Glass Skin

19

Fleurette laid on her side and watched as Erik flitted around their home. Every so often he'd stop and look over at her only to quickly turn away again. This odd behaviour had been happening ever since he returned back. Fleurette never did drift off to sleep, she merely laid with her eyes shut, breathing deeply to try and relieve the throbbing in her head. Luckily this had helped relieve the pain, but it also meant she was rather alert to Erik's leaving and returning.

Pushing herself up slowly, she pulled her hair over her shoulder and rested it on her other one. "Erik?" She called out softly, her voice seemed to echo in the quiet space, it also seemed to bounce around her own head which caused her to wince lightly. Her voice had caught his attention, putting something down, he turned slowly and walked over to her. He slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, Fleurette opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You're an awful liar," Fleurette pushed away from her hand which was keeping her propped up. Slowly she shifted backwards against the headboard, she rested a pillow behind her and she nuzzled contently against it. Erik's eyes naturally narrowed from being labelled a liar. "You've been flitting around like a busy bee collecting pollen." She smiled lightly, "What's wrong? You're clearly trying to find something to distract yourself." She paused and shut her eyes. "And whatever you're trying to distract yourself with, you're not being very quiet about it."

"I apologise," Erik said while her eyes opened slowly and looked to him. "How are you feeling?"

"You're changing the subject!" She exclaimed lightly only to put her hands on her temples. "Ow," she muttered in pain, groaning she looked up at him. "Come on, what is bothering you?"

"I think I may have said something which Meg took in the wrong way."

Fleurette looked at him sceptically, she didn't quite like the tone he had used, it unsettled her slightly. Giving a small fidget, she entwined her hands on her stomach. "Have you offended her somehow?" She asked tentatively. Erik frowned and shot her a look. "I'm just asking," she said pathetically trying to defend herself. "She can be easily offended, and well, you do have a way with words, Erik. In the past you have upset and offended me, remember? It wouldn't be hard to do the same thing to Meg."

"I didn't do any such thing." He said irritated.

"Fine," Fleurette sighed, she could see that in one simple explanation she had easily annoyed him. Erik continued to look at her through narrowed eyes as she sighed again and nodded stiffly. "Fine, it's fine, Erik, I believe you." She smiled lightly, the narrow eyed look let up slightly as he turned and looked around the gloomy space they called home.

Frowning, he looked at her with a sidelong look. "She thought you were sick."

"Well, I was, but not in an illness sort of way." Fleurette mumbled quietly.

Erik sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Turning to face her, he put his hands together and lifted them to his face. Running his hands slowly down, he ended up rubbing his chin in thought. He was trying to think of how to word his next sentence. "Because it was a one off," he started to say. "And when she discovered it wasn't from a sickness bug," he paused, Fleurette nodded stiffly for him to continue. "She came to the presumption that you were with child."

Fleurette's expression went slack. "What?!" She exclaimed only to grip onto her head again and groan in pain. "I am not pregnant! Lord no, no...how? How did this presumption come about?!" She demanded to know how Meg had managed to get the wrong end of the stick.

Erik stiffly shrugged, awkwardly he looked away from her, it was much easier to look at anything else than at her. The thought process of children, specifically a child of his own, was something that had never really crossed his mind. It never crossed his mind like when Christine had well and truly shot him down, being close or intimate with someone had disappeared from his thought process too. Though of course this wasn't completely true because Fleurette came into his life. "I may have been a little evasive."