Two Pink Lines

chapter 8: hormones

Taylor was now 30 weeks pregnant, and her stomach was becoming even bigger. She was sitting on the couch, in one of her mood swings. Joe sat next to her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder, a book in his other hand. "I feel so fucking terrible," Taylor groaned, putting a hand on her stomach.

"Only ten more weeks baby, you've been so strong," Joe turned to kiss the top of her head.

She sighed, "Yeah... I can't wait for the little guy to come out."

"Neither can I," Joe said, smiling down at her.

Taylor sat up more, "You know I can barely fit into my shoes anymore."

"We'll buy you new ones," Joe suggested, rubbing her back slightly.

"It's not the same!" Taylor practically shouted. She knew she shouldn't be annoyed over the fact that she had to buy new shoes, yet here she was.

Joe bit his lip, "Okay."

Taylor let out an aggravated groan, standing up. Joe put his book down, reaching out for her, "Where are you going?"

"I don't know." said Taylor, beginning to walk out the kitchen. Joe followed her, watching as she begin to take out random ingredients.

Joe raised an eyebrow, but decided not to interfere, instead just watching to make sure nothing went wrong. Taylor began to mix ingredients together, cracking a few eggs. Joe watched her curiously, not sure what she was making. Taylor walked over to the stove, preheating to 360 degrees. Walking back over to the counter, Taylor stared at the bowls in front of her, seemingly confused.

Suddenly Taylor let out a sob, knocking the bowl off the counter. The glass shattered on the ground, the flour spilling out. Joe instantly leapt into action, running over to Taylor to make sure she didn't walk onto the shards of glass. He wrapped his arms around her from the side, since he no longer could in the front, "Darling, what's wrong?"

"I can't even make fucking cookies! I'm just fucking useless," Taylor cried out, burying her head in his shirt. "I'm just a pathetic, good-for-nothing, pregnant woman!"

Joe carefully guided her over to the couch, sitting down with her, "You aren't useless."

"What productive thing have I done in the past week?" Taylor was practically screaming at him. "NOTHING."

"It's okay to do nothing sometimes, your pregnant Taylor, no one expects you to go on a stadium tour or write an album," Joe rubbed her back slowly. He knew that this would become an issue eventually, Taylor had to be constantly working, or else she would feel useless or unproductive, which she hated more then anything.

Taylor put her head in her hands, "But it's so fucking stupid, I don't want to use pregnancy as an excuse to not be doing things."

"Seems like a valid excuse to me," Joe said, kissing her cheek. "Besides, you can still do important activities, like things that may include a bedroom."

Taylor shot Joe a death glare, standing up and facing away from him. Joe realized it wasn't the time for jokes and stood up next to her, trying to hug her from behind. Taylor shrugged him off, walking away from his embrace up the stairs. Joe sighed, following her, "I'm sorry, love."

"I don't accept your apology," Taylor mumbled, walking into the bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

"If you want I can help you make cookies," Joe offered, trying to remedy the situation.

He heard a loud grumble, then Taylor shout, "I DON'T NEED HELP!"

Deciding to give her time, he went back downstairs, hoping she could cool off and then they'd talk about it. Joe went into his office, beginning to read about a possible movie he could be in. Without realizing it, he had been in the office for three hours, and Taylor still hadn't come down. Walking out into the living room then up the stairs, he noticed the open bedroom door.