Read To Me

If We Never Met.

A silence between them had never been so loud. Neither had spoken since Jewel questioned Andrew about his snooping. This was mostly due to Andrea being awake, and neither of them wanted to argue in front of her. How had their relationship gotten to this point in the first place? It was healthy for any couple to have disagreements, but they had been at each other's throats for months now. First about the journal, then having a baby, and now this. What else could go wrong?

Jewel twisted her hair in the mirror, a deep frown set on her face as she stared at her reflection. Maybe they had been living in their perfect fantasy too long; things were bound to come crumbling down the longer they stayed in the delusion that they didn't have any problems. She didn't want to argue: she wanted to be happy again. As she watched her reflection complete the last strand, Jewel decided she would approach the situation with a sense of poise and calmness. Whether that would be returned was soon to be determined.

Jerking the shower curtain back, Andrew stepped out of the bathtub while wrapping a red towel around his waist. He reached past his wife's head into the medicine cabinet to grab his toothbrush, then rested his hands on the sink, trapping her between them. Their eyes met in the mirror, and he observed how her body shook as she took a deep breath. Setting his toothbrush aside, he took her hand in his and unfurled her fingers from around the tail of the comb.

"Are you afraid of me," he asked, his voice just above a whisper. "Do you think I'm going to hurt you?"

"No." Her answer was firm.

Tucking his face into her neck, he left a kiss there. Jewel closed her eyes, then relaxed her body back into her husband's. With one arm across her waist, he held her tight while pressing up against her.

"Tell me the truth, okay? Was Carter abusive?"

Instead of talking, she shook her head without opening her eyes. Andrew couldn't believe that. Thinking back to when she returned from London, although she seemed good, plenty of the signs were there. Flinching at his sudden movements, not looking him in the eye, pulling away when he touched her: he noticed it all, but she never wanted to about it when asked. There was no more avoiding it now, because he couldn't take the pain of seeing the fear in her eyes when she looked at him, again.

"If you can't be honest with me, Jewel, I'm not staying here tonight."

Releasing her from his hold, Andrew brushed his teeth then left the bathroom. Jewel was frozen in place, as she stared through the mirror at where her husband used to be. She breathed a few times, then followed after him into the bedroom. He was half-dressed in jeans and socks, but his torso was still bare as he rummaged through his drawers. Pulling out a shirt, he tugged it over his head and moved back to the closet.

"Don't go, please," Jewel whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

A sigh left him as he laced his fingers through hers, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the inside of her palm. Tugging her around to stand in front of him, he stared down at her with creased eyebrows. She saw the frustration clear in his eyes.

"I feel like you don't trust me." He stepped away from her, dropping her hands from his. Nothing had ever felt so cold to her. Andrew grabbed his jacket from the closet, shrugging it on his shoulders. "How could we have another kid if you can't talk to me?"

"Why does it matter? Why is it even important to you?"

"Because you're important to me! Andrea's important to me. This family that we've created together is the most important thing in the world to me, and I never want to lose it. Not again."

Combing both hands through his hair, Andrew paced the width of the bed as he tried to keep calm. He felt so worked up that she wasn't understanding him. Why didn't she get it? All he wanted to protect their happiness, and know her the way he always thought he did. Right now though, it was as if he didn't know his wife at all.