The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With Tears For Fears

They had enjoyed the rest of Monday lazing together around the house and in the garden simply revelling in the luxury of free time together. Jen spent a couple of hours going over her Morning Show scripts for the next few days, David helping her by running lines, heaping copious amounts of praise on the show as he did so. They had made sure too that the dogs got plenty of exercise having been limited to a short morning run and their enclosed outdoor terrace for much of the previous day. Jen had decided to treat David to her now infamous Carbonara for dinner, which he very much enjoyed as they sat out on the terrace watching the sun sink down below the horizon, leaving the sky painted in a myriad of hues, and reminiscing about all those times at the viewpoint or his old house, when they had sat watching the same beautiful scene play out before them, but under vastly different circumstances. He had also agreed that her culinary skills had indeed much improved over time, something they both laughed long and hard about as they recalled some of her early efforts to impress him when she'd had to resort to offering sex for dinner each time her cooking had failed. And then they had sat together on the sofa in the large lounge, watching a film and enjoying another one or two small glasses of wine before heading to bed for an early night, although not so early to sleep, as they were too busy making the most of each other's company... and bodies, whilst they could.

David turned over and squinted through one eye at the clock. 6:58am. He was instantly aware that he was alone. The other side of the bed was cold and had obviously been empty for some time. He lay for a moment, rubbing his eyes and shaking his body free of sleep. He couldn't hear any movement in the bathroom or the dressing room. He peeled back the covers, landing his bare feet on the plush carpeted floor. He stood and stretched his naked body, before wandering into the bathroom to freshen up. He grabbed a pair of clean boxers and a t-shirt from his holdall and made his way down the corridor towards the kitchen area. He still couldn't hear anything, and he couldn't smell coffee either. And no sign of the dogs. Maybe she'd taken them out early? Although this was Jen and Jen hated early. She was definitely a night owl. As he entered the kitchen he knew she had been in here as the lights were on and she had laid a cup out ready for his morning coffee. He suddenly caught a movement in the corner of his eye and his focus fell on a tiny figure, sat outside on the cushioned sofa, wrapped in a blanket, her knees pulled up to her chin and her head down.

"Jen, what on earth is wrong?" he asked softly as he made his way out into the chilly early morning air, not sure if he should sit beside her at first then internally reprimanding himself for even questioning if he should or not. This was his girl and she was blatantly not ok right now. He sank down onto the seat beside her and pulled her cold body tightly against his, shrouding her with his arms as best he could. "You're freezing. How long have you been out here?" he said, his mind absolutely racing and his heart thumping in his chest. She had changed her mind, hadn't she? His declaration of wanting to love her for the rest of his life had been too much, too soon and he had scared her off. 'Shit' he thought, 'shit, shit, shit.'

She slowly raised her head from her knees and he could see she had been and still was crying. Proper, heartfelt, cries of despair that had left her beautiful blue eyes red rimmed and puffy. He raised his fingers gently and wiped some fresh tears away as she looked at him without saying a word. She opened her mouth to speak but not a sound passed from her lips so she just shook her head and sunk into his chest as another batch of silent sobs overwhelmed her. David could feel her shivering as she wept, so he deftly leaned back and pulled another fleecy cream blanket from behind him, throwing it around both their shoulders, wrapping them together like a fluffy burrito. He held her in silence, rubbing her back and stroking her hair until he felt the shaking subside as she warmed slightly and her tears lessened. After what seemed like an age, she lifted her head from his sodden t-shirt and met his concerned gaze.