A changed life

Mark Donovan was having the best month of his life.

If someone had told him a year ago that he'd be here, he would've laughed them out of the room. But now, sitting in his bedroom flanked on either side by two stunning, lifelike dolls that had once been living, breathing women, he couldn't help but grin.

He had a superpower. Or something like it. The ability to freeze time and people at will, an ability that had turned his once mundane, lonely life into something out of a dream. Or a twisted fairy tale, depending on who you asked.

He had a girlfriend now, Katie, who not only knew about his secret but embraced it. She helped him. Encouraged him. And with her, Mark felt seen for the first time. Like he mattered. Like he was in control.

Confidence. Power. Love. Freedom.

And, of course, his growing collection.

“You know, I think you might be my favorites,” Mark said allowed to his Gabriella and Emily dolls, who sat on either side of him, completely naked.

Neither girl responded. They couldn’t.

Reaching over, Mark brushed a lock of Gabriella’s hair away from her face, before his hands moved south and grabbed one of Gabriella’s hanging breasts, giving it a squeeze. He then leaned in and kissed her on her still lips. Gabriella did not reciprocate of course, but Mark didn’t mind.

Looking to his other side, he drank the image of Emily’s nude form. He leaned in for a kiss as well, but did not pull back. He ravished her in a one sided make out session, then took Emily's slender hand in his. Her petite fingers, he wasn’t entirely sure why, just felt good to hold.

Pulling back, Mark smiled at his two dolls before pulling himself up and off the bed he was sitting on. They were his only dolls of course, and he still needed to show the others some love, lest they get “jealous.”

Across the room, Rae Tucker stood like a statue forgotten in time, her arms outstretched as if reaching for something. In reality, she'd been repurposed, and turned into a standing laundry rack, for now anyway. Her frame was draped in worn hoodies, socks, and t-shirts, her face half-obscured beneath a crumpled sweater. Rae didn’t complain. She didn’t move of course, she couldn’t. Plus, she also didn’t seem to mind the smell.

That’s what made her perfect.

Phoebe sat at his desk, her legs elegantly crossed at her knees, her fingers curled over the keyboard as if mid-typing. Her face was frozen in a faint scowl, one Mark had always imagined her giving during class when a teacher bored her. Behind her, posed mid-surprise embrace, was Dawn. Her arms encircled Phoebe’s shoulders, her eyes wide with mock excitement. The moment was false, but Mark had spent a long time getting it just right. It made him smile every time he saw it.

He leaved down and gave Phoebe his own hug, followed by Dawn. Both women didn’t seem to care all that much for his display of affection.

And then there was Delilah Knox.

She sat solemnly on an old suitcase near the foot of his bed, her chin resting on her knuckles, elbow on her knee—his interpretation of Rodin’s The Thinker. The oldest among his dolls, Delilah carried an air of dignity even in silence. Maybe it was her age, or the way she once tried to outsmart him. There was something satisfying about having her here.

The whole room had become a stag. And Mark was the director.

As if life couldn’t get any better, his parents had dropped another surprise: they were getting him a car as an early birthday present. Apparently, Regina had snitched on Ashley and how her recklessness almost got Mark run over by that truck. They were not pleased.

No more trudging through the snow, or walking the distance between home and school. No more relying on others. He’d soon have freedom of movement, and more importantly, freedom to expand his collection should he see a need to do so. For now though, he was perfectly content with what he currently had.

Mark sat back on the bed, resting his head between Gabriella and Emily and pulling them both backwards. His arms were outstretched around their shoulders like he was claiming his throne.

“Yeah,” he said aloud to the room, a contented grin on his face. “Life is really good.”