chapter 3 of 5 — dusty grows complacent

It had been 7 months since the tragedy, and both Dad and Dusty had regained the 10lb they lost. Well, sort of. Whilst Dad's weight had stabilised at 170lb, Dusty's weight had increased quite a bit more so to 185lb. Some of this could be explained by the extra inch in height he'd grown, now matching his father's height, but for the first time, Dusty was outweighing his father. When they were eating out, Dusty was gradually ordering more items from the menu, consuming them all each time.

Dusty: 'Dad, can you buy me more snack foods? I keep running out and then I lose the motivation to study.'

Dad had noticed a decline in Dusty's studies, but was too busy to give him more one-on-one support. Also Dusty was having a growth spurt, obviously needing the extra energy. It seemed a fair deal.

Dad: 'Sure thing son, I'll stock up the cupboards for the week and I'll replenish the goods before we run out.'
Dusty: 'Thanks Dad.'

Indeed Dad kept to his word, but Dusty eventually started to abandon his schoolwork entirely, jumping straight onto the PlayStation when they got home from eating out. After a few more months, Dusty was starting to look a bit chubby. Dad was becoming weary of this destructive behaviour, and tried to confront Dusty about it.

Dad: 'Hey Dusty...'
Dusty: '*grunts*'
< br>Dusty's eyes were fixated on the PlayStation game, occasionally stuffing food into his mouth.

Dad: 'I've been buying you more study snacks than ever before recently...'
Dusty: '...'
Dad : 'But I think you're doing less study than ever before...'
Dusty: 'Mmmph... I know... This is the only thing that stops me thinking about mother though...'

Dad thought about this.

Dad: 'I know it's hard son, but you're failing school like this... it's not good for you to put this stress on yourself... Are you sure you can't focus on your studies?'
Dusty: '*grunts* Dad let me concentrate...'

This was becoming a trend from Dusty... he was always well-manered to everyone, but increasingly lately he's showing more disrespect to his father.

Dad: 'Sorry Dusty.'

Dad waited another 40 minutes before Dusty left to use the bathroom, but then stopped him on his return.

Dad: 'Dusty, we need to talk about school.'
Dusty: '*sigh* Dad, can I just take a break from school, studying's just too much for me at the moment...'
Dad: 'Dusty...'
Du sty: 'Please Dad, please!'
Dad: '...'
Dusty: &a pos;I just can't concentrate, all I do is think about mother and it makes me miserable. Just let me take a break from school, I can go back when I'm ready! Please Dad, please!'

Dusty was so whiny, he'd never been like this before, but Dad stood eye-to-eye with him, and he just couldn't say no.

Dad: 'Alright son, I'll let the school know tomorrow.'
Dusty: 'Thanks Dad! I love you!'

Dusty hugged his dad, who felt his son's soft tummy protruding against his torso.

Dusty: 'Also, can you leave me your credit card tomorrow? I need to buy some new clothes.'

Then Dusty returned to the sofa, eating snacks and playing his game until 3am before he went to bed. Dad was worried about his son's academic future, but little did he know he should have been more worried about Dusty's 210 pounds and counting.