Chapter 3 (Part 5)

The jabs about Kelly’s noticeable change in weight were practically endless, although only her father was meanspirited. Her Aunts showed concern. Her Uncles conveyed surprise. Her cousins’ jabs were more innocent, but no less embarrassing.


For instance, after dinner had long since ended, and Kelly was helping herself to some leftover cheese and crackers in the kitchen, Elise, Kelly’s spunky seven-year-old cousin on her father’s side, surprised her by slapping the blonde’s bountiful ass and declaring:


“Big butt! You’re it!”


“Elise! My name is not big butt! I’m gonna get you!” Kelly playfully threatened, as she decided to chase down her cousin as she usually did during such instances. Kelly normally went easy at first, letting Elise evade capture to let the girl enjoy the thrill of the chase, but then once Kelly grew bored with letting the little brat escape, she’d get serious and tag her in return to end the engagement. So that’s exactly what Kelly did, or… well… It’s exactly what she tried to do.


“I’m gonna… *pant* get you!” Kelly wheezed, as she rounded the couch in the living room for the third time. Letting Elise evade capture was easy enough, but the little bugger was so quick that Kelly actually felt herself tiring out from chasing her around. Her heavier and squishier body wasn’t used to this much cardio anymore.


“Kelly’s got a big butt, and she can’t catch me!” Elise taunted much to Kelly irritation.


“That’s it! No more playing around!” Kelly declared, as she once again darted off after her cousin. This time, as she tried to squeeze by her mother and Michael who were standing beside the couch, her widened hips caused her to bump into Michael making him spill his ginger ale on the carpet.


“Kelly! Ugh! Watch where you’re going!” Lacey, Kelly’s mom, complained feeling irritated she’d have to clean yet another one of Kelly’s spills tonight. Her clumsy daughter had spilled some Dr. Pepper on her jeans, and the floor, just before dessert had been served. As a result, Kelly had needed to change into some stretchy black yoga pants she had upstairs.


Lacey didn’t know Kelly had perpetrated the first spill on purpose, to avoid the embarrassment of having to unbutton her jeans in order to make room for her swelling stomach after all the dinner she’d eaten. The stretchy waistband of Kelly’s replacement pants allowed the plump princess a degree of comfort and anonymity she enjoyed, although in truth the poor yoga pants were putting in a lot of work trying to contain the gains that had accumulated around Kelly’s lower body these last few months.


The veterinary secretary wasn’t happy with her daughter’s rebellious tendencies, or the fact she’d gotten so fat, but she was happy to have her only child back home for the holidays. Although, she really struggled to articulate this appreciation, especially after Kelly had just created some more work for her.


“Sorry!” Kelly huffed, as she rounded the corner of the room and chased Elise back into the kitchen.


Seriously trying to tag her cousin now, Kelly got close a few times, but the slippery brat continued to evade her. Breathing a little heavier, and feeling more fatigued, Kelly continued trying to tag her cousin, but she slowly started to realize she was fighting a losing battle. She used to dominate this game with her cousin, but that was before she’d gotten so out of shape. Elise was young and full of boundless energy, whereas Kelly now knew she’d grown slower and clumsier since high school.


‘I’ve gotta change tactics.’ Kelly internally realized, as she stopped trying to catch Elise and started trying to herd her into a confined space. Slowing down, and moving with more intension, Kelly blocked Elise’s escape to the living room, forcing the brat to retreat upstairs. Huffing and puffing after her, Kelly caught a glimpse of the girl just as she vanished into her room.


Catching her breath for a moment, Kelly slowly approached the doorway to her old room. The wood creaked loudly beneath her feet. When she rounded the corner, Elise was nowhere to be seen. Realizing his game of tag had just turned into a game of hide and seek, Kelly declared, still a little out of breath, “You can run, but you can’t hide!”


Then she started searching. She started with her closet. Empty. She then lifted up the covers on her bed. Empty. Plopping down on the floor, Kelly looked under her bed and found someone, just not the creature she’d been looking for.


“Beans?” Kelly questioned, as she spotted her family’s annoying little Chihuahua sleeping under her bed, “Have you seen Elise?”


Just then, Kelly heard a giggle from behind her. Tilting to her side, Kelly spotted Elise hiding behind the door to her room. She tried to get to her feet and nab her before she took off, but Kelly wasn’t as quick as she used to be, and Elise got away, laughing as she did.


“I give up!” Kelly conceded before collapsing back onto the floor for a breather. Being defeated by a six-year-old was a tough pill to swallow, but Kelly had grown too tired to keep trying. Turning her attention instead back to her dog, Kelly urged, “Come here Beans, I haven’t seen you all night. Don’t you miss me?”


Making eye contact just long enough to seemingly comprehend what Kelly was asking, Beans turned his back to her and remained under the bed.


“Beans! Come here!” Kelly demanded, as the dog crawled further away from her.


“That’s it!” Kelly growled, as she crawled under her bed after the dog. It was a tight squeeze, much tighter than Kelly remembered, but she wanted to pet her de-facto therapy dog. Forcing herself deeper under the bed, Kelly’s inflated stomach slowed her progress considerably. Her paunchy gut was creating a lot of resistance that made squeezing further toward Beans much more difficult.


“Beans! I swear to god! Get over here!” Kelly grunted a little desperate. She could feel her butt bumping against the frame of her bed and suddenly her progress completely stopped. Try as she might, she’d grown too thick to fully fit.


“Jesus…” Kelly gasped feeling embarrassed with herself. She tried to wiggle back out from under the bed, but her arms were too weak to move the majority of her bulk backward. Just as she was about to try again, she heard someone enter her room.


“What are you doing?” Michael’s voice echoed from behind her, as he got a good view of his chubby girlfriend looking completely wedged under her bed. She looked a little pathetic.


Watching Kelly play with her younger cousins used to fill him with pride. Pride that one day Kelly would be a good mother for their own future children but having witnessed Kelly bumbling around the house and witnessing the annoyed looks she received from members of her family while doing it, this time Michael was far from impressed. In fact, he was a little embarrassed by her display.


“Trying to grab Beans.” Kelly truthfully answered before embarrassingly admitting, “I’m a little stuck though, could you help me?”


“Of course.” Michael assured her, as he reached down and lifted up Kelly’s side of the bed, allowing her the freedom to both reach forward and grab Beans, and wiggle herself backward free of the bed.


“Thanks.” Kelly hummed as she stood up and cradled Beans like a baby.


“No problem. Your dad wants a picture.” Michael replied not sure how to feel after watching Kelly’s pathetic display tonight. Not only had she eaten a grotesque amount at dinner, but she’d also gone back for seconds and thirds. Then she’d gorged herself on dessert. And then she’d made a fool of herself wheezing around the house with Elise. And here he’d found her pathetically stuck under her own bed too fat to do anything without his help.