Chapter 1

Everly Barnes, fit and lean, only wore the faintest wears of time passing on her lovely, sharp face. An educated woman three years into her career and four years into her relationship, Everly appeared living a splendid life on the outside. On the inside, however, she felt a deep longing for truth. On the inside, she knew her perfect figure and flawless features deceived herself and those around her. The face of a fit woman hid a fat woman’s features. The exact day is lost among the timeline of her life, but Everly discovered she could keep her inflated figure compact. Hundreds of flabby pounds shied from the world and hidden behind a well-sculpted stomach, pert ass, and slender neck. For her career and social life, this was only a boon; the unfortunate reality of the world treated some better than others based only on looks. For herself, she struggled with the effort to maintain this skinny mirage. Like overworking a muscle-or so she imagined given her actual sedentary lifestyle-her mind and body now ached from holding so much fat from her frame. She thought about letting it all go, allowing her figure to swell and disperse the lie she lived, but it was not that simple. The first concern that froze her action: the social ramifications. The judgment others would harshly place on a rounded out Everly’s soft figure. Her boyfriend too, Lucas, would see the real her and the jiggling imperfections that came with the truth. The thought of risking what she built over the last few years debilitated her into inaction. This skinny lie not only paralyzed her will, but she kept up the ruse for so long, she didn’t know how to let go. She held up her world so long, she couldn’t put her arms down. And so she was at a terrible impasse of feeling completely overburdened and couldn’t mentally or physically soothe her burden. Life was draining each and every day. She didn’t know how much longer things could go on like this.

A Saturday morning in a warm month on a day where having to do nothing meant everything, Everly awoke to the dull ache she grew accustomed to and the fatigue she still could not bear. The ceiling of her splendid little apartment she shared with Lucas filled almost her entire field of view. It was all she felt she could do, stare at that eggshell white ceiling. Despite a full eight hours of sleep, they were restless, and left Everly with little energy to do anything other than splay out on her side of the bed. Her ears picked up the faint sound of Lucas brushing his teeth in the bathroom. When she had energy to spare, she would have gotten up, wrapped her wiry arms around her partner, and pressed into his chiseled form while kissing him. Now, even those simple pleasures grew fainter. Travels and trips, late nights out, and social gatherings had all vanished from her life. She barely could force herself to work most days and used her weekends to completely recuperate.

Lucas re-entered their room, wearing worn jeans and no shirt, revealing his strong dedication to the gym. He looked at the unfortunately common sight of the woman he loved and felt a familiar concern fill his heart. He tried being supportive of his girlfriend by maintaining a positive attitude and helping her when she needed it. There was something wrong with her and he just wanted to help but she fussed over being a burden when he tried or shooed away talk about seeing a doctor or a psychologist. He would wake up and see her lying, almost in pain, just as dawn summoned a new day. It tortured him inside that he couldn’t help her, that there was no plan of action to make her better. If there was a number he could pay he’d pay it in a heartbeat to make her better, but there was nothing he could do. Instead, he had to watch his girlfriend suffer every day from…something.
The thin woman lifted her neck with effort and saw her caring boyfriend stare at her. His kind eyes welled in her emotion. He loved her. She loved him. She knew her condition was weighing heavily on her and on him too. He was so kind and positive for her sake, but she knew deep down he was eaten alive seeing her incapacitated. After so many days like this, more than she could count, it was bearable no longer. She was terrified, her own paranoia and insecurities weighing on her more than any amount of fat might, but it was impossible to exist in this stunted state. She had to do something. “Lucas,” Everly said loudly and with force unbecoming of a period of inactivity, “I need to tell you something.” He was surprised, new concern washing over him that some terribly dire news he would hear next. His face maintained a mask of positivity as it often did. Her lungs caught in her throat, this was the moment she was going to speak her truth. She paused, her mental blocks, her insecurities screamed at her to stop. In a weak voice, one that barely escaped her pink lips, she revealed “I’m fat.”