chapter 7

He pulled through the KFC drive-thru and ordered a 14 piece bucket. He started eating it before he even pulled out of the parking lot, trying to keep an eye on the road. Luckily, it didn't take him long to get home.

He didn't have long before he had to be at the bakery for his shift. Scott tried to stay calm. The idea of being around people and so much food in his condition terrified him but he was determined to make it through the day. He walked up to the apartment, feeling nauseous with each step and sat down to finish his KFC.

He set an alarm on his phone so that he could take a short nap before his shift, with the hopes that he'd feel a little less stuffed. When the alarm went off, it felt like no time at all had passed and all Scott felt was groggy.

He pulled himself off the couch and prepared two more shake bottles with ice cream and put them in his bag, followed by a few breakfast bars, hoping it was enough to get him through his six hour shift.

He pulled a work shirt out of his closet and looked it over. It was his largest one but the button down style wasn't likely to be flattering. He put it on and did up the buttons and looked himself over in the mirror. He was lucky that the shirt was black. It almost disguised the way the material stretched over his bulging belly.

Scott made himself a quick sandwich before he left and ate it as he drove to the bakery. Sarah smiled at him as he entered and he gave her a nod as he walked to the back to clock in. He was closing that night, so he hoped he wouldn't see too many people. The first hour went fine; Scott snuck into the back to down half a bottle of the melted ice cream to keep himself topped up. Sarah talked to him about a few of the new recipes and showed him the cheesecake mix in the fridge.

"Don't worry about it," she said, gesturing to two full-size mixing bowls on the bottom shelf. "They're both labelled, they just need to chill before I build the cakes tomorrow morning."

Scott agreed to leave them there before she left and he started his cleaning duties. As soon as she walked out of the door, Scott made sure there were no customers lingering inside or out before he walked into the back to finish off both bottles of ice cream. His stomach lurched as he finished the second off; he was full and he hoped it was going to be enough to get through the rest of his shift.

Scott cleaned the sides of the cabinets down, wincing as he felt his full belly pressing against the glass. He had a good few hours left and a handful of customers popped in for bread and pastries. After an hour or so, most of the front was cleaned and ready to close up. Scott tidied as he went and started to label up the products that could be kept overnight.

As the sun started to set outside, he felt his stomach begin to grumble. He was worried; he wasn't quite hungry, but he knew he was in the danger zone.

Scott ate through the few breakfast bars he'd brought and tried to ignore all of the glorious food in the cabinet and back room. When the time came, he locked the front door, flipped the sign and pulled down the blinds. He started his closing duties, pulling numbers off of the till and locking the drawer away in the office to be counted in the morning.

Scott tried to hurry through everything else, knowing that his hunger was growing and he didn't have long until he knew he had to get out of there.

As he was sweeping the floor, he passed a mirror and got a good glimpse at himself. His work shirt was worse than he'd expected. From the side, he could see how the fabric was clinging to his belly. The parts around his sides and the buttons were wrinkled and straining. He'd need to do something about that before his next shift.

Almost absent mindedly, Scott continued on with the floor. His problem was, he hadn't really eaten anything real in a few hours and his belly knew that.

His mind kept drifting back to the cheesecake mix in the fridge. He shook his head to try to clear his thoughts but helped himself to a slab of brownie. He knew it would be okay. There were no cameras and nobody to see him and they wouldn't have minded anyway.

Last of all, Scott had to double check the back room. The floor was clean and everything had been put away before Sarah had left but he needed to check the labelling and dates in the fridge. The first thing Scott looked at was the cheesecake mix. The two mixer bowls were huge. They weren't small bowls like he'd had at home, they were large, metal bowls, for their industrial mixer. They called her Doris.

Both bowls were half full with the mix, perfectly textured and already wrapped. Scott tried to ignore them but part of him just wanted to taste them. He knew Sarah wouldn't mind, in fact, she'd probably welcome it. Still, Scott knew he shouldn't. What he really needed to do was finish his job, clock out, and go binge somewhere else. He was feeling his control wearing thin.

He checked the top three shelves and then paused. His stomach growled again, bellowing and angry. He needed to eat.

Scott squeezed his eyes shut and begged his body to co-operate for one more minute. He even thought about just grabbing his bag and walking out. Nobody would notice a few jobs being missed.

He knew it was too late.

He felt like his body was controlling him, not the other way around. In the back of his mind, he was reminded of transformation scenes in old movies, when sane human beings were wracked with uncontrollable desires.

He dropped to the floor and pulled the first mixer bowl into his lap. He tore the wrapping off and stuck his hand into the bowl, scooping a heap of fluffy yet heavy cheesecake mix into his mouth. He had to hand it to Sarah; the cheesecake mix was amazing: creamy, thick and just the perfect amount of vanilla.

Scott moaned after his fourth handful, in both ecstacy and discomfort as he felt his belly begin to bloat out under his tight clothing. Half of the mix was already gone; his handfuls were huge and heaping and it was hard for Scott to work out just how much he'd eaten. Not that it mattered, he wasn't going to be able to stop.

By the time Scott finished the mix, he felt a little nauseous but he knew he wasn't done. His belly was full but he knew he could eat more than that. He leaned forwards and pulled the second bowl towards him out of the fridge.

Scott wished he could stop; he knew that each of those bowls usually made three full size cheesecakes. Sure, he wasn't eating the base but that hardly mattered.

It didn't stop him from digging his sticky hands into the second bowl. This one was lightly chocolate flavoured. Scott in dug in like he was a starving man. He was far from that; the more he ate, the tighter his clothes became and the more his stomach began to ache. He shifted his legs around the bowl and leaned back a little, giving his belly a little more room.

Scott looked down at himself. His shirt was covered with drops of cheesecake and the buttons were straining around his firm gut.

Still, Scott didn't slow down. He kept shovelling handfuls of cheesecake into his mouth.

PING

Scott jumped when he heard two of his buttons ricochet off of the mixing bowl in front of him. His belly was pressing through the gap their absence created.

He was done. He was so done. His stomach hurt; he felt fuller than he'd ever felt as the heavy cheesecake settled thickly inside of him and he was sitting on the floor, eating with his hands in front of the fridge. He was at work. He was a mess. He felt so fat and useless and he was done.

He should have been done.

Scott kept eating until the second bowl was empty and his head was so foggy that it was all he could do to stand. He fought the urge to sleep, knowing that he couldn't pass out there. He didn't know how long he'd been eating but he couldn't risk staying there any longer. Sarah was due to come back in in the early morning. If he slept, there was a chance he wouldn't wake up until she found him.

Scott felt sick as he stumbled out of the kitchen. He grabbed his bag and pulled his jacket over his ruined shirt.

He didn't even think about the state he'd left the kitchen in. He was going to be in trouble no matter what. Scott locked up behind him but that was all he could do. He stumbled to his car and sat down heavily. He sighed and laid his head back in his seat.

Scott knew he was in no state to drive but he had no choice. He gave himself a few minutes to clear his head before putting his key in the ignition. He drove home slowly, taking care around corners and other cars. Luckily, the roads were fairly empty and he made it home with little trouble.

Scott turned off the car and just sat there. He felt awful and sluggish. He knew he wouldn't make it up the stairs to his apartment.

He shut his eyes just for a moment.

When he opened them again, the sun had risen. The air outside looked grey and cold with the early morning light. Scott squinted and rubbed his eyes. His phone was flashing in its cradle on the dash. It was 6.30 AM. Sarah had gotten to the bakery.

He ignored it and started the car. He couldn't deal with that. He needed to breakfast.