Chapter 7 - the perfect gift

Waking the next morning, it took Jess several minutes to realize it was Christmas morn. She could hear her mother and Laura in the kitchen downstairs preparing coffee for the family and getting the last few things together for the gift exchange. The smell of hazelnut mixed with the perpetual scent of hardwood to fill the house with a warm and welcoming holiday aroma.

As she had done for the past several weeks, Jess laid in bed a while after she woke up, playing with the idea of answering the crossroads. She had been upset about their tactics, about the price she payed for their attention, and even their confidence, but she had to admit they had her pegged when it came to interests. Sitting up in bed this morning Jess sipped on some of the water Laura had left for her, and was relieved to see the remnants of the alkaseltzer her sister had prepared for her and made her drink before the fell asleep. It hadn't completely erased her hangover, but the difference it made was quite remarkable

Jess had fragments of the evening before buzzing about in her head, she knew that she had been upset at Sammy at some point, and that Laura had helped her to bed, she knew that sometime much later, one of her cousins accidentally came into the wrong room, stumbled about for a moment before realizing their error, and turning about.

She wanted to go downstairs, put whatever had happened the night before behind her, and enjoy the holiday, but would need a shower first. She slipped across the hallway and snapped the lock on the bathroom before beginning to undress. In the shower, with the warm water flowing over her, Jess's thoughts returned to the crossroads. The thought of typing in another persons name, watching them balloon and knowing she had a part in that, was exceptionally exciting. She imagined it happening all at once, or over a certain amount of time, not knowing how the mysterious forum would produce its results, only sure that it could and would. A handful of names passed through her mind as she washed the lather out of her hair: a first year room mate with a nasty habit of snapping her gum, a self important gym instructor, a physics professor who had failed her during her sophomore year of college.

Each one gaining whatever numbers correlated to the shirt she chose for them, either swelling up in a sudden moment of horror, or slowly plumping guided by the invisible hand of Crossroads. Jess leaned back, reaching down between her thighs, tempted to give herself an early Christmas gift. She could hear Laura padding around outside waiting for her, and she sighed loudly and began to rinse the last of the lather she had just rubbed into her tummy. She couldn't help but pout as good sense returned to her. After all, if she was unwilling to get fat for her own fantasies, how could she possibly doom another to such a fate, especially through no fault of their own.

Jess settled on her daily dilemma once again, she wouldn't give in to the Crossroads. She dressed in pajama pants and a t shirt and skipped downstairs, giving Sammy a hug from behind as she passed. She couldn't remember the details of the night before, or why they had fought, but figured on Christmas morning, putting it behind them was the thing to do. Sammy blushes a bit, as Laura glared over at her, and then reached back to squeeze Jess in acknowledgement that she too was going to forget the night before.

The family gathered around, and Laura brought everyone coffee and scones before the festivities began in full. Their were the usual sights, of wrapping paper piles and brand new electronics, their were sweets, and treats, and sparkly new jewelry. Jess noticed with some embarrassment, but with equal relief, that she had received a good deal of new clothing.

Towards the end of the morning there was a long box still under the tree. It was in the folded cardboard style of a clothing box, and no one had claimed it as their own nor handed it out to anyone else. As the family widdled down to the last few packages, it became clear that no one was quite sure where this box had come from or whom it was for. Crawling over on her hands and knees Sammy pulled the box out and laughed a bit smiling at Jess. She informed the family that the box was from Jessica to her and they all laughed, wondering if Jess had too much to drink the night before, and had simply forgotten.

Sammy opened the box and with a big beaming smile pulled the T shirt from the box. The reveal was met with waves of wonder and excitement from the whole of the family, a response Jess simply could not fathom. To her eyes it was a simple black t shirt with letters written across the front. Letters which formed words, which sent shivers down her spine. Sammy was holding one of the shirts from Crossroads. What was worse, she was slipping the tight fabric over her head even as Jess reached out wide eyed to try and stop her.

Turning an ashen pale, Jess excused herself and stumbled up the stairs to her bed room. She tossed the lap top on her bed in a flurry and could hardly believe what she had done! Sometime in the night she had ordered Sammy a shirt, and of course, as she had known would happen, Crossroads always delivered. She had doomed her little sister to a 150 pound gain and all because of a childish tiff. She navigated the pages, ignoring the taunting messaging box that popped up at the bottom as soon as she logged in, and opened up her cart. She glanced over the page, and for a moment was relieved to find the box under the first shirt was still empty.

She nearly fainted when she scrolled down. The second shirt, the one that promised a 300 pound gain was grayed out and the box was no longer there. In its place was the name "Samantha."