Episode 1

Katie read the hot pink note stuck on the refrigerator three times before pulling it off and tossing it to the counter. She lowered her head, knowing the fate that lay ahead. The worst part of it all was that she had to wait another two hours before her roommate, Sarah, came home.

We need to talk…

History told Katie that those four words never ended well. And that didn’t just mean in a relationship with a man. Katie scoffed at that idea.

A man.

Katie didn’t want to think about her last relationship, an alleged steam-filled weekend that started with Sarah’s begging her to go and ended with Sarah apologizing during the three-hour car ride home. Sarah set Katie up with one of her boyfriend’s co-workers and the only time Katie saw any attention or action from him during a three day weekend was when he was drunk.

Peter.

That was his name. Katie never liked the name Peter but she would never come out and say it. But Peter had no problem telling Katie about her size. He also had no problem talking to Sarah and Nick about how fat Katie was and that without wine, he wouldn’t have been able to perform. This talk all came after Katie offered herself to Peter.

That was six months ago when the possibility of snow was every night and the last few claws of winter tried to stick into the ground but eventually gave away to spring and summer. Katie had hoped the season and weather change would bring other changes, but it didn’t. She was still living the same life. Still working a dead-end office job that paid her next to nothing, leaving her with the separation to go back to college and get her graduate degree she swore she’d get three years ago.

Instead of going back to college, she and Sarah (who were dorm mates in college) decided to splurge on an expensive apartment right on the edge of the vibrant city. They were lucky enough to get on the top floor, giving them a light show of the city. The mix of lights looked like stars. However, it all came with a giant price tag. Three years ago that price was justified the simplest way both women knew how… by splitting it, it was like getting the apartment for half price!

That theory only worked if both women stayed there.

We need to talk…

Katie lifted the sticky note from the counter and crumbled it in her hand.

As she threw it towards the trashcan, of course, she missed.

She always missed.

“Look at her hands… her fingers are fat…”

Katie turned and caught the blurred reflection of herself in the microwave. It wasn’t a good way to judge yourself, considering the microwave was black and the image looking back was always distorted. But Katie took it to heart, even though she never told anyone how much she learned.

Just like with Peter’s words.

She told Sarah to stop apologizing for the way Peter acted. That one some people are just mean.

But the words still hurt, once in a while.

“I just turned her around, man, and turned off the lights…”

Katie stepped from the small kitchen and froze. She looked over her shoulder and realized she was hungry. She touched her stomach and spread her fingers, wincing, as though she were touching something disgusting.

Well, I am, she thought to herself.

When she closed her eyes, all she could feel was the soft extra skin. Ten years ago, Katie could joke about it. She could stand up for herself and explain that if she wanted to eat a meal, she would. Nibbling lettuce wasn’t a way to live life. And it wasn’t as though Katie was unhealthy, she just wasn’t paper-thin.

“I don’t know man, you fucked this chick… she’s a big one…”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***