Hurt But Not Broken

Mentality

A.N. A quick update so this is the chapter that is done since I'm stuck on the next chapter but I will try to update this at least once tomorrow, but I won't make any promises. This is a feel good chapter to ease the tension a bit in the story, the next chapter will be slightly heavier but I will still try to keep it as nice as I can. However, I may hold off on posting chapters due to reviews and no suggestions. I'll write for this story, but won't post the chapters (this goes for every website I have this story on) unless I get more reviews and different reviewers. It really doesn't take that long to review and leave a suggestion, guys. On a side note, follow me on Twitter ( Chelsg5).

"How long was the flight?" A sleepy April asked, yawning and stretching her legs as far as the front passenger seat would allow her to go. Deprived of sleep from the night before had worried Jon to some extent, considering that they had cleared most things up in their relationship, but he shook it off. He just hoped April would tell him what was wrong and they could deal with it in the proper way.

"A few hours." He glanced at April for a moment before his attention turned back to the road. "What had you up last night that you couldn't sleep?"

"Different things, I know you had troubles sleeping at night with too much on your mind." It was a sensitive spot for both; with different reasons for each. But neither tended to dwell on what worried them, anymore. Not with the amount of time they had lost doing so such a short time ago.

Not when everything seemed to be going right, again.

It seemed to be okay on the surface, but what had happened to April was far from okay. But to even her own amazement, she had worried most for the cause of her new-found stress; she worried for Nick's sanity. Of all people!

Forget, move on, or deal with it! Those were the only three options that the young woman faced, and the first two didn't seem plausible in any way. She had (and actually wanted) to deal with the major problem face on, instead of hiding.

Well, there wasn't really any other option. Face the truth and hope people were on her side, or have it revealed in a way she didn't want it to, and have it blow up in her face.

"We'll be home soon, babe." Jon snapped April from her thoughts, and she realised her eyes must have been shut, or close to shutting, for Jon to say anything. April smiled weakly at him, turned her head and looked out the window.

Beaches were crowed in Florida frequently, even occasionally in the winter months. But in the heat, it was even more packed with women and men sun tanning, playing volleyball or surfing.

Zoned out for almost too long, April felt her shoulder being shook.

"We're home, April." She nodded and climbed out of the car. Jon had already taken all of their belongings out of the back of the car, having his suitcases and house keys in his hands. April followed suit immediately.

For an odd reason, the house had seemed brighter and bigger than when she had left about a week prior for the first time in six months (apart from when she needed to, of course). One thing that was a drastic change in the home was that the back room, which had been reserved as a child's room, was opened up. The curtains were drawn back to show the light pink walls and gave the couple a nice feeling. Both ended up talking about furniture placement for the future.

And neither person felt guilt or sadness at the thought.

"Food?" Jon had asked suddenly, receiving a response from April's stomach growling. He helped her up off the ground, and walked hand in hand with April down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Do we have any meat frozen, I feel like a burger. Wait, no, steak. No, a steak burger!" April giggled, having Jon grab a bag with several cuts of steak frozen and a quizzical look from him.

"You're excited about food?" April nodded, enthused.

"Yeah, you make some of the best steak burgers I've had." Jon kept listening as he prepared everything he needed. April helped him as she kept talking. "Plus I love a lot more than just your cooking. I love comics, and wrestling, and video games and reading, and dogs (which Jon was against having), and you."

"You want some cheese with that, my dear?" Over her shoulder, Jon ate a single cheese slice, offering another to her. April laughed.

"You are a goof, and a dork, but adorable. You're an adorkable goof." Both continued their preparations before Jon had started to cook the steak pieces. April had laid out salad ingredients, cheeses and different sauces to have on their burgers. Not that Jon saw any point to it.

"Yeah, and you're a perfectionist who choose this adorkable goof." Jon stared to prepare his burger when April giggled. "What?"

"You said 'Adorkable'!" Trying to stifle her laughs, April took a bite of her burger and nodded.

"Yummy, I miss having home cooked meals." For the most part when April had been on her six month absence, she had mostly ordered takeout food, no matter if it had been healthy or not. But a home cooked meal was something she had missed dearly, and she wouldn't be passing up her fiancé's cooking for anything.

"It is a nice change from catering at work." April had been too busy enjoying her food to reply to the joke. It was true, although catering meals were decent; it was a great feeling to go back to a home cooked meal after being on the road for long periods of time.

"It's nice just to be away from everything." Mutter April after a short pause when she had swallowed her food. Jon looked back to her face directly.

"But we need to have the time away to clear more things up."

"Yeah, I know, Jon. We can talk tonight." The two ate in silence for the rest of their lunch. They wasted the day before finding the right way to approach their separate situations. April with her heavy dealings with Nick, and Jon with wanting something more positive to happen in his life.