And maybe Ellie was never meant to be skinny again. Maybe she was meant to be this. To be fat. To be slow. To be adored for it.

She’s not dreaming. Not really. Not when the nurse smiles like that. Not when the words drip like honey and sting like wasps. “Big fat piggy.” And Ellie just melts. Her body too soft to fight. Her mind too foggy to flee. Just a girl, heavy and humiliated, sinking into the bed beneath her. The nurse touches her like she’s property. Like she’s a prize. And gods, I hate how much I crave that feeling. To be so round, so ripe, that I can’t even squirm away from someone’s fingers. I want it. And I think Ellie does too. Somewhere. Deep, deep down.