Jen sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. She was nervous. This was such an important piece of news. She didn't know how he would react. Would he ever speak to her again? What would the others say? Would they ever speak to her again? How did she get herself into this mess?
She was torn away from her thoughts by a knock on her office door. she tore her eyes away from the keyboard in front of her to identify her visitor.
"Oh, hey Richmond,"
She returned her gaze to her blank computer monitor.
"You alright Jen?"
"Fine thank you Richmond, what do you want?"
He smiled at her before taking a step backwards.
"It's half seven, I'm off home,"
She lifted her head to give him a small smile.
"Night Jen. I'll see you tomorrow,"
"Night,"
Just as he left, she heard someone else moving around in the main office.
"Night Jen,"
She smiled at the sound of that familiar voice.
"Night Moss,"
She looked back down at her desk; secretly hoping Roy was still here. She couldn't put off this news any longer. Sighing, she placed her head in her hands. How did she get herself into this mess? A tear slowly rolled down her face as she heard a knock on the door.
Roy stood in the doorway; speechless. He raised his hand to knock on the door. She rose her head to acknowledge his presence. Although he saw no tears, he could clearly see the trace they had left on her cheek, like the trace of a snail on a leaf.
"Jen, you okay?"
She focused her gaze on her keyboard once more.
"Fine thank you,"
He entered the room. Sitting on the chair opposite his girlfriend, he pulled out two packets of cigarettes.
"Why are you throwing these out Jen? Are you ill? I knew it…"
"Roy,"
He stopped talking and looked up to find her gaze on him.
"I'm not ill,"
He sighed in relief.
"Good, I don't know what I'd do if you were Jen. So, what, you're giving up? Jen, that's excelle- "
This was it. She had to tell him.
Now.
"No Roy, it's…I'm…"
Suddenly, her mind went blank. She couldn't string a sentence together. It was like she had forgotten all 170,000 words in the English language; apart from one. Before she had processed it, she had said the one word she didn't want to remember.
"Baby,"
She scrunched her eyes together and looked down at her lap. What had she done? Now he'd leave her and she'd be alone; again. Great work Jen. On the other hand, now someone other than her knew. She wouldn't be burdened with this big secret anymore. A huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She turned her gaze to her hands in surprise. A warm hand had been placed on her cold, trembling hands. His hand gently tore her fingers away from her palms, leaving deep marks from where her fists were previously clenched.
"Don't do that to yourself Jen,"
He held her shaking hands within his and brought them up to his mouth. He brushed his lips against her knuckles and felt her relax slightly.
"Come on,"
She slowly stood up and followed him to the main office. She was nervous. What was he going to say?
She sat on the sofa as Roy paced back and forth in front of her. She could feel her chest tighten as he abruptly stopped and looked at her. This was it. He was going to break up with her. Why did she have to tell him?
He opened his mouth to speak.