The cold marker outlined Veronica's thighs, back, hips, and stomach now. Little squares that showed what would go where after the procedure. Dr. Harrison stood a couple of feet away, talking about fat deposits and transfers. He'd been with her through her whole transformation and would continue to be there as long as the checks kept clearing. He was more of a father to her than any man in her life.

"What do you think?"

"I love it, doc," Veronica said with as wide a smile as she could make.

"Good. Now, the procedure is in two days. Are you nervous?"

Veronica smiled and shook her head no. It was her eighth time going under the knife, and after her illegal Brazilian butt lift eight years ago, she had always gone to an accredited doctor. Dr. Harrison took one more minute to marvel at his creation. He smiled approvingly.

"Alright, well, I will see you soon. Try not to wash too much of that Sharpie off."

"Wait, doc. Gotta snap a pic!" Veronica reminded him.

"Oh yeah. If it's not online, it didn't happen" he replied with a smile.

He stood over her shoulder and smiled while Veronica took a picture. She posted it with a caption, #NewYearNewRear, and several laughing emojis. As soon as she was done, the doctor left the room. Veronica took a few more pictures, smiling as she saw herself in the mirror. She had gone a long way from being a single mom trying to make a living in Las Vegas. Once she had her nose evened out, it was easier to see the shine in her eyes. Though she couldn't smile now, her large lips accentuated her cheekbones, which had been filled. Though her face barely took away from her body now. She'd had her breasts augmented until they filled a DDD bra and soon, her butt would match.

A vibration notified her that her husband was outside. She pulled some tights on over her legs and put her revealing tank top back on. She slipped on her shoes and strutted out the office into the bright sun. Her daughter's smiling face was the first thing that greeted her.

"Mommy!"

"Hi, Leja. Where's Daddy?"

"He's in the car. He said to come get you."

"Alright, let's go."

The two walked over to Veronica's Audi where her boyfriend was scrolling through Twitter. At the sight of Veronica, he smiled.

"If it isn't my supermodel," he said, planting a kiss on her as soon as she got in the car.

"Babe, my lipstick," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, right, I forgot," Tom murmured.

Veronica was too busy touching herself up to listen. He put his phone in the cup holder and drove off. Leja tapped her mom's shoulder halfway home.

"So you're gonna come home with a new booty on Friday?"

"Mhm. It's going to look like the ladies' we watch on TV."

"That's awesome! I know how much you like everyone's booties. Now, you'll have one!"

Veronica smiled and checked her notifications. She'd already racked up nearly a thousand likes. Noticing, Tom cleared his throat.

"So, is this the last one?"

"Hmm?" Veronica was admiring herself with her camera.

"Is this the last surgery?"

"Oh, I don't know. It depends on if they like it," she murmured.

"Who is they?"

"Mommy's follower!" Leja shouted happily.

"Oh, thanks for telling me," Tom mumbled.

They pulled in the driveway of their four-bedroom house. Leja was beaming as soon as they got home. Tom turned to her.

"Go in and do your homework, okay? And tell your brother that if he's on that damn Xbox when I go in, I'm taking it."

"Okay!" Leja said.

She hopped out of the car and raced inside. Veronica went to leave too, but Tom grabbed her hand.

"Wait, I want to talk to you."

"What's this about?"

"Roni, I don't think this is healthy," Tom murmured.

"What are you talking about?"

"All these surgeries! Your obsession with make-up, and-- You aren't even paying attention!"

"Huh?" Veronica said, finally letting her eyes look somewhere else but her phone.

Tom took her phone and put it near his, angering Veronica.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Making you pay attention to me! I'm worried, babe. All you ever do is talk about how bad you look and plan more damn surgeries. It's affecting our kids."

"What are you talking about? The kids are fine."

"Are they? Your daughter is sixteen and is always talking about getting a boob job for her eighteenth birthday."

"So? She can have whatever she wants. She's almost an adult."

"What about Leja?"

"What about her?"

"She keeps saying that if there's anything ugly about her, she'll just get a special doctor to fix it."

"She can do that."

"That's not healthy for a six-year-old to think. I don't want our kids to be insecure, Roni."

"They won't be."

"They're looking at you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"We both know why you're doing this."

"To look good for you!"

"You don't want to look good for me. You want to look good for internet trolls and porn addict. If you wanted to look good for me, you would've listened when your boob job nearly killed you and Leja. You don't care about me. This is for you."

"Shut up," Veronica said.

Before Tom could continue, she snatched her phone and stormed into the house. Tom watched her go in, shaking his head and wiping tears away so his kids couldn't see that anything was wrong.

the bruises all over my body show your hate.

the times you raised your angry fists against me,

raining down punches like a meteor shower,

wiping out the dinosaurs along with my heart.

the scratches on my arms show my hate.

the times i couldn't stand myself so badly,

i took my fate into my own hands,

hoping to end the pain, but to no avail.