did I get fat?

disapproval

this weekend I went home for the first time all year. Dragging my bags, I walked around until I found my mom, who was picking me up .
She's a very active, conscientious person, so I knew she'd disapprove of the lifestyle Ive had for the last few months.
I eventually found her car, and placed my bags into the boot. The clack of the car door made me look up, as she walked around the vehicle with a wide grin.
"Welcome back!" she said, eyes crinkled.
as she leaned in to give me a hug, her arms reached around me noticeably less than before I left. Her arms barely circled me, and as her hands found purchase, she grabbed by muffin top with a gentle squeeze, curious, before leaning back and giving me another once over.
"you're looking.. healthy?" she said, straining a smile. Her eyes didn't leave my midsection, and I folded my arms self consciously.
"Hi mom, nice to see you!"
I said with false cheer
She ushered me into the car, and I buckled my seat belt while she finished putting my things in the boot. I didn't want to make a scene, because I know what she's like, so I sucked in my belly as much as possible and tried to appear calm as she got into the driver's seat
"You've been well, then? Keeping up with excersize?" she asked, putting the car into gear
as we started down the street, each bump and turn I could swear I could feel more of me jiggling than was even possible
"..yep. all good. lots of runs and, uh, salads. all the time" I smiled back.
despite my best efforts, she didn't look convinced. I had put my belt into the tightest hole, and was sucking in, but the seat belt still dug sharply into the little fat I'd gained.
"you hungry? they just opened up a taco bell near here" I turned my head sharply. This was very out of character! mom was offering me fast food??
"uh, yeah, sure! Ive never tried taco bell!"
this was, of course, a big fat lie. taco bell as this point of my life was one of the main food groups.
She grinned, a little devilishly, though maybe it was a trick of the light.
"Okay, let's get some dinner. You must be famished!"
She veered into the newly built parking lot, and parked the car near the glowing sign, before turning to me.
"After your travels, you must be tired, let me order for you! I'll be back soon!"
as soon as she left my range of sight, I took the first deep breath I had had all car ride. Immediately, all my stuffings were obvious. fat pooled and hung over my seat belt by quite a few inches, quivering with every breath I took. my shirt rode up to accommodate all the new rolls I had grown.
"ughhh.." I groaned, not used to sucking in for so long. I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to relax. my hands found their way to my overhang, massaging it gently.
my mother was wrong, after all. I was not famished. Or even slightly hungry. Just today, I had demolished a gigantic meal from KFC, then had another fast food meal at the airport. I mustbe lost track of time just breathing and relaxing in the car seat. when I let my belly out like this, it was very obvious. I took another, sweet breath, before sitting up and pulling my shirt down, sucking my belly in again as much as possible, before anyone saw. As I opened my eyes, a figure in the window stopped me dead cold.
Mom.
She saw.
She opened the car door, seemingly with the entire taco bell menu in bags carried in her arms, and thrust them to my lap, before smiling innocently at me.
"so, how much excersize did you say you've been doing?"
i choked on my breath,
"mom-hi-how di-when-" but was stopped as I felt her hand reach across and rest on my stomach.
"don't make yourself uncomfortable. I know youve gained a wee bit of weight, after all"
I blushed intensely, looking down at all the food she had bought. She leaned over and whispered,
"take a breath. you're not fooling anyone."
I looked over, so embarrassed to be called out like this. but I couldn't see a way out of this situation. After a few seconds if deliberation, I folded, taking the biggest breath I could. as her hand rested on my belly, it surged further and further forward, crinkling the bags and, once I leaned back slightly, burst the button off my jeans, exploding forward before settling, jiggling into my lap.
I startled at the sharp gasp my mother made.
"OH LORD!" she exclaimed, eyes wide
"I knew you had put on a few pounds but this.. this is unbelievable! it's been four months! how on earth did you you get so fat!?"
I shifted, uncomfortable, pushing her hands off me.
"mom, I'm not fat, it's just a little bit of weight, it's not a big deal-"
"it IS a big deal! look at this!"
her hands found my side rolls, and began shaking then up and down, causing a seismic wave of fat to jiggle, bouncing on my broken pant buckle.
"MOM!-"
"NO, you obviously haven't seen what you've done to yourself. Look at this, you can't even fit these jeans! I bought them for you recently and they were loose! you've even broken the button, look at this"
she screeched, placing her hands under my belly, struggling to find the jeans buckle. I couldn't even try to suck in with all the movement, so my belly fat was just pooling over her hands,jiggling nonstop, while my shirt had ridden up to my bigger-than-last-seen boobs. Her fingers managed to grab purchase of the busted button, and began to pull the two ends together again. This was, of course, futile. they wouldnt of broken if they had fit me now, so all this accomplished was just jiggling my belly up and down as she struggled so pull the ends somewhat close to each other.
eventually, she sat back with a sigh
"how much weight do you think you've gained? be honest with me. you have to know you have gotten fat"
"I'm NOT fat. Ive only put on maybe 10.. maybe 20 pounds..?" I looked up at her, innocently.
"you think THIS is only 'maybe' 20 pounds!??" she screamed, grabbing my lower belly with a full hand and shaking it.
"you are definitely FAT, are you joking? it looks like you've eaten yourself over 59 pounds heavier, at LEAST! arent you embarrassed? Nobody gets this big without trying"
my mind flashed back to the endless nights of take out, boxes and boxes of fast food between study sessions, the way I haven't left the house for anything over than food related errands for months. maybe she was right?
her hand gantly cupped the spill of my belly, feeling it's full weight in her hand. Confronted, I felt like I finally saw what I am had done to myself.
"well .. maybe my belly has gotten a a bit bigger.."
"not to mention the rest of you" she answered, grabbing my arm and tapping the blubber into a quaking frenzy, squeezing my upper arm fat like a stress ball.
"and honey, you've got quite a double chin now"
I gasped and pulled down the mirror. sure enough, the face looking back at me had decidedly filled out, cheeks flush and full, jawline succumbed to the weight of an unmistakable double chin hanging low. How had this happened??
"But mom.. I just had breakfast, most of this is just bloat" I argued
She shot me with a disbelieving eyebrow .
"sure sweetie ... just button up your pants and I'll believe you"
Determined to prove her wrong, I steeled myself. I sucked my belly in as far as possible, heaving the corners of my jeans up my midsection and slowly closer together. I was so close! I could do this! with a final heave, I got the corners to touch, before realising, somewhat sheepishly, that the button had already popped and was sitting somewhere near my feet. I refused to give in though! with my zipper most of the way up, I pulled the seat belt snug and heaved, tucking myself as flat as possible.
"See.. mom...? ... they still .. fit. " I panted.
"oh honey, I believe you. Now, finish up your lunch, I wouldn't want it to get cold"
what have I gotten myself into?