Connected Lives (a Les Twins FanFiction)

Chapter 2

The wooden door decoration rattled loudly in the quiet of the night. Sarah's anger sparked, then faded. She hated that thing, but Daniel loved it. The last thing she needed was that thing waking up Nathan. Or, more truthfully, waking up Daniel. After 12 hours in ICU she wanted to come home, sit in a silent house and do her jigsaw puzzles online. She longed to go to her studio like she used to, but she rarely went there anymore. The thought tightened her chest so she shoved it back behind her mental wall and refortified it. Her agitation rose again when she forgot to step around the troublesome boards at the front door. They creaked loudly in protest and the sound seemed to echo through the house.

"Please don't wake up, please dont wake up," she muttered under her breath, barely audible even to herself.

Daniel's snores, which at times had driven her to tears they pissed her off so much, ceased for a moment. Oh no, she mentally groaned. A moment later they resumed and she sagged with relief. Sadness filled her heart, a sensation she was becoming all too familiar with. When did my life turn into this? This isn't life, it is just existing.

She went to the bathroom to change. She always left some pjs in there for nights she was home late. They weren't there. Forgetting the need for stealth, she slapped her hand hard on the counter. "Goddammit Daniel!" her anger rang through the room.The wooden bedframe in the master bedroom creaked and she heard Daniel's feet hit the floor. Maybe he'll just wait there, she hoped, mentally projecting this thought to him. It didn't work, she heard his footsteps coming her way. She grabbed a toothbrush, haphazardly squeezing on toothpaste. She needed to look busy, for whatever reason. But when she saw her reflection her attention turned to locating her scrubs which she had stripped off. She was picking them up from the floor when Daniel pushed the door open.

"Sarah? You okay sweetheart?" His tone was even, unruffled as always. She was clutching her top to her breast as if it was a shield. She didn't want him to see her. By the look on his face though, he didn't care one way or another. They hadn't had sex in nearly a year.

"Yeah, I'm fine Daniel. I'm sorry I woke you."

"You can wake me any time," he said gently. Before turning to leave he set some night clothes on the counter. "Nathan used your others as a towel for his zebra tonight. I forgot to replace them. Goodnight sweetheart, see you in the morning."

Sarah let out the breath she'd been holding as soon as the door closed. She was racked with guilt. After putting on her night clothes she stood and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked worn and old and felt that way. People tell her she's "so pretty" but she doesn't know who they are talking about. The old Sarah, surely not the empty shell Sarah that's here now. Daniel rarely paid compliments like that anymore. And the absence of any semblance of a physical relationship left her fairly convinced that he no longer found her attractive. Of course, she wasn't sure she could have sex with him anyway.

"AH! It's all a fucking clusterfuck!" she whispered in frustration. She scrubbed her face hard with her hands then looked at her reddened skin. "I can't keep doing this," she said to her reflection.