Synopsis: After an unfortunate encounter with a bully on the beach, nerdy student Ford finds an old fitness program left on his front doorstep. By following its strangely compelling instructions Ford discovers you can never take body building too far. The dark, dark journey of a nice young man becoming a hulking brute and taking the young women around him along for the ride.
SUNDAY: Beachside Showdown.
Marina was in a foul mood and somehow she knew that Ford was at the source of all her woes.
Not
Stephanie
, no. Steph was her friend and everybody loved her. Marina knew herself to be beautiful, every day of her life reaffirmed it. Boys stared slack-jawed at her as she walked past, girls loudly admired her and people just did things for her if she smiled the right way. Steph though...
Steph was
drop dead gorgeous
.
Steph was such a charismatic force of nature that even the older girls at Alpha Phi Theta were intimidated by her. She was a shoo-in as a pledge--already pre approved, in fact. Marina hadn't known that could even happen--and would probably make chapter president in under three years instead of the usual four.
Guys did whatever Steph wanted without her even asking. Steph could hint that she needed help writing a math paper and half the chess-club would trip over themselves for the chance to write it for her. Marina wasn't sure Steph knew how to do calculus but she was passing the course with perfect grades.
Steph even had college faculty members subscribed to her social media.
Her Instagram following was huge. Steph had been the all-american blonde cheer-leading captain in high-school then somehow continued to further bloom in her first year of college. Her online presence was growing exponentially every day, she could make or break small businesses with her "recommendations" and had even turned down a local sponsorship deal from the big twenty-four hour gym off-campus.
She said she didn't need it. Like her body was naturally trim, athletically lean and impressively busty all the time.
Marina believed her too. Stephanie was her friend.
No, this whole awful weekend was Ford's fault.
Stupid
Ford with his
stupid
face and his
stupid
glasses.
That was why Marina had chosen him after all; for his glasses.
At first glance he had seemed like just enough.
Just nerdy enough to fit her new image. Just cute enough to be seen with her online (not enough to compete with her for the limelight, of course). Just old enough to make her seem accessible to her target male audience. Just pliable enough that he could be swayed by a pretty smile and a little flirting.
It wasn't her fault Ford thought she was his girlfriend. It had only been a few weeks and she hadn't put any labels on their relationship.
Then he had taken her to that beach and embarrassed her in front of that golden Adonis of a Man.
Mac
.
Steph had invited her to an exclusive, hidden beach to meet hot young guys. Stephanie had never approved of her
association
with Ford. So her dear sweet sorority sister-to-be had arranged for her to meet
Mac
.
She had almost swooned when he looked at her with that brilliantly handsome face and strong jaw. With that statuesque build that she had only seen before on magazine covers. He had been interested in her, his roving eyes had said as much, then Ford had to ruin
everything
by butting in.
Stupid little Ford and somehow, after all of that, he
still
had the temerity to text her?
Got your glasses.
People often argued that text messages couldn't convey subtle tones but Marina knew better. She was a dab hand at deploying insidious subtext on Twitter while retaining the perfect facade of innocence. Steph was a grand master who could cut a person down with a backhanded compliment that sounded completely sincere.
Yes, Ford's three word message rang too much of a schoolyard taunt for Marina's liking.
Got your glasses.
Worse still, she had to find her own way to his parents house to retrieve them. She had discarded her designer frames just as soon as they had got back to Ford's shitty old car on Friday. How could she not? Mac had said she'd look better without them... or something to that effect.
Everything had gone a bit hazy after Mac's massive dick had come out. All Marina knew was she had needed it as much as she had needed her next breath in that moment.
Now the old headaches were back and she was squinting to read her phone. Beautiful girls did
not
squint. She worried she was developing lines around her eyes.
She had ordered prescription contact lenses online using her Daddy's credit card to rush the order. They were due to be delivered on Tuesday. So here she was in the back of a ride-share pulling up to an address in the outer suburbs to get her glasses back.
She would make Ford pay for the trip. It was the least he could do for wasting her Sunday morning.
She had come prepared in an outfit which practically
weaponized
her thin, willowy figure. A peach flower bustier crop top with puff sleeves snuggled her willowy middle, leaving bare her slender shoulders and sharp clavicles to the morning sun. A bone white high-waisted, pleated tennis skirt rode high on her slender hips exposing her sumptuous flat midriff and much of her slim thighs. Tassled leather ankle boots gave her a few extra inches with their modest heels but she knew what even that much did for the shape of her long legs and tight behind.
She had spent most of the ride over letting down her dark chocolate hair and teasing it around her alluring face until her smoky almond-shaped eyes and cherry lips were framed for full devastating effect.
Ready for battle she stepped out of the Chevrolet Suburban and strode up the front path to the frankly disappointing home of Ford and his family. This was it? This old two-story weatherboard washout? Wasn't his Dad supposed to manage some big-shot used car lot or something? All it did was further cement her sinking opinion of the
mistake
she had allowed into her precious college experience.
She went to hammer on the front door. She was primed and ready to make a big scene. Something loudly dramatic that would draw out all the neighbors on this quiet
nowheresville
street and give them something to gossip about for months. To take back her glasses and any other pound of flesh she could extract then leave him to stew in his own mess.
The door was ajar. No it was propped open by...
trash?
Crumpled paper take-out bags from Taco Bell, flat pizza boxes with cheese dried to the cardboard, Chinese takeout containers caked in sauce and more were piled around the inside entryway like a big stinking snowdrift of garbage. Marina covered her nose with her delicate hand as she leaned bodily into the door to push it open.
"Ford?" She called into the dark interior hallway. She didn't want to walk through the trash heap if she could avoid it. This was
awful
, like one of those weird hoarder shows on television. Had Ford been living like this the whole time she had known him? He had seemed so fastidious...
Maybe she could just fetch her glasses and go. Teaching him a lesson could wait until she was somewhere she could breathe properly.
The house had a heavy reek about it and Marina tried to keep her breathing shallow as she tiptoed her way around the piles of garbage littering the entryway. There had to be
months
worth of it and she didn't want any of it sticking to her when she left.
She made her way past a kitchen that looked like it had been looted by rioters. Every cupboard was thrown open, some cabinet doors were torn clean off and open food containers littered counter surfaces like scattered debris after an explosion. The fridge hummed loudly, the heavy door hung open at an angle by a single bent hinge and the shelves within were thoroughly plundered.
The invasive smell was beginning to grow stronger the further in Marina crept and creep she did because the stunning college coed was beginning to feel scared. The powerful odor was more than just the stale smell of empty food wrappers. It had a strong animal musk cutting through it now.
It was thick and clawing. Pervasive to the extreme. It was making it hard for her to think clearly as though it were soaking into her brain as well as her skin.