The Pole Dancer

Chapter 25

After a few days...

"Hey! Wake up lazybones!" Jenice pulls the blanket off her daughter, the little girl stretches out her hands.

"But I'm still sleepy!" Sarah confirms and pulls the blanket over her head.

"I know, honey. But you will be late for school."

Little Sarah does not react in any way, leaning her head on the pillow, her eyes closed.

Her mother smiles deeply and rushes to her, pulling on the blanket and tickling her feet. The little girl jumps, laughing loudly, kicking her legs in the air, her mother has to be careful not to get hit.

"Ok, I'm waking up!" Sarah jumps to her feet, covers her head with the blanket and runs away.

At the threshold, she bumps into something. She looks up and sees Nikki smiling, he pats her on the head and says:

"Good morning princess."

The little girl smiles widely, hugging him.

"Let's eat!" She says and runs to the hall, the blanket rolls over her.

Nikki watches her, giggling. He sees Jenice in the room, her smile erased. He follows her as she takes slow steps towards him, without even glancing at him, her gaze falls on the floor, and she carelessly walks past him.

He follows her as she walks a little hastily towards the hall, following Sarah to the kitchen.

They haven't spoken for several days. Since he had confessed to her. She sleeps in another room. The bed is so cold without her.

Jenice is no longer the communicative one he knows. It's like she's a different person. And he cannot accuse anyone but himself for this. He broke her heart in the end. It is self-evident that this is the reason for her behavior. It cannot carry on like this. They both need to have a profound conversation.

They are silent at the table, only Sarah talks non-stop.

The little girl gets off the chair, after her mother asks her to go to the bathroom to wash her face.
The mother's gaze is directed towards her daughter who is running down the hall.

Jenice flinches as Nikki gently grabs her wrist. He does not take his eyes off her, as the woman gently removes her hand, a gesture impossible for him not to meditate about it.

"Jen..." Nikki can't find the strength to speak. "Are you ok?"

Her answer is to nod her head slightly and purse her lips, looking at her almost empty plate. She leaves the fork on the plate, clinking. She's losing his appetite.

"No. You're not okay," Nikki shakes his head. "You haven't even spoken to me for several days. All this... After I told you what happened before I found you... And before the trial... Talk to me... Say something Yell at me, cuss at me! Just say something. Your silence is killing me!"

"Yelling and cursing wouldn't fix anything," says Jenice in a low voice, finally looking into his eyes.

"But then what exactly would fix it?" He is getting more and more agitated. "It's not good what is happening between us. I see that you don't want me around you anymore and you don't even want me to touch you..."

She is staring intensely at him, her eyes earthy and trembling, almost crying. Nikki realizes he's touching a nerve here. He wants to say something more and extends his hand towards her, Jenice jumps up from the table and grabs the plate, leaving with it to wash it. Nikki looks at her perplexed, mouth agape, completely bewildered.

"How long will this continue, Jen? It's not healthy..."

He doesn't get any answer, he just sees her standing with her back to him and washing dishes.