Cheated [NaNoWriMo]

Midnight Day 1

"Alfred? Can you hear me?" she asks in a hushed tone. She stares hopefully at the computer in front of her, hoping to hear his voice.

"Yeah honey, I can," his voice responds. His face appears on her screen, as does her face on his screen. They both have large smiles across their faces.

Neither of them speaks; they simply stare at the other, not needing words exchanged to understand the other's love. Her cheeks tinted pink and he's scratching the back of his neck. No words can explain this moment between them.

"I miss you Al," she finally says. Her eyes brim with tears; she doesn't know how to explain her actions, so she doesn't. Nor does she wipe her tears away as they slide down her cheeks.

"Don't cry Angelina, I'll be home soon," he responds, a frown appearing on his face as he notices the pain of his beloved. His heart breaks at her face on the monitor, mascara running down her cheeks and staining her favorite pajamas.

He brings a hand up and places it delicately on the monitor, over her cheek. His heart hammers in his chest as he lets out a heavy sigh.

"A-actually," he stutters nervously. Her eyes stare back at him, he's certain she knows the truth before he's told her. "I'm not coming home. They really need me here, so I'm staying. Plus here, they have a No Family policy until you've completed your term. Mine ends in ten years. I'm so sorry honey," he whispers, no, he whimpers.

Her cold hard, heartbroken stare is all he sees on the monitor.

Angel has gone offline.

The words that flicker on his screen break his heart. He couldn't lose her, but he couldn't lose his job either. They were both important to him, but the job was higher on his scale.

He worked over the six years since he's finished high school until now to get this job. Him and Angelina only met in a bar a couple years after high school. It was a hunch they ran into each other and she fell for his drunken ass, but she still did, and that's why she's so heartbroken now.

**

Her laptop screen is quickly slammed shut as she stares blankly at the wall in front of her. The pain in her chest in unbearable as she curls up into a ball and falls onto the free bed space beside her. His bed space.

The moans and whimpers and cries of sadness echo around the room as she attempts to cry all the pain away, but nothing can fix her broken heart.

She shouldn't think it's done, but she does.

As her weak legs swing over the side of the bed and she stands up, reality hits her.

She still has her dream job as an artist. Her eyes scan the walls, looking at flops she painted but still loved. She carries herself unsteadily towards her en suite and wipes the makeup off her face. Her red puffy eyes haunt her as she returns to her room.

She lands with a thud. It was midnight for her, but noon for him. He'd have to finish the day with the weight on his shoulders while she could cry herself to sleep and start over tomorrow.

No, she wouldn't do that. She stands and rushes to her kitchen, picking up a rolling pin and cookie cutters. She then rushes into her studio, where her paints and canvases await her broken heart.

She picks up the closest blank canvas and a hand full of paints and brushes. Her heart guides her into a million different directions, one way for each piece.

Lines of different colors are thrown across the once blank canvas. To her amazement, the colors go in the same sequence as the rainbow. The happiness within the tears. A small smile appears on her face.