chapter 7

Cadence carefully set the meat pies she had just made into a container before texting Marco that she'd be over in a few minutes. She was a little bit earlier than they usually met, but she figured he didn't mind. She spent a couple of minutes fixing her hair and then grabbed the meat pies and went across the hall. After opening the door she stood there in shock. Marco stood over his kitchen counter, shoving what looked like the 12th donut of the dozen she had given him just a few hours earlier. He glared, embarrassed but annoyed, "Thanks for knocking!"

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry," she said, flustered.

He finished up the donut and wiped his hands on his pants. "It's not that big of a deal."

She stood there awkwardly.

"Yes, in case you were wondering, I did just eat an entire box of donuts in one sitting."

"Oh, I, uh, didn't even notice."

"Oh stop lying," he brushed the crumbs off his t shirt, "it's a little hard to miss what a pig I am."

"You're not--"

"Yes I am," he cut her off. "I'm so fat now. I've gained over 30 pounds in the past three months. Most of that was probably just in this last few weeks," he gestured to the empty donut case.

"Marco-"

"If I kept pigging out at this rate I'd be immobile by the end of the year," He sounded agitated, "Can you imagine that? Me, glued to this chair by my own weight? My fat spilling out of my clothing? Still shoveling pizza, donuts, and beer into my mouth?" He laughed sarcastically. "I can see it too easily. I have nearly no self-control."

"I think you're overreacting," she tried to calm him down.

"I couldn't expect you to understand. You're thin and can eat whatever you want. People like me have to watch it."

Cadence nearly started tearing up. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize what a problem this would be. You just enjoyed everything so much... And I thought it was a fun way to spend time with you."

Marco's belly bulged out as he plopped down in a dining chair. "No, I'm not blaming you..." he sighed. "I just wish I had some restraint."

"I'll help if I can."

"Honestly, you can help by not bringing anything by anymore or asking me over. Like I said, I don't blame you... I'm the one stuffing my own fat face. I made these choices. But I need some time to figure my sh*t out and go on a diet or something."

Cadence felt her heart nearly beating out of her chest. She wanted to confess everything. That she loved how much he loved her cooking. That he looked amazing gaining weight and she hoped he would gain more. That she was falling in love with him and it broke her heart to hear that he was unhappy. She didn't say any of that, however. She was a bit shocked and couldn't formulate a coherent response to accurately describe how she really felt. She wasn't someone who was good at saying meaningful things on the fly. She liked to think over stuff before talking. So, she gave him a hug, told him she was sorry again, and took the meat pies back to her apartment.
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Cadence just cried and cried at home. She hated how hurt he seemed and she hated herself for not knowing what to do about it. An attempt telling him that his weight didn't matter might help, but the truth was that his weight did matter to him, and there was probably nothing she could do about it. She felt so stupid for thinking he'd magically love getting fat. There probably aren't many people out there that go for that kind of thing, she thought. She decided to just give him the space he seemed to want. In a few weeks time he'd still be across the hall.