Warning: Blood and pain (There's a good amount of period talk in this chapter, just thought I would warn you.)
About a week later, I was sleeping in bed with Joe. It was the middle of the night, about 4 AM, and I woke up a bit to turn over. As I slowly came to, I noticed an uncomfortable wetness between my legs. Once my tired brain had deciphered what caused this feeling, my eyes shot open. I threw the covers off of me and I ran into the bathroom, hoping not to wake Joe in the process. I closed the door behind me as quickly and softly as I could. I switched on the light, closing my eyes so I could adjust to the light a little bit. I rushed over to the toilet, pulling my pants down and sitting down on the bowl.
As I thought, a big red splotch covered my panties. I rested my elbows on my legs and covered my face. Slowly rubbing it. I knew it was supposed to come soon, but I forgot about it and hadn't prepared myself. I slipped my pants off and inspected them. Thankfully, nothing got on my pajama pants. I threw them aside as I took off my panties and threw them into the sink. Once, I had cleaned myself up and put in a tampon from underneath the sink, I washed my panties and let them dry on the edge of the tub.
I switched the light off and walked back into the bedroom with my pajama pants in hand. Blindly searching for my underwear drawer to get a new pair. I finally found it and pulled out a random pair and slid them on along with my pants. I got back into bed, thankful that it didn't soak through my pants and onto the sheets so I didn't have to wake Joe up.
But, my nightmare wasn't over. My stomach was gurgling and, because I had been awake for a while and my system had a chance to start up like it was the morning, my cramps started. I was tossing and turning. Stretching myself out as far as I could and scrunching myself up into a small ball. Anything to relieve the pain. It felt like knives were digging into my stomach and uterus. Everything hurt. Then I felt a headache and some back pain set in. It was getting worse because I couldn't fall back asleep. So, I kept turning and moving.
I began to whine softly at the pain after about an hour or so. But it felt like forever. My arms clutching to my stomach to apply pressure that might alleviate the pain. But, nothing was working. And I knew that if I got up to get medicine and some water, it would only make them worse. So, I sat there and endured the pain.
A little while later, a particularly awful pain ran through my stomach, back, and head all at once. This made me grunt and whine louder than I wanted to as I tried to let it pass. I felt Joe turn over in bed. I let out another whine as it waved through me again. Sadly, this got Joe's attention.
"Everything okay over there?" he joked. It was odd that I wasn't sleeping against him. But, when I didn't answer and just kept whining softly, he knew something was very wrong. "Jule?" he asked being pulled from his sleepiness. He lifted himself onto his elbows to try and see my face. I didn't look at him. I was too focused on the pain. I squeezed my eyes closed some more and I could feel them starting to tear up. He got out of bed and kneeled on the ground next to me. He gently placed his fingertips on my upper arm. He knew not to touch me that much when I was like this. "Do you need me to get you some medicine?" he asked. I nodded slowly. Thankfully, I could feel the pain slowly starting to go away. Joe reappeared soon after with two aspirins and a glass filled with cold water. I tried to sit myself up, but it only resulted in another sharp pain. I crunched myself back into a ball as Joe stood there, trying to find another option. He placed the medicine and water down on the table and looked back at me with open arms. "May I?" he asked.
I nodded. I didn't know what he was going to do, but if it meant that I didn't need to move, I was all for it. He slowly rolled me onto my back and snaked his arms underneath my back and legs to sit me up. He lifted me and rested my head against the headboard. It didn't hurt and I was now in a position to take the aspirin.
He gave me a soft smile as he reached over to grab the items. He handed them over to me and I took them willingly. He left the room as I drank the water, hoping the hydration would calm the pain. He came back in with a heating pad and plugged it into my bedside outlet. He laid it across my stomach and turned the heat up to medium. He grazed his thumb across my lips to wipe away some of the access water as I put the glass on my nightstand.
"Better?" he whispered.
"Not yet, but we'll get there. Thank you, baby," I said as I clutched the heating pad flush against my stomach. He lightly kissed me before sitting back on his knees. He put his hand in mine as I could feel the medicine start to take effect and the pain slowly draining from my tired body.
"I don't think you should go to set today. You should stay here and get some rest." He said in a soft tone.
"I can go, I'll be fine." I had done it before. I went to set with awful cramps once and that just resulted in about an hour of standing followed by two hours of laying in the fetal position in Joe's trailer. And then repeated that until the end of the day. It wasn't fun, but I did go to set that day.
"I'm sure you would be," he started as he brushed some hair out of my face. "But it's doctor's orders. You're staying here," he laughed a little. "You can miss one day because you're not feeling well." I felt my eyes get heavy. All my pain was slowly going away and my body was getting very tired.
"Okay," I yawned. "I guess that's understandable," I flopped my head over to the side to look at him. "I'm sorry I woke you," I said.
"I'm glad you woke me. Otherwise, you'd still be in pain." He patted my hand and started to get up off his knees. "Get some sleep."
"Okay," I hummed. It didn't take long to fall back asleep with the heat radiating from my stomach and my headache and back pain now gone.
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I woke up later to the sun streaming into the room. I could tell that it was almost noon by how bright the sun was. I slowly sat up. I knew my cramps would start up again as soon as I started walking around, so I needed to act fast. But, as I was about to get out of bed, I saw a note on my nightstand. It was next to some aspirin and a full glass of water. I picked up the note and read it.
Take these so you're not in a lot of pain like last night. I went off to set, but I'll call you at lunch. I love you.
-Joe
I smiled at the note and gladly took the pills. They would take a little bit to kick in, so I just went about with what I wanted to do. I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, and got dressed in some loose, comfortable clothing. I unplugged my heating pad and brought it into the living room along with a blanket. I made a comfortable, make-shift bed on the couch so I could watch TV or check in with my audience on my laptop. I didn't like staying in bed all day even when I'm not feeling well because I feel like I didn't accomplish anything and it makes me feel worse about myself.
I sat and watched a show while I waited for Joe to call. I was having small pains here and there, but nothing as bad as last night. In fact, the cramps last night were the worst ones I have had since being with Joe. I would usually try to hide them from him, like when I went to set and just ended up cowering in his trailer. But, they were impossible to hide last night. And even though he helped me feel better, I still regretted waking him up. But then, my phone started ringing. I picked it up and started the FaceTime with Joe.
"Hey Jule, how are you doing?" He had his long Deacy wig on, but it was tied back in a ponytail.
"That's a look," I said with a small smile.
"Ah, feeling well enough to pick on me I see," He laughed. "But really, how are you?" he asked in a loving tone.
"I'm doing okay. Nothing as bad as last night, but there are still pains here and there." I explained. "The medicine you left for me helped, thank you."
"Well, I didn't know if you would be feeling well enough to get it yourself, so I left it for you," I smiled at him.
"What are you filming?" I asked. I gasped. "Today wasn't Mike Meyers' day was it?" I had been excited to see Mike all through the shoot ever since I heard he was on board. Joe laughed.
"No, no. Not today. We're filming a little bit of that scene today though. Just some pickups so there's less for Mike to film when he gets here." He explained.
"Okay," I nodded, happy that my cramps didn't get in the way of meeting another actor I admired. Ben jumped into the frame right behind Joe.
"Hi, Julie! How are you feeling?" He asked excitedly.
"Hey, Ben. I'm feeling a little better, thanks," I responded with a polite smile. "How are things there?" I asked. Joe angled the phone so I could see Ben a little better.
"Pretty good. We're all in a bit of a goofy mood today, not much is getting done." Ben admitted.
"Is that so? I'm sorry I'm missing that," I laughed. "It'd be fun to see you guys all breaking."
"Yeah, well. You'd be the only one who likes it," Joe chimed in. I saw Ben look off camera. He put his hand on Joe's shoulder.
"Sorry, gotta go, mate. See you soon Julie, feel better," Ben smiled.
"Thanks, try to get something done," I yelled as he started to leave the frame. I heard him chuckle softly before Joe repositioned his phone to show his whole face. "Are you guys really goofing off a lot today?" Joe nodded, sort of ashamed at the answer. "Well, have fun. You guys deserve one of these days every so often." He gave me a big smile.
"I'll see you when I get home," Joe said. "Hopefully you'll feel better by then."
"Me too," I responded. "I'll see you later." I smiled and waved at him. He waved back and ended the call.
The rest of my day went by pretty slowly. I got up and ate small bits of food here and there as to not upset my stomach so much. I would watch a bunch of shows mindlessly and waited until Joe would be back. Netflix would recommend something to me and I would pick it, not caring what it was. As long as I didn't have to move, I was happy. Then, it recommended Jurassic Park.
"Well, how could I refuse," I said out loud to myself. I clicked on the movie and began to watch it. I watched it for a while, about 30 minutes, and Joe wasn't in the movie yet. I hadn't remembered how long it took for his character to get into the movie. Just as I was thinking about him, Joe unlocked the door and walked into the apartment.
"Hey, babe," He yelled through the rooms.
"Hi," I replied in just as loud a voice. His head poked into the living room and smiled when he saw me. I smiled back at him. He walked over and kneeled down next to me, kissing my forehead and temple trying not to hit my face with the brim of his baseball cap. I closed my eyes as he kissed me and let a sweet smile crawl across my face.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as he pushed a piece of my hair aside.
"Better. Haven't moved much, but that's probably best," I responded.
"Yes, it is," he said.
"How was set? Did you actually get something done?" I asked.
"Eventually, but it took a long time," he joked with a small laugh. I smiled at his comment and I heard a line from the TV. 'Grampa!' I looked over Joe's shoulder. I saw young Joe and his on-screen sister running up to Richard Attenborough. Hugging him and greeting the other people around them. Joe looked at what I was looking at. When he realized what it was, he gave me a look. Really? It said. I laughed at his response.
"I can't watch this movie?" I asked.
"No, you can," he started. "It's just flattering to know that you missed me that much," he joked pretending to flip some hair behind his shoulder. I hit his arm as I smiled at him. He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. "Oh, I almost forgot," he jumped. "I have a surprise."
"What is it?" I asked.
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise," he smirked with squinted eyes. He brought his hand up to his face and grabbed the bill of his hat. He took it off. He had a haircut and the perm was gone. I gasped.
"It's gone!" I almost yelled.
"Yup, you got a surprise haircut, so I got one too," he smiled proudly. I reached up and touched it. It was much shorter than he usually kept it, but I was just happy the curls were gone.
"It's so short," I commented.
"Yeah, they wanted to make sure none of the chemicals were left, so he went really short. But, it'll grow back, don't worry," I kept feeling his hair. It had been so long since I could feel his straight hair. "And I promise that's never happening again." I laughed.
"Good to know because I grew to hate it." I replied.
"Everyone hated it," We both laughed. I looked back over to the movie and once again Joe followed my gaze.
"I'll be right back," he said.
"You're gonna watch it with me?" I asked, completely surprised that he would do that.
"Well, yeah. Just cause I'm in it doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. It's still a classic." He responded as he stopped in the threshold of the door. He came back a couple minutes later holding a bag of pretzels. He came over to the couch and just looked at my legs. I was splayed out, and there was no room for him. He could only sit if I put my legs on his lap, and he was still afraid to touch me.
"It's okay," I said in a soft voice. I pulled my legs toward me a little to let him sit. Joe grabbed the blanket I had on and I softly placed my legs on his lap. He rested one arm over my legs and the other held his head as we watched together.
I quoted along with the movie. Looking over at Joe lovingly each time I did it. Small lines of his like 'God Bless you!' and 'Doyouthinkhesaurus'. When the latter line came up, I turned to him and said it in perfect rhythm with the movie. He just stared at me with a look. A look that made me laugh a bit too hard.
"Get a new joke," he exasperated. I laughed even more. He smiled at how much I liked teasing him. He tickled the bottom of my foot and I kept laughing. I was trying to kick his hand away, to make him stop playfully. But, then a pang went through my stomach.
"Oof," I exclaimed as I doubled over in pain. Moving around that much must have triggered the pain to come back.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that," Joe said, extremely concerned about me. I chuckled a little. The pain was gone by now.
"It's okay," I replied. "Not your fault." It really wasn't. It was mine for moving around so much.
"I'm sorry," he said again. I flopped my head onto my shoulder and looked over at him.
"Joey," he turned his head to look at me. "I'm fine. I'll be fine." He gave me a small smile and patted my leg. We went back to watching the movie. The raptor scene came up eventually. I loved that scene. I watched it intently and I could tell Joe was watching me. A smile crept across my face while I watched it. Knowing that the boy in the scene was the one cradling my legs in his lap made me happy. It made me realize how small the world was. How lucky I was.
We kept watching the movie until the credits rolled. I looked over at him. He smiled over at me. I adjusted myself in my seat so I was sitting up a bit more.
"Did I ever tell you about the first time I watched that movie all the way through?" I asked him.
"Nope," he smiled. "Please tell me it's a good story." I smiled back.
"It is," I answered.
"I'm all ears," he replied, relaxing in his seat a bit.
"Well, I was too young to see it when it came out, so I kind of missed the boat there. But, I knew references to it and stuff and I had somehow seen the raptor scene and a couple other scenes over the years. I just hadn't seen the movie all the way through. Flash forward to my freshman year of high school, I had to take Biology and we were pretty far ahead with classwork. So, because we were learning about fossils and dinosaurs, our teacher wheels in the chunky TV we used to have and puts in Jurassic Park. And all the other kids in my class couldn't care less about the movie. They were all talking and goofing off, but I was sat in the front row, right in front of the TV. And I loved it." I was using my hands to tell a fuller story. Joe was hanging on every word because he knew this was a story about the first time I saw him. The first time I saw my future boyfriend way back when I was 14 and could never have known. "I didn't usually like action movies, but here I was, completely enthralled by a dinosaur movie. Every scene had me on the edge of my seat. I was so mad at myself that I hadn't seen it sooner. I went home and told my parents all about it, but they had already seen it. Everything about it was so good and so were the actors. Especially you," I finished. He swatted his hand at me.
"You're just saying that," he said.
"No, I'm not. I couldn't believe how amazing you were in that movie. I mean, to hold an audience in such suspense like you did in the raptor scene was so difficult, even for an adult actor. But you did it when you were 8. 8.That blows my mind." I said. "And you're still doing it, you're still so good and grounded and funny and...why are you with me again?" I asked. Joe laughed. I laughed with him, he knew I didn't mean the question, but he still answered me anyway.
"Because you're all of those things too," he smiled while rubbing my leg. "And because I don't see anyone else chomping at the bit to help you when you're like this," he joked.
"I would hit you for that, but I can't reach you," I said with squinted eyes. We stayed like that for the rest of the day. Sitting and watching TV, snacking on pretzels. As the day went on, I got super tired and ended up falling asleep on the couch. I was woken up a little later by Joe softly nudging me.
"Babe, I think you should go to bed." He whispered.
"Mmm," I hummed, not fully awake.
"Are you in pain?" he asked, getting a little closer to me.
"No," I muffled in my groggy state.
"Okay," I heard him say under his breath. I felt his hands snake underneath my legs and back and he hugged me to his torso. I was utterly surprised at what was happening, but I was too tired to say anything. Joe picked me up, holding me to his chest. My blanket fell off me in the process. He carried me to our bedroom, softly laying me down on the bed. He brought the covers up and placed them on top of me. He kissed my forehead.
"I hope you feel better tomorrow, honey," he whispered in my ear. I feel asleep shortly after, happy with the fact that I was no longer in pain and that Joe would take care of me if this ever happened again.