Part VI

“So you’re really going to stay here all by yourself?  You’re not even going home on the 25th?” Rhys asked again as Xander hefted his friend’s bag, which was almost as big as Rhys himself, into the trunk of his tiny Jetta.  “Thanks, by the way.  Don’t know what I was thinking putting all that shit in one bag…”

“Yes, for the millionth time, I’m staying.  My parents think I have a winter term class.  I just want some peace and quiet for a while.”

“Alright, man.  Well, give me a call if you get lonely.  I’ll be glad for any escape from my Aunt Tilda and her little rat dog,” Rhys said, shivering from the cold.  The sky was a pale, foreboding grey, and the wind was whipping around them as they stood by Rhys’ car in the K parking lot.

“Good luck with that, man,” Xander told him.  “See you when you get back.”

Rhys said his goodbyes as he hopped into his car, then drove away.  Xander breathed in the cold air deeply, feeling a pressure lift from his shoulders as he turned and walked back to his dorm.  August and Adrian had both left two days ago, and by today, the last of the students were heading home.  He would be the only one in his whole building until the middle of January.  He was finally alone.

I can’t wait to go back to sleep, he thought as he ascended the steps to his room.  He noticed that his breathing was labored even a bit more than usual, but chose to blame it on the bitter cold air outside.  He sighed with relief as he closed the door to his room behind him.  He always felt so much better when he was alone here; he didn’t even feel as big when Adrian wasn’t around.  He supposed it was because the room was so tiny, and Adrian’s scent and personality dominated when he was there, and now Xander had room to stretch out, metaphorically and literally.

“Time for a nap,” he said to himself.  He stretched his arms over his head, noticing the way his belly peeked out the bottom of his small shirt as he did so but choosing to ignore it.  He’d spent the morning helping Rhys pack and load his car, and he was eager to get back into his warm bed.  Rhys was sort of a packrat, and had insisted on taking nearly everything he owned home with him for the winter break, even though he was too tiny to lift most of it.  Xander, having gone through this the past two years, wanted to save him the embarrassment of having to ask him for help, so he’d offered the night before to come over to Rhys’ dorm at eight and give him a hand.  It was one now, and Xander was beat.  He munched on a sandwich as he changed back into his undershirt and gym shorts, which were starting to become uncomfortably tight, and then climbed back into bed.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard a knock on his door.  Damnit, I forgot to put the paper on the outside of the door, he thought irritably as he threw back the covers and lumbered over to the door.

“Hi, honey!” his mother and father exclaimed in unison as he opened the door.

Xander blinked a few times in shock.  “What…what are you doing here?”

“Well, that’s not a very nice way to greet your parents after they just drove three hours to see you!” his mother chided him.  Then she looked down at Xander’s sleeping attire, which his round body was quite obviously bulging out of.  “Oh, honey…”

“Xander…” his father said, shaking his head.

Xander felt the blood rush to his face.  “Let me get dressed,” he mumbled as he shut the door in their faces.  Panic was steadily flooding his veins as he realized the implications of their visit.  They know I don’t have a class, he thought.  They know there was a reason I didn’t want to come home, and now that they’ve seen me, they know exactly what that reason is.  He sighed miserably as he pulled his jeans back on and rummaged through his drawers, trying to find the one shirt that he knew still looked a little big on him.  Shit, it’s in the laundry basket.  He has to settle for one that just barely fit him, but at least it was black.  He rushed around his room, trying to find places to hide all his food, before he opened the door again.

“How are you, son?” his father asked, pulling him into a bear hug.  Xander’s dad was about as tall as he was, with the same dark, wavy hair and full lips, but that was where the similarities ended.  Xander was easily almost three times the size of his father now, though they used to be much closer in weight.  Although he was never this huge, Xander thought to himself.

“I’m alright.  Why are you guys here?”

“Well,” his mother said as she gave him a quick hug, “we called the school to get the schedule for your class so we could figure out a time to come and take you out for lunch or dinner and surprise you, but the registrar said there was no geology class scheduled for this term.  Why did you tell us you had a class, Xander?” she asked as she pushed her highlighted hair out of her eyes.

“I – well, it was…it was cancelled…not enough people signed up…and I only just found out…”

Xander’s father gave him a look, but his mother nodded.  “That’s too bad, honey.  I hope you can take it next semester so you can get it out of the way.  Well, now you can come home and spend the holidays with us!”

“Yeah…” he muttered.

“But we did come all this way to see you and take you out, so let’s go get some lunch before we pack up your things.  Are you hungry?”

Starving, Xander thought but didn’t say.  “Not really…”

“Oh, but we did want to try that new restaurant over on Broad Street.  Maybe you can just get something small,” his father said pointedly.

Xander felt his face redden again as he swallowed.  “Okay.”

He was very quiet on the drive over, answering his parents’ inquiries about school and Rhys with short answers, trying to distract himself from the tone in their voices and the strange edges to their scents.  He knew there was another reason for their visit than just idle chitchat, and he knew that whatever it was, he would not like it.

He found out when they had been seated at the restaurant.

“So, Xander,” his father told him from behind his menu, “there was another reason that we wanted to see you.”

Here it comes…

“Yes, there was.  We made you an appointment with Dr. Fording for the twenty-ninth of the month,” his mother said as she smoothed her napkin in her lap.

“What?  Why…”

“Just to go in and talk,” his father said.  “I’ve been telling him about you for a while now, whenever I go in for a checkup.  He always asks about you.  He’s genuinely concerned for you, Xander, and so are we.  Especially after seeing you today.”

Rage and fear burst roaring into his ears.  He couldn’t speak.  He couldn’t pry his fingers loose from the edge of the table, where they were gripping so tight his knuckles had turned white.

“We just want you to be happy and healthy, Xander.  And I don’t think that you’re either of those things right now.  Look at how much better your father has been since he had his surgery.”

“You didn’t…you didn’t even ask me.  I didn’t ask you.”

His parents exchanged a look.  “Well, honey, we knew that you’d be too embarrassed to ask us yourself – “

The waitress interrupted them.  “Good afternoon, my name is Sara, what can I get for you today?”

His parents each ordered a salad, and Xander said, “I’d like the macaroni and cheese with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, please, and a Coke to drink.”

His mother cleared her throat.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, “I’ll get whatever you have that won’t embarrass my parents too much to see their big, fat whale of a son eating it.”

“Xander Lucas!” his mother practically shrieked.

“Sorry,” he muttered to the waitress, who looked bewildered.

“He’ll have the garden salad with grilled chicken and a water, please,” his mother told the waitress.

Sara quickly wrote down their order and hightailed it away from their table.

“This is the kind of thing we’re talking about son.  You just can’t keep eating stuff like that.  How much do you weigh now?”

“That’s none of your business,” he mumbled.

“Yes, Xander, it is,” his father told him.  “You’re our child, and our utmost concern is for your well-being.  Look at yourself.  What are you doing, son?”

“Look, I don’t really need this right now, alright?” he protested.

“If not now, Xander, when?  When you’re so big that you have a heart attack?  When you’re so big you can’t fit through a door?  You’re not that far off,” his mother insisted.

He sat there in shocked silence.  He expected things like this from everyone, but not from his parents.  He knew they were concerned about his size, but he never thought they’d lower themselves to outright mocking him.

“That was a little harsh, Susie…” his father began.

“I’m sorry, Xander, I didn’t mean it to be nasty.  I’m just so worried about you.  We can’t just stand by and watch you do this to yourself, watch you blow up like a blimp with complete disregard for your health.”

Xander finally recovered his voice.  “Well, then, don’t watch.  I’m not going to the doctor, and I’m not coming home with you.”  He stood up and walked out of the restaurant, leaving his parents staring after him in shock.