In a Heartbeat
Six Years.
That's how long it took her to agree to wear his ring.
It took her another six months to allow him to add the second ring.
Six months after that it all fell apart.
She'd known since she was a child that her life was never meant to be this simple, this easy.
But it was easy to get caught up in the fairytale of love and happily ever after. Or so she thought at the time.
She let herself believe the dreams were just that: dreams. When the first light of day brightened her bedroom each morning, the dreams faded away along with the lingering darkness of night and she brushed them aside.
The nightmare that stemmed from the dreams proved not so easy to dismiss.
It was supposed to be one of the happiest times of their lives.
One little test seemed to be the answer to what was missing.
One little test had shaken the foundation she'd so carefully built under her.
Questions about her parents, her relationship with them and their relationship with each other darkened her days.
Talking with Dr. Stiles helped some, but with every new revelation came more questions. More frustration. More confusion.
Her work, which had always been her salvation, suddenly seemed overwhelming and exhausting.
She shut herself off from the ones who cared for her the most.
She knew they noticed. She knew they were wondering. She could see the unspoken questions in their eyes.
She didn't know how to answer them.
How could she continue to be the person everyone knew and cared for, when she didn't even know herself anymore?
He thought he knew her. He thought he could help her. God knows he tried. He'd been there before. But this time it was new territory for him, as well.
The reality was he didn't know how to deal with this any more than she did.
He knew how it was all going to end. He prayed he was wrong.
One little test had been the answer to everything.
One little test had done nothing but raise more questions.
Why?
She knew why.
It wasn't supposed to be this way for her. She wasn't supposed to have a happily ever after. They hadn't. She wondered what had ever made her think she could.
She pulled her first ring off. Then the second. Fleetingly, she thought of how ironic it was that they were coming off her finger in the same order they'd been put on.
She set them on the counter beside her front door key.
She left no note. She didn't need to. She'd seen what these last few months had done to him. She'd seen the hurt in his eyes. She'd seen questions she couldn't answer.
She clutched her duffle bag tightly in her hand and shut the door quietly behind her.
In a heartbeat everything had changed. One tiny little flutter was the answer to it all.
In a heartbeat everything had changed. One still, silent screen was the end of it all.