This is dedicated to AKHTS, Audrey, and Kas. For reasons.
Chapter 1:
Goosebumps covered her entire body. The murmurs filling the air around her did nothing to ease the discomfort. She didn't feel pain or anxiety. It felt like she had lost control of her body. Her eyelids finally flickered, allowing her to get a fuzzy view of the group of people gathered around her bed.
"She's up."
Jimmy was watching her. The whole thing was hazy, a fever dream. Linda couldn't tell whether he sounded concerned or if he was simply stating a fact. She wasn't able to ask, there was something that was keeping her from moving at all, as though she were paralyzed.
"Shut up. She's fine."
Edith. Edith was there. That fact should have been more alarming than it was. Linda knew that that was not a good sign. She knew that there was no reason for that old woman to be here. It was just hard to even care. There was a whole swarm of people, they were all around Edith's age.
Her entire body tensed as something scratched down her sides. It tickled, but hurt all at the same time. If she would have been able to move her arms she would have swatted it away.
"What are you doing?" She softly murmured.
Jimmy was on top of her, at least that's what she thought. Her eyes were having a hard time focusing. Mostly what she saw was her husband with different eyes, piercing eyes.
"Just stay calm," someone instructed. She couldn't quite figure out whose voice it was.
oooooo
"Alright, sweetheart," Linda absently said as she stood before the bathroom mirror, applying her make up for the day.
Jimmy, standing behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a kiss cheek. "I'll see you in a bit," he stated, a smirk on his face.
She stopped what she was doing, setting her brush onto the sink and softly returned the kiss. Turning back to face the mirror, she just stared, trying to figure out what it was that had become of them. It was a little over a month ago that she had had that dream, and it was about the same time that their marriage had taken a wrong turn.
There weren't any real huge changes in the way that they acted towards each other. There was just something different in the way that he would hold her, in the way that they would converse at the dinner table. They never looked into each other's eyes anymore. Long stares and caresses faded to guilt ridden glances and strained contact. Even now he looked uncomfortable, like he was forcing himself to hold onto her for a just a little bit longer.
It wasn't entirely his fault. There was something in her that had changed towards him. She hated it, but that dream, that nightmare made her feel uneasy whenever she tried to be intimate with him. Looking up to him, all she could see were those disfigured eyes staring back at her, she could feel those claw like nails scratching down her sides. Those feelings poured over into the rest of their interactions, such as right now she felt like she needed to crawl out of her skin.
They were only standing like that for a moment, but as he let go of her and walked away she felt as though she had been trapped in his arms for ages. There was a relief that washed over her as soon as she was free.
Maybe it was time to face the fact that their marriage was falling to pieces. Wives shouldn't be waiting anxiously for the moment that their husbands let go of them, and husband shouldn't be treating affection as though it's a chore. She just didn't know what she could do to change things. It wasn't like she could just force herself to feel better around him and he couldn't make himself want to hold her. They were both trying like hell, but it didn't seem to be working. If anything, their little acts were making things worse. What they had given themselves was nothing more than a duct tape fix, temporarily patching up just enough of it so that it barely works until they could get around to actually repairing it.
Linda didn't even bother to finish her makeup. She just left it there, out on the sink. She looked decent enough. It wasn't as if anyone would really notice. Jimmy sure wasn't going to. Besides, the main thing that she wanted to do was try and mask the dark circles under her eyes, and that was the first thing that she had accomplished.
Walking out into the bedroom, she grabbed her purse and slung it on her shoulder. It was pretty early to be heading out now, but she wanted to make sure to leave before Edith arrived.
Edith and Harold were their neighbors. They owned a quaint little art store. They were nice enough. The problem was that once they found a friend they would cling onto them. Almost everyday Edith would come over and ask her personal questions and make obnoxious comments and then leave, telling her that she would be back later.
Sometimes Harold would come along. He seemed to be busy more often than not. He appeared to always be out, to always be doing something. This little old man was so quiet, so reserved, yet he had people to meet up with in every city it sounded. He was constantly traveling. She felt like he was hiding something.
Heading out the door, she stopped and looked around at her surroundings. It was a nice day, rather quiet. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze. If she had anyone to go with, she would have packed a picnic. Instead, she took in a deep breath and briefly shut her eyes. Just a second to forget.
"Linda!"
The obnoxious voice brought her moment of peace to a screeching halt. She cringed before opening her eyes and turning. All she had to do was feign excitement and think of an excuse as to why she had to leave. That was much easier said than done however.
"Edith!" She exclaimed. "I was just heading out. I was thinking about picking up a few things for the apartment since we can afford it now."
The elder woman laughed. "I've noticed! What did you do? Start paying people to come in and eat?"
Linda forced a small laugh, hoping that her discomfort wasn't as apparent as she felt it was. "Must be why we were broke for a while," she awkwardly joked.
Edith smiled to her. "Well I have to go talk to your husband. I'll let you on your way."
That was the one thing that she was not prepared for: Edith simply leaving her. Most of the time if felt like she would have to beat that woman with a stick to get some privacy. Now though, there was something different in her voice. And the way that she mentioned it, that she had to speak to Jimmy.
Linda also couldn't help but notice that she had glanced down at her belly before she headed into the restaurant. She knew that she had gained a couple of pounds, but she didn't think it was that noticeable. Then again, Edith was there everyday. The old bat probably noticed every change.
She peeked down to her stomach and ran her hand over it, smoothing out her shirt. Her clothing didn't look tight or anything so she shrugged it off and went on her way.
oooooo
After a day of mindless wandering through out the small town, Linda returned back to the restaurant, stopping on the sidewalk and watching the crowd the of people waiting to get inside. As bad as it was, she wished that just once they wouldn't be busy. That way Jimmy would have some time for her. They could finally work on their problems and have the marriage that they had before all of this started.
Looking across the street, she noticed that the small burger joint was empty. Bob's Burgers. Or at least a lot emptier than their place. It looked like a place where she could hear herself think.
She took one last glance at the crowd before turning and heading across the street. part of her felt as though this were cheating in a way. Like she was giving business to the competitors. It wasn't as though Jimmy was failing or anything, it just felt weird.
Entering the restaurant, she scanned the small room. There was a couple of customers scattered within the booths. There was nothing too special about this place, but anything was better than home right now.
She absently sat down at the counter, setting her purse down on the surface before her. She wasn't even sure that she was hungry, but she had nowhere else to go and it was getting close to dinner time.
Bob peeked out into the dining room through the window as soon as he heard the door. He recognized the woman right away, Jimmy Pesto's wife. He had noticed her when the couple was moving into their new place. She seemed cute, cheery, and kind of bubbly. He was actually a little upset when he found out that she was married. He thought that he might have had a chance with her.
Now here she was sitting right in front of him. Her presence caused him a small amount of anxiety. It was weird to him, it made him feel as though he were back in high school. He had to push back those feelings though and act casual.
"What can I get for you?" He asked as he walked out behind the counter.
Linda quickly looked up to him. She wasn't even sure what to say at this point. "I'll take a cheeseburger and fries," she told him.
"I'll have it right up for you," he replied before heading back into the kitchen.
It still felt weird being here. What made things worse was that she was sure that Jimmy wasn't even aware of the fact that she had been gone all day. Or even if he was, he certainly didn't care.
She spent her time sitting there, staring out the window. It amazed her just how many people suddenly started frequenting their place. It felt like there was something more behind it. It didn't make sense to her.
"Here you go," Bob announced as he set the plate down before her.
Linda smiled to him. "Thank you," she said.
"I'm surprised you're over here. I sorta figured that Jimmy would have you helping him out over there with all the customers," Bob mentioned.
Linda shrugged. Originally she did want to help him. She wanted to work and talk with the customers and such. Jimmy just didn't seem to want her around down there with him. It slightly offended her.
"He prefers his coworkers," she answered before eating a fry. "You would think with as cheap as he is he would like the free help," she joked.
"I used to help my dad with his restaurant. It was actually fun at times," Bob explained. He always liked the idea of a family run place.
"Awe! Is that why you got your own place?" Linda asked. She personally thought the whole thing was cute.
"Yeah, I mean, kind of," Bob answered, smiling.
"Jimmy got his place because he thought it was easy money. I went along with it because I thought it would be fun. You know, the whole family being able to work together."
To her, the best thing ever would be to be able to do something with her family. She wouldn't want the kids working all the time, but it would be nice having them there at times. And she would get to work with her husband instead of watching him leave for work everyday, missing out on things in their kid's lives.
"Maybe he'll let you start working with him when he gets used to the business," he suggested, trying to cheer her up a little.
Linda was about to say something, but her cell phone rang. As she pulled it out of her purse, she looked at the caller ID, confused. "I gotta take this," she flatly stated as she got up and went to talk outside.
Bob just watched her with concern. As she talked outside, her expression fell. She was in complete despair. He was convinced that she must have been told that she was ill. The instant that she hung up the phone he made sure to look busy, pretending to be tidying up behind the counter.
Linda slowly walked back into the restaurant, the world a whirlwind around her. The news that she received should have been some of the best in the world - she was pregnant. It was just the opposite. This baby trapped her. She couldn't celebrate this with Jimmy, he would barely acknowledge it at this point. Plus, this was her first time going through all of this, she really did not want to go through it alone.
"Are you okay?" Bob questioned, beginning to watch her closely.
Linda sighed, reclaiming her seat. Looking up to him, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell anyone that even had the slightest chance of caring. It wasn't like she could go over and tell Jimmy. Her parents were out of the option because once they knew everyone would know and she wasn't ready for that.
She owed it to Jimmy to tell him first though. Even with the marriage as bad as it was, he deserved to know before anyone else.
"Yeah," she lied, forcing herself to smile. "I just have to go now."
Standing up, she grabbed the burger and took a couple of huge bites before laying money down on the counter. "I'll see ya tomorrow."
Linda rushed out, heading across the street. Bob just stood there and watched her, glad that she said she would return.
