, feeling a bit of insincerity creeping in a long the edges. As though she was saying it because it was something Rachel wanted to hear. After feeling this shitty, she didn't know what she herself truly wanted any more. She never expected it to be THIS hard.

"Well, if you insist, Miss Holly." Penny continued. "But be sure to keep properly hydrated. And don't hesitate to ask if you need me to get you a rideshare."

"We're not even an eighth of a mile from the building." Rachel said throwing her arms up. "Turn your phone off! That THING is such... bullshit!"

"Thanks... Penny." Holly wheezed, ignoring her sister. "I'm good... for now."

"How the hell is it dete..." 

"SHE!" Holly corrected with a huff. Rachel conceded but kept a full head of steam.

"How the hell is "SHE" detecting your heart rate?"

"Through... my phone... somehow." Holly surmised, giving it a wiggle before going back to inspecting it. "I think. I... I don't know." 

"I... I hate that thing!" Rachel huffed.

"Why?!" Holly couldn't begin to fathom. "What is... your problem? It's just... a machine.... with a voice."

"I've read articles about stuff like that. AI. The things they can do. How fast they can... I just... you can't really trust..."

"I trust her!" Holly said implicitly. "She's... the best! And just now... she was... looking out... for me." She was mostly thankful that her smart condo was able to distract them long enough through the app to give her a little time catch some of her breath. Her face was still beat red though. And sweaty as hell.

Rachel began jogging again. And Holly begrudgingly resumed her lagging behind. As the sisters ran, they took a road Rachel hadn't been down yet. It was really more of the same. Either high rises like the Bellflower, or office complexes. As far as the eye could see. There were a smattering of trees, vegetation trying to fill the sparse voids between the structures & their parking lots. But all of it was new, a lot of it manicured.

"I gotta... be honest with you," Rachel said, as she estimated they reached the quarter mile mark. "I don't know how... you could live in a place like... like this."

"What's so... bad about it?" Holly winced in a way that did seem able of even comprehending such an opinion.

"It's like..." Rachel was trying to find a good analogy. "It's like... corporate drone-itude. Like some kind of bee hive... almost. Like they set up this whole neighborhood... the way it's all designed... Your work, your shopping..."

"It's all... convenient...? Close... together?" Holly tried to fill in.

"Like... all the decisions? All the... thinking? It's already been done... for you." Rachel continued. "Like it's all... the same. Homogeneous. This whole... monoculture thing. It's like this whole bubble of new, fake, & plastic crap." The way Rachel said "plastic" made Holly flash back to a myriad of similar conversations the two had back in their high school years. Holly interpreted Rachel's usage of "plastic" to basically be code for "something I don't like." As annoying as these diatribes were though, part of Holly kind of missed them. Just a little. She closed her eyes & smirked. "And it kind of keeps you from ever really... leaving that bubble. So you're not intellectually curious. You don't... seek things out. New experiences. New people, given everyone else around you is almost exactly the same." 

"You don't... like my friends?!" Holly seemed offended. It wasn't necessarily the thing Rachel had been driving at, but at the same time, in a many ways, it wasn't far off. Still, she had to be fair, & give credit where credit was due.

"Actually? If I'm being honest? They weren't all as annoying as I thought they'd be." Rachel admitted begrudgingly. Holly perked up with a bit of a smile before her sister continued. "But that's... that's not my point!"

"What... IS... your point...?"

"I... I don't know," Rachel tried to find the words. "It... just, to me? It all feels like some sort of... trap..."

"Trap?!" Holly scoffed. She probably would've busted out laughing if she still possessed the energy.

"I said, I don't know." Rachel faltered slightly. "It's hard... hard to describe."

"So... happiness...?" Holly pressed further. "That's... that's some sort... of trap... for you?" Rachel rolled her eyes.

"All this new blocky architecture & consumer culture bullshit with the high end shops? None of that's my idea of happiness. Where's like... the art?"

"Some of the offices... have statues.... In their lobbies." Holly said, as though she unironically thought it might've been a valid point. It was Rachel's turn to scoff.

"Get serious."

"You... get... serious!" Holly struggled. The Penny-assisted breather didn't help as much as she hoped & she was still really feeling it. "Besides... who... would ever... want to... TRAP... someone... like... you?"

"Well... if they did, they'll have to catch me first!" Rachel laughed. She suddenly turned her jog into a bolt. As tired as she was getting, it was mostly just showing off that she could do it. Holly winced, already at what felt like her new max speed.

"Don't! She reached after. "Stop... Wait uh..." In that instant, she completely froze. 

It didn't really make a noise. But suddenly Holly felt the cool morning air brushing directly against the soft skin of a new spot that wasn't supposed to have such direct contact. This led to the thing that Rachel had noticed as she doubled back: Holly's eyes shooting wide before settling into an embarrassed expression. Her already red face rapidly reddening in a fuller, slightly different way now.

"What?!" Rachel asked out of concern.

"I... I..." Holly was unable to speak to the problem. Instead, she slowly, discreetly tried to twist her hip forward to look down at her ass, which had apparently split the seam of the leggings, exposing a bit of her pasty ass. It was immediately clear to Rachel, but Holly couldn't seem to see it right away over the hemispheres of her tush, having to feel for it instead. But her suspicions were confirmed.

"It's... it's not a big deal." Rachel tried to assure her, pursing her lips to keep from smiling an evil smile.

"Oh my god." Holly said, still blushing somehow even more than before.

"It's okay!" Rachel tried again. But her sister didn't seem open to reassurance.

"What... am I... going to do?" Holly panicked. Rachel, squinted at her as if it was obvious.

"You're wearing a hoodie. Duh!"

"But... I..." Holly stammered for a second, thinking of the implications. "I... only have... my sports bra... underneath."

"So...?" Rachel shrugged, not seeing the issue. She could totally get away with a sports bra, since ostensibly, jogging qualified in her book as "Sports."

"So!" Holly yelled at first but then rasped between clenched teeth. "My... tummy?" Rachel fought off a full-on face palm, but did look down & clench her eyes shut for a second.

"So what?" she asked, nonplussed. Not in the way Holly seemed to be.

"So I have a fucking pot belly now!" She argued. "I don't want it out... waving around... so the whole world... can see! I already feel... so friggin'... ridiculous! The way none of this... fits... & how... my ass is... literally spilling... out of these pants now!"

"Look! It's either your gut or... your butt." Rachel chortled, amused with how she had unintentionally set herself up for the rhyme. Her sister was far less so.

"Oh, I'm glad it's sooo funny for you!" Holly snapped, looking as though she was ready to cry. She struggled to try & pull the hoodie low enough to cover the hole. The problem was that in doing so, she actually ripped the hole a slight bit wider. Before Holly could panic more, something else seemed to now catch Rachel's attention.

"Hup!" Rachel hopped. Holly didn't know what she was doing at first but realized that a car was approaching. Her sister had immediately hopped into action, strategically moving into a position to cover her sister's busted leggings from the road, both literally & figuratively covering her derriere. "I gotchu." 

Holly's shoulders drooped. She was both utterly humiliated, & yet moved by her sister's patience & act of vigilance. In that instant, she decided that Rachel, as always, was right. If she was going to have to hightail her fat ass back the third of a mile or so back up the hill home, her embarrassing belly was just a slightly lesser evil than her bare ass.

"This is... so embarrassing." Tears were welling up as she struggled to wiggle out of her hoodie, making a concerted effort to not move her lower body in the process & worsen the hole. Rachel continued her view obstruction as another car whizzed by. Of course two of the only five they'd seen all morning came in quick succession now. "Penny!" Holly remembered, finally getting the hoodie off her head.

"What?!" Rachel squinted.

"She mentioned... rideshare... remember?"

"We're not taking a car!" Rachel literally stomped to put her foot down. "It's not that far! And it's still early, hardly anyone's out here. And you & I both need every bit of exercise we can get!" She said. Something about the way she said it made her think of Fran. In her even worse fitting athletic gear. It suddenly dawned on Rachel, the odd spectacle of it had been too distracting to realize the intent. But that seemed to be her exact mindset too.

"Fine..." Holly grumbled, calling Rachel back from her thoughts. At the same time, Holly's own seemed to be consumed with shame. Her eyes were pointed downward, not at the knot she tied around herself with the sleeves of the hoodie but just past her modest bustline. Looking at soft curvature of her belly, just... out now. For all to see.

"It's really not that bad." Rachel said, peeking over her shoulder. Seeing the hoodie in place around Holly's "waist," she slowly turned around & gave up blocking duties. She tied it a little tight, causing her belly to bulge the littlest bit around it.

"I've never had a... a... GUT before!" Holly's face squinched up into a crying expression, but stopped just short of the act.

"You've had one for at least a month." Rachel said between her teeth.

"Okay, but not like... out! For the whole... world to see!" Holly stomped. She felt the hole pop just one more little stitch. "Let's... " she waved her arm in the direction of the Bellflower. And instead of a jog, the two girls started their walk back.

It was quieter this time around. A lot slower too. And despite what seemed like adequate coverage, Rachel would tense up & help block view as traffic started to pick up.

All the while, Holly's mind was racing. With how's & why's? Like "why did she ever let it get this bad?" Or "how had she not even noticed what she was doing to herself?" Then again, part of her was asking herself "why, after all this was she still starving right now," clamoring for some kind of breakfast. But then, deep down, part of her started thinking about Courtney again. She started wondering if maybe this was somewhat how she felt after the whole Ottoman incident. But also, how after an apparent wake up call, she still didn't seem to change her ways.

"You okay?" Rachel asked. Holly was slow to answer, eventually only nodding. "We're almost there!"

"No, I know." Holly tried to form a smile back. She had regained most of her breath, & some of the blotches of flushed pink had subsided on her cheeks. "Thanks for... blocking the view." she said softly. "From traffic I mean."

"Of course." Rachel said, reaching an arm around her big sis's shoulder. She still wasn't quite used to just how fleshy it had become.

After a little bit, they had reached the Bellflower. But faced a new challenge.

"Remember how I said this was going to suck on the way down?" Rachel said, looking up from the foot of hill.

"Why? Why am I... out here?" Holly muttered. "I... I coulda.... slept in."

One foot after another, the sisters slowly began tackling the incline. Any breath Holly had regained was lost almost immediately, as her cheeks once again flashed the same reddish hue from earlier. And even Rachel, the relatively more athletic one between the two of them now started to struggle.

"I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you..." She heard her older sister beginning to mantra under her breath. She assumed she was speaking of the hill itself, if only because it seemed a little too mean for Holly to mean her, but given her crankiness, she wasn't ready to rule that out entirely either. And now, only reaching the halfway point, she herself was inclined to agree. With either. On principle. This hill sucked! And deep down, part of Rachel's conspiratorial side wondered if that was maybe by design.

When they finally got back, Holly staggered to her couch & landed diagonally with a hard plop, face down, a long groan punctuating it as she dropped. In the confines of her own home now, the hoodie had flapped up, showing Rachel the split along her backside had continued to grow, exposing a large portion of Holly large ass, sticking straight up in the air. It also looked as though she had started to blow out the inner thighs along with. And she was too tired to care, at least around her own sister.

"Oh Miss Holly," Penny's monitor whirled to life from the center console unit in the ceiling. "I'm sorry but it appears those leggings are ruined." With growl, Holly summoned what small amount of energy she had left to wrestle her mouth clear of the couch's cushion. 

"Ya don't say!" she belted at the machine sarcastically. Rachel smirked, proud of her.

"For real though, Holly," She tried to interject. "I know you're a little embarrassed. And mostly tired. But that today? That was good. Really good!" Figuring her sister needed the encouragement. Too bad dishing it out wasn't really much of her forte. 

"What?!" Holly rolled over with some effort, ending up in a weird half slouch between the bottom of her couch & the floor. She was as angry as Holly ever seemed to get. "Don't friggin' patronize me! That was awful! I'm... I'm..." Rachel cut her off before she could presumably say one of those cliche sayings she'd say like "a hot mess" or something similar.

"... Just getting back in the swing of things!" Rachel sat down on the floor next to her, leaning against the arm of the large sofa. "I've been there! Starting out. Hell, I'm starting everything over right now! I know it's tough, believe me! But if I could do it?" She gave Holly's shoulder a pat instead of finishing the thought. Holly's anger seemed to dissipate some, but she still looked ready to wallow.

"I... I don't know." She self-consciously adjusted her wrapped hoodie. "I really... don't think I can. I think we should just face facts." She said, her eyes despondently downwards. Her hand slapped her fleshy middle, protruding just the slightest bit further thanks to her posture. "We just have to accept this... this is me now. I'm just going to be fat. From now on." Punctuating every bit of that with a poke, slap, or shake.

"Oh, stop being so melodramatic!" Rachel sighed. "You're supposed to be the obnoxiously perky one." Slowly, Holly mustered a pitiful little smile, breaking the second or two of silence with dainty snort of laughter. "We'll take it a little slower. Go somewhere a little less hilly. Maybe get that clothing subscription or whatever to send you some workout gear that won't quit on you so easily. But we'll keep working on it, okay?" Rachel put up a pinky, as if she were 8 again. "Soon enough, you'll probably be running laps around my unathletic ass again in no time." Holly reluctantly wrapped her pinky around Rachel's.

"If you say so." she said, seeming to cop one of Rachel's own, patented shrugs. "I... I just... don't see how." Gradually, her expression changed, got a bit serious. "Speaking of which, I was thinking about it. And you're... you're right..." 

"About...?" Rachel tried to pull.

"Court." Holly sighed tersely. "Courtney, I mean. I... I think I should maybe go talk to her. One on one." Rachel's eyes widened a bit. "Even if it is just stress, like she said it is, I think you're right. Maybe she could still just use somebody to talk to?"

"Y-yeah!" Rachel agreed. "That's good! That's really good. You can be there for her! Try to prevent it from getting... much worse." Holly scoffed.

"But really... how much worse could she really even get?"