Return of the Sister: Part 10

Kimberly’s commute over to the Vickerson household seemed to take forever, and, simultaneously, no time at all. She’d spent all night tossing and turning, and her mind was still racing with possibilities, none of them good. Serena clearly knew she was behind everything, and if she showed Bobby the LiveJournal, the jig was up. Nothing would stop him from returning to boyhood as fast as possible. Serena had to know that, so why hadn’t she done it already?

Kimberly parked outside her ex’s house, waited for an agonizing ten minutes for the dashboard clock to reach 2:00 PM, then got out and headed up the front steps to ring the doorbell. She heard the clicking of high heels approaching, and a moment later the door scooted open a crack, revealing one of Bobby’s blue eyes.

“Oh, it’s just you,” he said, clearly relieved. “The neighbor kid saw me through the window and came over to ask Mom for a cup of sugar or whatever. Took forever to get him to leave, the little shit.”

The door eased all the way open, and Kimberly realized why her ex was so reticent. He was wearing a neon turquoise bikini that offset his smooth tanned skin and had some kind of underwire trickery that made him look like at least a B cup. She could see why Josh had had so much trouble keeping his hands off them -- and if Bobby were to actually get that boob job, it would be pretty much impossible.

“Is this a boot camp thing?” Kimberly asked, trying to sound casual.

“Not exactly,” Bobby said, blushing. “We went swimsuit shopping, and now of course I have to do a big freaking fashion show, so…” He swallowed. “Not really a great time? What’s up?”

“I just wanted to swing by and see how you were doing,” Kimberly lied.

Bobby’s eyes narrowed. “Um, you haven’t been talking to Josh lately, have you?” he asked nervously.

“Nope,” Kimberly said blithely. “You two still buddies?”

Her ex’s face went red. “Yep. Still buddies. You know, just two dudes hanging out.”

“Oh, hey!” Serena had appeared over Bobby’s shoulder, wearing a smile that made Kimberly’s blood run momentarily cold. “It’s your friend from barre class! Kimmy, right?”

“Kimberly,” Kimberly corrected through gritted teeth.

“Barbie was just about to model this new bikini for us,” Serena said, completely ignoring Bobby’s pleading look. “Come on in! It’ll be fun.”

Under other circumstances, Kimberly would have been overjoyed to watch her pig-headed ex strut around in a skimpy two-piece, but as she followed the Vickerson siblings inside she felt a sense of definite foreboding. Bobby’s parents were seated in the living room, where the coffee table had been pushed aside to make room. His mom was sitting back with a glass of wine, while his dad, who looked slightly uncomfortable, was gripping his craft beer much more tightly than was necessary.

“Hi, Kimberly,” Bobby’s mom said brightly -- at least she hadn’t called her Beverly this time. “Did Barbie invite you over for her little show? Come have a seat, dear.”

Still burning with suspicion, Kimberly took the empty seat indicated and looked at Serena, trying to read her face. Her ex’s sister looked genuinely happy, humming to herself as she linked her iPhone to the Bluetooth speaker sitting on the coffee table. Bobby, meanwhile, was fidgeting nervously with the straps of his bikini.

“Oh, this is too perfect,” Serena beamed, selecting a song. “Okay, little sis, give us a show! I want to see all the things we practiced, okay?”

The chirpy, poppy opening of a particularly famous Aqua song started to play, and the expression on Bobby’s face made it look like he had just swallowed broken glass. For a second Kimberly thought her ex was going to put his high-heeled foot down and refuse to do anything to the song “Barbie Girl.” But then he placed both his manicured hands just above the girlish flare of his hips, highlighting his tiny waist, and forced a smile onto his glossy pink lips.

As Bobby started his “walk,” Kimberly was tempted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. He was back in the six-inch stiletto pumps Serena seemed to have made his standard footwear, but he handled them like a pro, strutting from one end of the living room to the other with a deadly swing to his hips, making his curvy butt swivel in a perfect figure 8 while his boobs jiggled just slightly in his bikini top.

He executed a perfect pirouette in the middle, spinning on his heels as gracefully as any Miss Universe contestant, and tossed his blonde hair, giving his “audience” a playful wink. When he was directly in front of the couch where his parents were sitting, he stopped and struck a seductive pose, exaggerating the camber of his back to draw attention to his curves. His mom looked briefly stunned, then gave a whoop of encouragement. His dad, meanwhile, suddenly had the complexion of a tomato.

But Kimberly realized Serena wasn’t watching Bobby at all -- she was watching her. The smirk on her face said it all: this show was for Kimberly’s benefit. Serena winked, then turned back to her little brother and gave him an encouraging nod. Flushing furiously, Bobby bent forward as if to adjust his pump, giving his dad a full peek down his cleavage in the bargain, then straightened up with the sinuous grace of a stripper, tossing his hair once more.

Kimberly could see the blood drain from Mister Vickerson’s face almost instantly. His feminized son was no doubt just as mortified, but he kept the bright white smile in place as he shimmied his shoulders, making his breasts jiggle again, and strutted back to the other side to strike another pose.

By the time the song ended, Bobby’s blush had spread to the tops of his boobs and he looked like he was on the verge of committing seppuku. His mom burst into wild applause, almost spilling her wine, while his dad had to swallow very hard before awkwardly joining in.

“Not bad, little sis,” Kimberly said. “But what happened to the little thing we practiced where you lick your lips? Photographers love that move. It shows you can be playful, you know?”

“I forgot,” Bobby muttered, avoiding Kimberly’s eye. “Can I put my clothes on now, Mom?”

“Sweetie, what about the black one?” Bobby’s mom reminded him. “Your father hasn’t seen you in the black one yet.”

“Oh, Daddy, the black one is adorable,” Serena said. “Why don’t you go put it on, Barbie?” She turned to Kimberly, flashing a smile. “She’s getting so good at that pirouette, isn’t she?”

Kimberly blinked. “Way better than I could do,” she admitted, which deepened her ex’s blush.

Serena put a finger to her cheek. “You know, Kimberly, I have this little cowl neck sweater that I think would look great on you,” she said. “Come up to my room, I’ll find it for you while Barbie gets changed.”

Bobby’s parents exchanged a confused glance -- clearly the invitation was out of character -- and Bobby, momentarily forgetting his embarrassment, looked genuinely bewildered. Kimberly felt droplets of sweat forming on her palms. It was finally time for the “little chat” Serena had invited her over for.

“Sure,” she said. “Why not.”

Without looking at her ex, who was still standing there flushing in his bikini, Kimberly followed Serena upstairs. Bobby had always made Serena’s room sound like some kind of shrine, strictly off-limits and kept in a state of perfect cleanliness on the off chance Serena showed up for a brief visit. That was why it had been so shocking when Bobby’s mom ransacked Serena’s closet to find things “Barbie” could wear.

Now Kimberly was finally going to see Serena’s room in person. She was expecting an ultra-stylish, sparsely decorated space, something worthy of a professional fashion model, so when the door opened she was taken aback. Serena’s room was...girly. The bedspread was pink, stuffed animals were sitting on every available surface, and there was even a rumpled boy-band poster on the wall -- Kimberly was pretty sure they’d broken up years ago, and half the members were in rehab.

She knew that Serena’s modeling career had taken off in her early teens, and she hadn’t spent much time at home since, but Serena’s room looked like it had been completely frozen in time. It looked like it belonged to an innocent fifteen-year-old girl, not a cunning, confident world-class fashion model.

“Hideous decor, I know,” Serena said casually, nodding at the stuffed animals on her dresser, but Kimberly thought she saw a tiny spark of affection in her eyes. “Mom and Dad should have cleared this place out years ago.” Serena shrugged, and the spark disappeared: she was all business again, calculated and in control. “Did you like that little show I put on for you, Kimberly?” she asked.

Kimberly swallowed. “I liked it,” she admitted. “So did you.”

“I fucking loved it, actually,” Serena said, with a cruel smile. “Little macho man Bobby wiggling around in stilettos with his boobs jiggling just doesn’t get old. But I’m sure you know that. After all, you invented this game. I’ve only just joined.”

Kimberly took a deep breath. “The two of us would make a pretty good team,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice perfectly smooth and unafraid.

Serena snorted. “I’m not Bobby,” she said. “I don’t do teams. But I love the game, Kimberly. You are one evil bitch, and I mean that in the best possible way.” She waved her phone, and Kimberly saw a glimpse of the LiveJournal screenshots on her screen. “When did you start feeding him hormones?” she asked. “Right from the start?”

Kimberly hesitated for a moment, then let her shoulders slump, trying to look defeated. “Right after the bet,” she muttered. Serena knew Kimberly was behind Bobby’s transformation into “Barbie,” but she didn’t know everything -- Josh’s involvement, for instance, was still a secret.

Even so, all Serena had to do to end the charade was show her little brother the LiveJournal entries. Particularly, the one that Kimberly had spent all night wishing she hadn’t made: a photo of Bobby’s painted nails, done at his house while they watched Netflix. He would recognize his room instantly, and know that Kimberly had written all the other entries, too.

“Right, the bet.” Serena shook her head, amused. “I watched that video, too. The look on his stupid little face when he missed! Priceless.” She flopped down onto her bed, leaving Kimberly to stand in the middle of the room. She grabbed one of the teddy bears and idly picked a bit of lint off its head. “So,” she said, “Since this all started with a bet, I think that’s how it should end, too.”

Kimberly narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’ll get there,” Serena said, tossing the teddy bear aside. “You know I’ve been trying to make Bobby crack. Honestly, I thought it would have happened by now. But you’re not letting him. You’re keeping him motivated somehow. I guess you’ve gotten good at pulling his strings.”

Kimberly replied with a mute shrug.

“That’s why I’ve been cooking up a photo shoot that’ll basically be all his worst nightmares rolled together,” Serena said casually. “Here’s my bet. If I get Bobby to crack -- if he backs out before or during the shoot -- I win. If I win, I show Bobby the LiveJournal, he realizes what you did, and your game is over.”

“Why?” Kimberly blurted. “If you like this as much as I do, why would you let him go back?”

Serena wagged her finger. “That’s the problem, Kimberly,” she said. “For you, this over-the-top revenge scheme is your whole life. And I mean, I genuinely admire your dedication. But I’ve got my career to think about.”

Kimberly fell silent. She considered her next words carefully. “If you’re worried about him getting too much of the spotlight, don’t be,” she said. “He’s going to be trying to avoid it. He hates being ‘Barbie,’ and he definitely doesn’t want to be famous for it.”

“You really think that what he wants is going to matter?” Serena asked coldly. “Mom and Dad are going to drag him all the way to the top, kicking and screaming, if they have to.” Her voice turned bitter. “Once they see dollar signs, that’s all they see.”

Kimberly saw genuine emotion on Serena’s face, but only for a moment, and she knew better than to pry open that particular can of worms. She decided to get back onto the bet. “So if Bobby goes through with the photo shoot, I win?” she asked.

Serena nodded. “That’s right,” she said. “If you can get Bobby to go through with it, all the prep stuff, all the sets, all the scenes, you win. Bobby never sees the LiveJournal, you get to keep your little Barbie doll, and I’ll find some other way to make sure ‘her’ career never takes off.”

Kimberly drew a deep breath. She was sure Serena still had some tricks up her sleeve, but if she didn’t know about Josh, that meant she didn’t know about Josh and Bobby -- and if Kimberly had anything up her sleeve, it was that.

“It’s a deal,” she said.

“Terrific,” Serena beamed. “This will be so fun.” She got up and went over to her closet. “Let’s find you that sweater, before I forget.”

Kimberly knew that Beverly or Ally would be wetting themselves at the prospect of borrowing clothes from Serena, but she barely even registered the garment that got thrust into her arms. She was already making plans.

Kimberly had won one bet against a Vickerson, and she’d done it by playing dirty. This time, she suspected she was going to have to play even dirtier.