Heartfelt

You're not...?

She was on the floor, on her knees, crumpled in a ball, almost doubled over in defeat as she attempted to drown out the sound of him shouting.

"Do you know how much pain you've caused me?"

Tears slipped down her smooth cheeks, leaving a waterfall of black mascara in their wake.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, really, I tho-"

Before she could finish she was interrupted.

"You thought what? Whatever you thought Dianne, you were wrong... more wrong than you've ever been. You need to leave. Right now. I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour from my girlfriend."

"Joe plea-"

Her eyes screwed up in pain as Joe stood on her fingertips, bending down to meet her eyes with his. Holding her chin up sharply to peer into her soul, he spoke his words slowly, determinedly, with an air of power she had never before heard.

"Don't you ever, ever, use your dirty mouth to say my name again. Are we clear?"

Dianne nodded breathlessly, fighting back the urge to cry more. She would not let him see her vulnerable. Apparently this did not satisfy her boyfriend.

"I said. Are. We. Clear?"

"Y-y-yes..."

"Good girl."

A sickeningly sweet smile played on his lips as he let go of her head, letting her watch the floor by his feet as he turned to leave. When about five steps away he turned back around, walking with more purpose than before back towards his girlfriend who was shaking on the floor. It all happened in a split second. He raised his hand as she looked into his eyes and the next thing she knew, her whole world had gone black. Pleased with his work, Joe snickered quietly to himself before walking off the stage.

"Slut."

The lights came up and, after about thirty seconds of stunned silence, the audience began to clap. Joe ran onto the stage and enveloped his grinning girlfriend in his arms. Despite it only being a play, he still didn't particularly like the closing scene.

"Are you okay?"

He whispered, watching as Dianne nodded her head whilst still smiling. He loved acting and, as it turned out, so did Dianne, so the local theatre production seemed like a good way to keep them both occupied during the summer. Plus, it meant giving Tracey a night of having Emelie once a week which, of course, she loved.

~~~

Dianne laid her head against Joe's in the taxi, relishing the darkness and silence that came with the night. The combination of stress, stage lights and the lack of sleep meant that she was on the verge of illness, but would never admit it. Feeling the car come to a stop, she stepped out gingerly, wincing at the harsh light of the street lamp above. She was almost certain she could feel her corneas burning. Joe of course had already picked up on his girlfriends strange behaviour. Her silence and slow movements were enough to convince him that something was wrong. After handing the driver some coins and thanking him once again, Joe turned back to Dianne.

"Let's get you upstairs."

"Yeah, let's... it's our one night off-duty."

He picked up on the hint woven thickly into her voice, whatever was bothering her she was clearly going to cover up. Joe sighed,

"I meant to bed."

"Yes, so did I."

"Well I meant straight to sleep."

Dianne stopped slightly and narrowed her eyes at him, wondering why on Earth he'd want to go straight to sleep on a child free night. Suddenly the world was spinning, and her hand flew out to the banister in an attempt to steady herself. As quickly as it came it had gone however Joe was already at her side and, in a flash, was carrying her up the stairs.

"And that..." he said, "...is exactly why we're going straight to sleep. You're ill."

"No I'm not!" Dianne pouted, knowing full well that what the boy had said was true.

"Tell your body that."

Having reached the door he fumbled for the keys, eventually managing to swing it open. He marched straight through to the bedroom and popped his girlfriend on the bed before leaving the room to lock the apartment door. Upon returning to the bedroom, he noticed her changing into pyjamas extremely slowly, attempting to catch his eyes in the mirror.

It was frustrating her that he only wanted to sleep, and she couldn't help feeling like there was an underlying reason for his decision. In the car she had managed to convince herself she was fine, and wasn't ill, and it was this attitude that that was beginning to make her become irritated at Joe. Soon she realised that, ill or not, Joe had made up his mind and there was, in reality, no changing that. She could either suck it up or be grumpy about it.

~~~

1:27
Groaning, Joe heaved himself out of bed to go and comfort his girlfriend who was sat in the bathroom facing the toilet. He had definitely been right last night- this wasn't the first time that Dianne had gotten up to be sick and he's certain it won't be the last. She was definitely ill. What had brought the bought of sickness on remains a mystery to him. They'd eaten the same things and drunk the same things, near enough anyway.

As he sat, rubbing Dianne's back slowly, humming a gentle tune, he began to make a mental calculation. The conclusion he reached alerted him that his fear could indeed be true. He didn't want to worry her with the possibility, but also didn't want to keep it from her. Although it was her body, she was bound to know before him.

"Joe you look as pale as a ghost."

"Says the one who's been emptying their guys for half of the night."

Rolling her eyes at his attempt to cover up his worries with humour, she tried again,

"What's got you so bothered Joe? Truly."

He bit his lip, a nervous habit, before answering her slowly.

"Well, I was doing some mental calculations, and... you don't think you're... you know? You, um, you don't think you're pregnant do you?"

Dianne sat in silence for a second, before laughing so hard tears rolled down her face.

"Oh my goodness Joe you should have seen your face!! No, I'm not."

"Are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes, staring at him through eyes ringed with dark circles, the telltale signs of her late nights and sleepless nights that were still ongoing after her first pregnancy. There was no way that it was something she wanted to put her body through again anytime soon.

"Pretty sure honey. I have my ways of knowing, don't worry."