Audrey didn’t mean to drop the mug. She’d made it to almost 7 p.m. pretending everything was normal — that the ache in her joints was just stiffness, the heat in her chest was just tiredness, and the way her hands shook was just nothing. Harmless. Ignore it. Be fine.
But when the ceramic hit the tile and shattered, it felt like a scream in the quiet house.
She froze. Her breath caught. She stared down at the mess like it had betrayed her.
Nero was home — she’d heard the front door minutes ago, the soft jingle of his keys, the low rustle of his jacket coming off. But she hadn’t expected him to walk into the kitchen right then, just in time to see her lose her grip on everything.
“I’m fine,” she said quickly, too quickly. She backed against the counter, her arms wrapping around herself as if she could hold the pain in place.
The truth was: she wasn’t fine. The truth was: she hadn’t been for days. Her body was flaring up in quiet ways — like whispers turning into screams — and she’d been too stubborn to tell him.
Or maybe too scared.
“I didn’t want you to see me like this,” she added, softer now. “This isn’t the version of me you married.”
She meant the version that smiled in courthouse pictures, who joked about how weird this arrangement was, who made sarcastic comments during their staged phone calls to the army benefits coordinator. That version didn’t wince every time she moved. That version didn’t feel like glass held together by willpower.
She looked up at him finally, eyes shinier than she wanted them to be. “You didn’t sign up for this part.”
Her voice cracked like the mug had. Quiet, but it still broke.
There was a pause, full of tension and shame and the way her hands trembled at her sides.
“…Can you just—help me sit down?” she asked finally, almost a whisper. “I think I just… need a minute.”
Her knees weren’t going to last much longer. Neither, maybe, was the act. @nerolevine
Nero had just gotten home from a long early run. He had so much on his mind that he needed to think through, that was what his runs usually were for, and of cause for the exercise, a military man needed a lot of that apparently.
He was on his way to get some water when he saw heard the sound of a mug hit the floor and shatter. It took him a moment to gather what was happening. He looked at audry, she did not look okay, was that pain he could see hidden in her eyes?
Years back, he hadn been the nicest teenager, and Audry was one of his victems, he has always had a thing for her and that sure wasnt the right way to show it, he knew that now. He wasnt young and dumb anymore. But he knew that look in her eyes.
" no your not fine" Nero protested, but that was all he knew, he didnt know how she was really feeling. All he knew was something was off and she was not okay.
" i didnt sign up for this? what you mean? i married you hun. I signed up for this" he spoke softly as he walked up to her slowly, wrapping his long warm arms around her mot minding the glass on the floor. Nero hated mess, but right now that wasnt the most important thing. Audrey needed him. He put a hand on her waist, his other on her chin " i´m here for you now, you just need to tell me what you need, cause i really dont know" he admitted. As she asked him to help her sit down, he picked her up and carried her to the couch.
