by BigBird74
If the moments leading up to that moment of delicious
triumph had been among the most nerve wracking of her life, the release Melissa
felt the moment her sister had stepped into the bathroom was pure ecstasy. For
weeks now her anxieties had been building as the day approached that she would
try to supplant her sister. All those sleepless nights, bouts of self-doubt and
moments of near panic had suddenly paid off. Melissa closed her eyes and
breathed in deeply, replaying recent events in her head, recalling how she had
snatched away her sister’s undeserved fortune.
For a moment, Melissa thought she recognised the old
Dahlia trying to assert herself. She feared she was about to fight back and
upend all the careful planning. However to her palpable relief and just as the
doctor had expected, Dahlia’s desire to reclaim a life she now associated with
pure stress and near terror was so tepid, any remaining willpower she possessed
simply imploded at the moment of truth.
Melissa nodded at Ms Nechita who duly left the suite to collect the doctor. In any good cop, bad cop routine, you need a foe and a friend, and it was now time for the doctor’s soothing manner to convince Dahlia make the right decision for everyone. After all, no one could rest easy until she was safely consigned to her new life. That thought sent a shiver through Melissa, as her moment of reverie was interrupted by a forgotten ghost. Despite everything that had been achieved in such a short time, in spite of standing so close to having it all, she knew she would never be able to relax until Dahlia was out of the way. Melissa hated uncertainty and was eager to push things as far as she could and finish this.
Throughout her life, Melissa’s impatience had been
both a curse and a blessing. For most of her life it had played a negative
role, leading her to apply herself only partially and grow disenchanted and
bitter as she watched sister’s success come quickly and easily. However, more
recently, it had proved something of an asset, almost compelling her to reach
out and grab the chance to replace Dahlia, dedicating herself to that mission
with great alacrity. Now, perhaps, the pendulum was swinging back again? Her
impatience risked degenerating into a frustration that would see her pushing
too hard. She needed the doctor’s reassuring hand on the tiller to calm the
situation.
Much of this was understandable. Melissa would always
feel a fraud until she felt her sister had accepted the situation and somehow
anointed her as ‘Dahlia.’ Somehow Dahlia had to pass her life to her sister and
play a role in legitimising the whole moment. Even then, would she be happy?
What of the others participating in this scheme? How would she feel knowing
that they would always see her as Melissa? Of course, the adult thing to do would
be to accept that and move on as best as you can. Perfection is rarely
achievable and, if it is, can be so fleeting it renders it meaningless. Melissa
though knew there was more to do before she could feel her task was complete.
When the doctor arrived at the scene, he approached
the door to the bathroom and knocked gently, before a clearly distressed Dahlia
bid him to enter. The next few minutes were crucial. If Dahlia was to accept
her place and settle for where she had landed, she needed to feel the other
options facing her were unreal or risky. The doctor could see that the shock of
seeing Melissa in her new body had released Dahlia from his hypnotic grip. But
he wanted to test whether a new one was needed or whether the thin façade that
had separated ‘Dahlia’ and ‘Petra’ was now so broken there was no need to
worry.
Dahlia was in a fragile state and her mind was in a
turmoil. Her face was even redder than before, with tears streaming down her
fat cheeks. She looked a mess as her vast, rubbery chest rose and fall with
each tearful gasp for air. She was wiping the mirror clean as the doctor walked
in. She turned to face him, now fully aware of the vastness of her body.
“What is happening? Did you do this? Help Melissa?”
She asks of him.
A few stunted nods confirmed that he had “Yes Petra. I
could see you obviously wanted to change your life radically. Your lifestyle
had changed and you embraced it with such vigour. It was obvious you wanted
it.”
“But. I did not understand what I was doing. You… YOU
should have been protecting me. Look at me! I am so repulsive now. So fat. So
hideous.”
“Don’t be so cruel to yourself. You and I discussed
this. You long felt you did not deserve the success you had. You were unable to
handle the fame or success. When I saw you willingly let go and embrace this
new life, I saw there was no reason to stop you. Remember how it felt to be
free? You ran through that door I opened for you.”
Dahlia looked worried. She had indeed grabbed at this
with both hands. Of course she had known that what she was doing to herself was
not the behaviour of a pristine supermodel. It just seemed like everything was
okay at that moment. She recalled the high she felt each time she broke a taboo
or over indulged herself. Everything she engaged in was done willingly, with an
almost childish pleasure. As she began to recount her own culpability in this
sorry, sleazy affair, she once again felt ashamed. The doctor shut the door for
privacy.
“Petra..”
“Don’t call me that!” Dahlia said quietly.
“Shh. It is alright. You can be honest with me. I know
what you want to say. I know how you really feel.” His gaze was fixed upon
hers, waiting for her to look up and connect. For the briefest of moments they
did and she flushed bright red again as the eroticism of the moment softens
everything. She had shared her body with this man so many times recently.
Though the amorous visits had diminished of late, the memories of his skin
touching hers, his potency reaching deep inside of her, it all made her blush
more.
“You wanted this, Petra,” he reasoned, leaning in
towards her, his mouth up close to her ear “You found it thrilling. You never
should have been Dahlia. It was a mistake. We both saw that. You can stay this
way … forever”
He went on, reminding her of all they had covered in
her therapy sessions, how her desire for shame and humiliation had driven so
much of what she had done to herself. Each step of the way in her demise, she
had fully invested herself, just more as a passenger than an antagonist. Why
had she not spoken out as her body had ballooned like that? Images of their
most intimate moments together flashed by her. Each step of their affair marked
by ever more degrading sexual acts. She trembled at their memory, her body
rippling with acute desire again. She remembered when he first turned her down,
how she had felt when he needed to be elsewhere the following night. No anger.
No sense of betrayal. Just a dimmed sense of unfairness and acceptance. It was
right. She was no longer Dahlia. She was Petra. Fat, ugly Petra was used to
being treated that way. She only took what she could get, not like Dahlia.
Dahlia was fussy, difficult and careful of her image. Petra lived life
dangerously. Her body was most certainly not her temple and she had piled abuse
on it. Sexual freedom was just another side of the same careless streak. She
felt herself want him so badly. But he was out of her league.
Their conversation twisted and turned. Each inflection
point seemed designed to illustrate how Petra had largely supplanted Dahlia in
her everyday existence. Did she want all that pressure back? Could she ever
hope to lose all that weight again? Surely you are happier living the way you
always needed to? The questions kept coming till, like she were caught in some
tidal wave, Dahlia found herself turned over and unable to deny the facts:
against her better judgement, she admitted to him that she was hopelessly lost
and that she felt nothing but fear and stress at the thought of returning to
her old life.
Was it that simple? Could she admit it? She knew that
to be Dahlia again would mean stepping back into the limelight. Waiting in the
wings was her sister, an almost flawless copy of Dahlia before she had started
down this road of self-destruction. Then. He took her hand and led her out of
the bathroom.
Ms Nechita and Melissa were there waiting, eager to
hear what the deposed supermodel had to say. Dalia’s highly embarrassed state
was obvious. Less obvious was the arousal streaming through her. The doctor
knew it of course and he squeezed her hand, prompting her to speak.
“Ms. Western. Your bathroom is finished. I… I am sorry
for earlier. I was wrong to question you,” she spoke quietly, never quite
making eye contact. Though now large and physically imposing, Dahlia felt as
though she were shrinking as a person, reducing herself and admitting to all in
the room that she was a mere ‘flake’ that could not handle the good fortune
life had given her.
She wiped the tears from her round cheeks and looked
at Ms Nechita for guidance. “Come with me Petra. We will be back later to look
after Ms Western.” As she led Dahlia from the room, it felt to her that every
step taken led her further away from her prior life. She questioned herself:
should she stop? But as she walked down the corridor and away from the new
Dahlia, she felt that masochistic pleasure bubble up within her.
Even then, though everything had changed, in some
respects, nothing had. In the back of her mind, she told herself that, until
Melissa had made her debut as Dahlia, this could all be stopped… if she wanted.
Or at least that was what she told herself to stop herself from running away
from it all. Three days. That was all there was until her sister would replace
her and then what? What would happen to her? She had always stood by her
sister. But, while she knew the resentment that had built up between them, she
had no idea of the depths to which it now reached.
Jenny Craig to the rescue?
ReplyDeleteWith this installment, BigBird74 seems determined to wring the last drop of melodrama out of the previous chapters, without actually advancing the plot or deepening characterization. Jenny Craig to the rescue would be highly welcome! Seriously, some unexpected plot twist of that sort is pretty much the only way left for the author to dig himself out of the bathos into which he has sunk.
DeleteI had high hopes and the first few chapters were promising but sadly I lost interest
DeleteOutstanding chapter. Love the rationalization within the character's mind. I can't wait for the next installment. Keep up the great work Big Bird.
ReplyDeleteAt some point, like "A New Employee" could all the chapters be posted together.
"When will you make an end of it Buonarotti ? A great Charlton Heston EPIC. When Rex Harrison keeps asking Charlton Heston (Rex as Pope Julius and Charlton as Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy) So I am asking Big Bird, When you will make an end to this story BB???
ReplyDeleteLove where this is going, Big Bird. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteexciting & erotic. Poor Dahlia. Ican see why Melissa is doding this of course * can't wait for more. Iwonder where theyu're going to gety aleague Identity for 'Petra'? I can't wait for thepress conferance. It will be erotic to see Melissa whereing D's best clothes, dealiong with S';d friends &* emplotees & have them dispise 'Petra.' There is after all fascination ion madness. Alsop, will D still havre sex with thoe docor is she too gross?
ReplyDeleteon re=reading this I think youii need to add glamouis clothes that the new D wil now be wearing into the story
ReplyDelete