A Mialotte Story: Good in a crisis

Troubled

The rest of the week continued as usual, following Mia and Char's anniversary. And thankfully, Friday came around quickly. Charlotte had a pleasant day in the toddler room with Carly, the bustling atmosphere overflowing with sounds of playful laughter, keeping them on their toes. It was a rare occasion that a day in the nursery passed without any complications, but somehow Charlotte and Carly coasted through without as much as toddler tantrum. Even the parents seemed to be on their best behaviour.

As Charlotte and Carly gathered their belongings ready to head out for the weekend, Carly couldn't help but notice Charlotte's change in mood as she looked at her phone. Her smile slipped away, and her eyes dazed into space as she completely lost all focus. "Char? Char?" Carly called out to the distracted woman before gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Char, what's happened?" Charlotte eventually looked up from her phone, feigning a smile.
"Oh, nothing! Sorry, I was in a world of my own."
"Char, I can tell when something's up, what is it?" Carly probed, seeing straight through Charlotte's charade.
"Honestly, Carly, I'm fine...promise"

Char was able to maintain her false smile and upbeat tone, reassuring Carly and hoping that the young girl would retract her line of questioning. But the truth was, something had bothered her when she checked her phone just now. She just hadn't felt comfortable admitting it to Carly at the time, because ignoring it was easier. Paying her phone no further attention, she made the drive home to see her beautiful girlfriend. Just as Charlotte pulls up to the house, she see's another unpleasant notification on her phone, and yet another comes through as she walks in the door.

"Hey sweetheart, I've missed you today. How was work?" Mia greeted Charlotte as she walked through the door, pulling her into a kiss. But as she did, Charlotte turned her head, leading Mia to kissing her on the cheek where she hadn't intended.
"Oh, you know, fine I guess" Charlotte answered mundanely, her body language standoffish. Mia took a step back, her brows furrowed as she attempted to make eye contact with her sweetheart, who was deliberately avoiding her gaze.
"Charlotte, look at me" Mia gently urged. Charlotte reluctantly complied, her expression sorrowful as she tried to hold herself together. "Something's wrong, what is it?" Mia questioned softly, holding onto Charlotte's arms.
"Nothing, it's just been a long week that's all. In fact, I think I'm gonna go have a lie down upstairs" the melancholy woman said as she gave her girlfriend a peck on the cheek before sauntering up the stairs.

Charlotte's kiss almost felt cold and detached, like she was doing it out of obligation rather than love. Mia had shared enough Friday evenings with her love to know that this behaviour was beyond the usual 'end of week' tiredness. Something was bothering her, but Mia chose to give Char space and hoped that when she was ready, she would talk. In the meantime, Mia did a little investigating of her own. She had remembered that Charlotte was working with Carly today, so Mia saw no harm in sending the teenager a message to see if she could shed some light on Charlotte's mood.

"Hey Carly! Did something happen to Char at work today? She doesn't seem herself."

"Hey! Not that I'm aware of, we actually had a great day! But she did seem off when she checked her phone earlier. I tried to ask her about it, but she told me it was nothing, sorry!"

What could Charlotte have possibly seen on her phone to upset her this much? Mia couldn't take not knowing, and it pained her to think about her sweetheart in such an upset state. She just wished Char would talk to her. Mia made some dinner hoping that Char would've come downstairs by now, but when she went up to check on her, her sweetheart was still asleep. Or, so she thought. Charlotte was lying wide awake, facing away from the door as she stared at her phone obsessively. She had wanted Mia to believe she was asleep, because if she was awake, then she'd likely have to admit what had her so troubled.

Charlotte heard Mia approaching and swiftly hid her phone under her pillow, shutting her eyes and deepening her breathes. "Sweetheart? I've made some dinner, are you hungry?" Mia asked softly, as she sat on the bed beside Char stroking her hair. Charlotte ignored Mia, remaining still and pretending to sleep. She had no appetite, and she knew her girlfriend was only trying to help her, but right now, Char needed space. Mia left her sweetheart to sleep, placing a featherlight kiss to her temple as she went to spend the rest of her Friday evening alone.

The evening dragged for Mia. She had been looking forward to spending the evening with her girlfriend, listening to her waffle on about her day, and making plans together for the upcoming weekend over a cuddle. No such luck. Mia was worried sick about Charlotte. She had been upstairs since the moment she got home and hadn't spoken to Mia all evening, and that hurt. Mia was confident it was nothing she'd done herself, but she couldn't help but feel like she was being punished as her sweetheart shut her out. They had only ever had trouble communicating once before, and look how that turned out. Mia wanted more than anything for Charlotte to open up to her, in fear that their relationship was crumbling.

As the day came to a close, Mia took herself up to bed and to her discontent, Charlotte was still asleep. The redhead fell asleep that night, feeling concerned for her sweetheart and more than anything, lonely. Her partner and best friend had left her with a feeling of longing. How was that possible when the two had only recently celebrated their anniversary and built a home together? A home, in which they could always count on each other's company and presence, yet, not tonight. There was no warm or comfortable touch, there was no friendly or familiar discussion, nor was there as much as light behind Charlotte's eyes. Mia didn't fall asleep easily, but all she could do was hope for a better tomorrow, one where Charlotte may come around.