Love in the Dark

1

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to steady her shaky breaths. She hoped her mild cries wouldn't wake up the man sleeping next to her. Each time his slumbered body made a movement, her breath would hitch in her throat and a sigh of relief would be released from her. She flinched each time his arm would tighten around her bare body. He thought this made her feel secure, but for the blonde, it made her feel tied down. And she was, mentally.

Four o'clock she thought. Another night wasted by overthinking. Her body was becoming weak and tired from not getting any sleep. Thoughts swarmed her mind each time she laid down. No matter how hard she tried, sleep never came easy anymore.

"Babe... Babe... Carrie..." The husband shook his wife, yanking her out of her thoughts. Her back was facing him as he looked over her body, looking at her tear-stained face.

"Yeah," Carrie groggily whispered. Her throat hurt from swallowing back noises that could wake her husband all night.

He lovingly pulled her petite body to his muscular one, making her face him. "Why are you crying?"

Carrie became defensive right away, "I wasn't crying, Mike." She tried to move back to her previous position but his strong arms didn't let her.

Their eyes stared into one another's. Carrie could see the same spark in his blue ones. The spark that she saw when they first met. Her heart started beating faster when his soft eyes showed the hurt in his heart; she knew he couldn't see the spark in hers.

"Did I hurt you last night?" Mike became worried. "I want you to tell me if I was too rough."

Every night was the same in Carrie's eyes. They would fight, apologize to one another, have make up sex, then he'd fall asleep and she'd stay up all night. No matter how hard she tried to get out of them having intercourse, they still did anyway. And each night she worried that there was always a possibility that she could be pregnant. And a baby would make it impossible for her to leave.

"You weren't," Carrie faked a smile. "Go back to sleep." She placed her hands on his chest.

His lips were placed on her nose as he began to stroke her hair. "Good." Mike let her turn back around and he stared at her back as she breathed lightly. "I love you."

Carrie could feel tears spilling out of her tear ducts again. "I love you too," she lied.