Adaugeo

Suspense Stories | Sep 20, 2013 | 12 min read
132 Votes, average: 4 out of 5
Ellie Gumm lay naked on the bed. Her body, a bulbous hummock of flesh with arms and legs that sprawled out like the roots of a mighty oak tree. Her grossly overweight figure covered most of the king-size bed, forever leaving a contour in the mattress that would never quite spring back to its original form. So heavy had she become that she could no longer muster the effort to leave her pit..

She noted the time, it was getting close to eight pm and her evening meal was imminent. Ellie could feel the pit of her stomach yearning for yet another meal. It was an urge so powerful she could not fight it and thus over time had transformed her into the obese women she was today. But this very urge she had enjoyed satisfying so much, would soon be the death of her and not in the way most would assume.

At first she did not realise her weakness was being used in such a devious means. Gradually meals were brought in more frequently, the portions were slowly getting bigger, and Ellie was increasing in size. The trouble with Ellie was; she was always hungry. No matter what you placed in front of her she would eat.

You might begin to think at this point that upon learning this, you would simply stop eating. But for Ellie it would be like asking a addict to give up drugs, whilst at the same time locking them in a room and leaving them with a shot of heroin.

Overweight, obese, compulsive eater, were just a few of the negative tags to pigeonhole her place in a society obsessed with the augmented bodies of celebrities. Ellie was different, she was part of a growing minority that most could not comprehend. She belonged to a world where obese was beautiful. Online it was known as Beautifully Obese Babes or B.O.B for short. A website for people who were overweight and proud, or for those who simply admired a large and well rounded body. The site had originally been set up as a forum, but over time as the internet matured the membership numbers grew and the website evolved into an area of social networking.

Ellie had first signed up two years ago, back when she was mobile and a few pounds lighter. She had come searching for people like herself, overweight and depressed, but hoping they had some inspirational message for her on how to turn her life around. What she found made her question her desire to change back to how she was before. The online community did not have messages about finding happiness from losing weight, rather they seeked to celebrate their obesity and the person they had become.

The feedback from other members made her feel special. It was a relief to have somewhere to come and read the stories of people who had such a positive outlook on being overweight, rejoicing at their bodies being a rebellious statement to the self obsessed and politically correct. Some members took their weight-gaining as seriously as someone who would go to the gym, only they worshipped a different kind of bodybuilding.

After a few months she began posting photos of herself on the website. As her confidence grew, the photos started to become more daring and provocative. She gained many admirers, not only from fellow gainers but from the large contingent of males who, not overweight themselves, were members due to their attraction to larger woman.

One such admirer, Angus Stewart, was exceedingly bountiful in his praise. At first his messages were mainly compliments on her posted photos, telling her how beautiful he thought she looked. He shared his views on how society was backwards for it's obsession with skinny and for looking down on the obesity like it were a disease. He made her feel good about herself and lifted her from the dark shaft of self pity. Slowly he found his way into Ellie's heart.

Some might find it difficult to believe but up until her mid twenties Ellie was a slim and attractive woman. She was married and held a good job in administration. Her life had been rolling along smoothly like a car on a fresh tarmac road. Until a very large pothole almost wrote her off for good.

It started with some innocuous flirting at work. His name was Paddy Briggs. He was the purchasing manager, a few years older, single and handsome. Ellie could not deny she found him attractive, and felt slightly disturbed at having to dismiss such promiscuous thoughts from her mind more often than she was comfortable with. But whilst she remained married she would continue to do so. Paddy Briggs was a player and hound when it came to women. He could almost sniff out an opportunity when it came to getting some action. He was patient until eventually he broke down the walls of resistance and conquered yet another work colleague.

News of the encounter spread around the workplace. Ellie was distraught. She felt compelled by her conscience to confess about the affair to her husband. He was unforgiving and did not hang around to see if they could reconcile their relationship. Ellie was distressed to face going back to work and was signed off indefinitely by her doctor. She fell on dark times and at her lowest she found her only comfort came from eating. She prescribed herself and endless supply of food therapy and soon enough her weight began to increase.

She was blind to the physical change her body was going through, her eyes could see but the mind did not register nor did it care. This was how she came to face the stranger in the mirror nine months later, and like a backwards version of a makeover show, she had to come to terms with the tremendous revelation she was not the slim and attractive lady she once was.

A just punishment. Maybe this is what I deserve, she would tell herself as her clothes became redundant. Soon enough she stopped caring for fashion and eventually gave up caring about her physical appearance altogether. For two years she let her life slide into the depths of obesity and compulsive eating. The larger she grew, the more invisible she became until she seemingly disappeared from society altogether.

Her only connection to the outside world came from the internet. She spent most of her time browsing the web, until one day she happened upon the website Beautiful Obese Babes. And thus her salvation began. Angus Stewart's messages had ignited Ellie's passion for life again. His compliments made her feel happy and helped dull the desire to lose the weight and go back to her skinny old self. They exchanged messages and each time they became more daring and flirtatious, until reading each others words was not enough.

Angus and Ellie got on in person just as much as they did online. Ellie was a women with serious doubts about herself, who had little confidence and low self esteem. Angus was a softly spoken and slender man who found overweight women attractive. In his eyes, the bigger the better. He gave Ellie back her confidence and made her feel beautiful again.

A relationship blossomed. Some months later Ellie moved in with Angus, much to her mother's disappointment. It was nothing personal, in fact Ellie's Mother had always thought he was well mannered and pleasant. But she could not deny her daughter had become grotesquely overweight, and was not the pretty flower she once was. Yet here was this mildly handsome individual whom Ellie had not long known, who looked upon her daughter as if she was some prized possession. She did not see his attraction and thus she was always suspicions of Angus.

Ellie was upset by her mother's concerns and eventually their contact with each other became less frequent until they didn't speak at all. Ellie was in love and would not let anyone come in between them. There was no pressure to maintain an appearance to fit in with society. and Angus accepted her for who she was. Ellie had grown so large she could not go far without help, but this mattered little as Angus did all her bidding and brought her everything she asked for. Life was good again. But Angus had plans.

Angus's obsession with the overweight form had mutated since Ellie had moved in with him. He wanted bigger, fatter, mounds of flesh he could lose himself in and suffocate. But Ellie was content in the way she was, so his twisted conscience secretly plotted to make her bigger without her consent. Angus knew Ellie had an undeniable weakness to eat whatever food was placed before her. She relied on Angus for everything and this made him feel empowered. He began by slipping her larger portions with every meal. Then he would offer an extra snack in between meals. He would even sit by her bed with his own food and not finish it on purpose hoping Ellie would polish off the leftovers.

Ellie had grown so large she could no longer wash herself or get up to go to the bathroom. To some, this would be the point in which the line was crossed. You need to be obsessed to clean up human waste. But to Angus he treated it like owning a dog. Her breathing started to become laboured and for the first time she felt concerned for her welfare. She told Angus of her concerns and that she wanted to cut back on the food and lose some weight. ‘I really don't feel good,' she told him. Angus was furious. He shouted at her, accusing her of giving in to society's demands. ‘You're just like the rest of them, you shallow bitch!' Ellie was stunned. She could not believe his reaction. Never had she seen Angus lose his temper in such away and not since her husband had left after confessing to her affair had she received such a barrage of scorn.

As the days went by Angus had become more distant and did not relent with his feeding. Ellie made a few attempts to leave her meal unfinished. But this would only infuriate Angus and he would threaten to leave her rot in the room if she did not clear her plate. She was left on her own most of the day feeling abandoned. Her only companion, the television. Usage of the internet became restricted until Angus would only permit supervised access. She was also banned from having a phone as Angus was paranoid Ellie would call her mother and tell lies about how he mistreated her. Ellie became a prisoner, shackled by her own flesh.

Then came the day when Angus accidently left his phone on the bed. Desperate for a glimmer of the outside world she dared a peek. To her despair she found a trove of messages. Compliments, flirtations and erotic suggestions between other women. One name appeared more than frequently than the others, a name she had seen on the Beautiful Obese Babes website. It was a fellow member and foodee named Anna Creed. Ellie trawled through the chain of messages and began piecing together a shocking secret. It was too familiar the messages were almost identical and resembled the beginnings of how her own relationship had began, back when Angus was just a name on the internet. She felt angry and betrayed by his recycled charm. She could feel herself sliding back into that dark pit of hopelessness. Now I know what it feels like to be betrayed, she thought. The painful memories of when she had been the antagonist of her marriage resurfaced. But as she dug deeper and read on, she realised her predicament was more perilous than a broken heart.

Angus and Anna had flirted with the idea of murder, and it appeared to Ellie that it was blossoming into something more than words. Anna Creed knew of Ellie and was jealous of her relationship with Angus. "She don't appreciate you in the way I would," she would write. "I would be whatever you wanted me to be."

Maybe I am reading this wrong, thought Ellie. This is silly, this is not Angus. But she read on. Angus had joked with Anna in one message about driving Ellie out to somewhere remote and dumping her there. "She can't move and she'll either starve or die from the elements." Angus dismissed the idea though. "Knowing my luck, some bastard dog walker would stumble upon her. No Ellie will be what I want her to be before she dies. I will feed her and feed her until I get what I want and her heart gives in. Either way I will soon be free to be with you."

Angus was keeping Anna Creed up to date with every detail, sending her messages and documenting Ellie's daily diet. She could not believe these words had been written by the same man she thought she loved. She had been gifted a glimpse into the inner soul of Angus and seen a sinister darkness she almost failed to believe. Looking back now she suddenly felt aware of the danger she had been in all along.

She contemplated calling the police from Angus's phone. But what if he walked in as I dialled? She was panicked but she had to do something as this might be her only chance. Before she could type in the final digit of the emergency services, she heard Angus coming up the stairs. She hesitated. Would she get through in time or would Angus catch her?

‘There it is?' said Angus as he walked in the room and found his phone next to Ellie on the bed. For a moment she was nervous but did a good job of acting nonchalant and pretending she hadn't noticed it at all.

She had been quick to put it back where she found it and could only pray that Angus would leave her with another opportunity soon. Next time she would call the police immediately. But since the incident Angus did not even bring the phone upstairs. Whether this was out of habit or whether he was conscious it had been a close call, she would never know. Meal times were like a well rehearsed stage play, each time Ellie felt compelled to perform the role of the girlfriend who was blindly in love, who was unaware of Angus' plot to murder her. There were moments when she doubted herself. Does he know? Am I overdoing it? She wondered. What if he knows that I know, and is playing along too? Twisted as it may seem but eating helped comfort her. Food was her only ally, but everyday she felt her breathing getting heavier as her body was running out of time.

So it came to eight pm and her evening meal was being brought up to her. There was a time when Angus would come into the room with a warm smile. Now he barely acknowledged her. He set her meal down on her bedside tray and turned to leave. Ellie clocked the meal, just as she requested and one she knew Angus would not refuse, steak served with the customary mountain of onion rings, fried mushrooms and chips.

‘Hey baby.' She called softly as Angus was leaving the room. ‘I'm sorry if I have acted up, and made you feel angry with me. I didn't mean to make you feel that way, I've just been a little down lately and I had some doubts about myself.'
‘You doubt me when you doubt yourself.' came the cold reply from Angus.
Ellie wanted him closer, she needed to look into his eyes and see if they were the eyes of a murderer. ‘Well I really do apologize if I have made you feel that way. I promise I won't do it again.' Angus nodded. ‘Could I have one last kiss before you go?' She pleaded with a smile.
Angus reluctantly came over, leaned over and gave her a peck on her lips. Quick and emotionless, like the kiss a son mustered up to give his mother at the school gates. Ellie reached her arm around his back and pulled him closer for a more passionate kiss. The move took Angus by surprise. It had been a long time since they had been intimate. For a brief moment she could see a glimmer of warmth in his eyes, a flash of good times remembered perhaps.
‘I just want to let you know...' she hesitated. ‘The other week, when you left your phone on my bed, well I read your messages and... I know what you're doing to me.'
The look in his eyes said it all, the compassion from her kiss faded and she could see a malice he was desperate to mask.
It was then Ellie finally decided she did not want to be a victim. Angus was clueless as the steak knife plunged into his neck. She pulled the knife out and a stream of blood jettisoned across her naked body. Angus fell on top of her and in a matter of seconds his gargled breaths came to a halt and his body went limp.

Tears streamed from Ellie, disappearing into the pools of blood around her. She called out to Angus, hoping it wasn't true, praying she had only wounded him. Frantically she searched his pockets looking for his phone, but to her despair she could not find it. She screamed her lungs dry for help, crying out for hours until her last breath broke off into a weak and hopeless sob. No one could hear her. No one was coming.

Ellie surmised that she would most likely die here. She had no friends to come knocking and she had excluded her mother from her life so much so, she could be long dead before Ellie would be missed. Night became day and she could only hope that whoever found her decaying corpse would piece together the truth of what happened here and understand why Ellie's hand had been forced.

Inevitably the thunderstorms raged in her stomach and the painful desire to eat came searching. Her dinner had decorated the bedroom floor in the commotion. Ironically she found her knife and fork but not even an onion ring was within her grasp. She felt faint. For a year now she had been catered for around the clock and this had been the longest she had gone without eating.

It took her some time but once she got used to the idea, Ellie knew what she had to do to survive another day. You see the trouble with Ellie was when she was hungry and she would always eat whatever you placed in front of her. She stared at the lifeless body of Angus. What a pity, she thought, that he should go to waste.

THE END
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Reviews

James Cottrell Oct 4, 2013

Well I enjoy reading short horror stories and most of the time I can?t find anything that will gross me out. Plus I know what you mean about submitting a story to get approved and nothing yet. I just posted up a story the other day and I am still waiting.

James Cottrell Sep 29, 2013

Amazing. I really enjoyed this story. I was grossed out through most of the story until the end. That ending was hilarious. Keep it up.

L.A. Camp Oct 3, 2013

Wow many thanks for those kind words. I nearly forgot about this story as I actually submitted it for review back in April. For some reason it?s only just come on here. Forced myself to write it as wanted to practise, looking back it can be gross but whol

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