THE SECRETS WE KEEP.

- ALL THE PAIN AND STRIFE (PART 2).

hey everybody! this chapter is a little shorter than usual so i'm sorry about that but i hope you're having a great week and that this saturday is going well for you all! this chapter was yet another that i loved to write, this week and next weeks chapters really open your eyes up to both sides of this story - this week we see the side of dianne who is heartbroken by joe's behaviour. i do understand that a lot of you are disliking the character of joe at the moment (i never realised how bad of a character he was until i reread it!) but i promise he does get better soon and (hopefully) next weeks chapter will help a lot of you understand his heartbreak. anyway i hope you enjoy this, as always let me know what you think :)

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DIANNES POV:
The unfortunate cold chill that comes hand-in-hand with the picturesque Winter season nibbled at my tiptoes in hope to flow along my body until I was a walking and talking ice block, as the second to fault sharp wind grasped a quivery breath from the depths of my throat. I could tell that with each car managing to pass me on my stroll brought the deathly glares from confused eyes, unsure of how sane I could be to open my body up to the risk of hypothermia on this glacial evening rather than remaining toasty inside a heated environment. Nevertheless, the option for a car to save me from the awkwardness of a training room was ruled out entirely, in fear of Joe taking it upon himself in attempt to persuade my staying. While there was no place I'd rather be than cuddled under a blanket, there was something so raw to capture from the real experience of observing your surroundings with glazed eyes like a frozen lake during the minus temperatures as an immediate reaction to the outside.

In front of my eyes was the desired destination, an adorable typical British home situated in a perfect neighbourhood surrounded by a dream of neighbours and facilities that all anybody in life could wish to have at their feet. Lifting my poor shaking fist, I struck a three note beat with the wood, hearing the shuffle of feet along the carpet aligning the path to the door. It opened slowly to the sight of a small head peaking through the gap, only for it to widen once aware of the familiarity of the figure on the other end. "Dianne.. what are you-", Amy spoke in her usual soft tone, but immediately embraced me into her arms once she clearly noticed the tears filling my eyes, that were less caused by an exposure to freezing and more of an upset nature. "Di, it's really late, shouldnt you be home?" The comforting silence, an allowance for the heaving weight on my mind to soothe for just a moment, was swiftly interrupted by the sweet Welsh accent ringing through my ears; her words initiating my eyes trailing along her body to become aware to the fact that the fabric gripped between my fingers was apart of her head-to-toe night time attire, settled in hoping for no distractions.

While the moral side of myself understood how it was only fair to give her back this peaceful evening, my muffled sniffles against her shoulder only arised suspicions, her tight grip around my body only fastening. This feeling of care radiating off her to reassure me that somebody out there was concerned for my well-being caused the built-up tears to begin to stream along my cheeks and the words to trickle off my tongue without any haulting on my part. "All that he said to me.. those words of forgetting our feelings.. I-I don't think I ever believed a heart could truly shatter, until that moment. He left me in this position of complete uncertainty.. we have to see each other every day, I had to respect this wish of his.. but I wonder how much longer my broken and fragile heart is going to have to pretend that I don't love him with every bone in my body.."

With my body bundled up in her arms, she guided our intertwined bodies away from the open doorframe, that exposed my upset to a pack of nosey neighbours peeking out of any window, to then provide the privacy of a closed door. In wake of my heart rate descending slowly following the violent body shakes, an arm was holding my own as a lead into the living room area. Spotting that comfy blanket sprawled across that leather material forced an immediate collapse of my legs underneath me from the hefty weight mounted upon my shoulders, the sofa luckily catching my bum during the fall. "Di, please don't take this as I don't believe you.. but this makes no sense, the story you lead me to believe was that the issue was resolved.. is that not what happened?" Her distinct emphasis on 'story' unmasked the fictional foundation surrounding my words, and cracked off the lid to a barrel of lies spread around the Strictly cast. Whether this protective method was a stealthy way of disguising the real truth for my own sanity or if it happened to be for the sake of Joe in fear of a bad reaction dissolving from the real truth, my eyes still dropped from hers, letting myself observe the finger wrestle currently occurring on my lap while my head shook slightly to her claim.