A/N: Trigger warnings for this chapter: Depression, thoughts of suicide, verbal abuse.

I am going to warn everyone before writing this story, that as I have not experienced a number of these situations, I may write a few things that are wrong/offensive to people that have experienced them. If I do this, first of all, I apologize. I will do my very best not to. Secondly, feel free to inform me if I do something like this. I will do what I can to correct the situation. I realize this can be sensitive material for a lot of people and I want to do my best to make sure no one is uncomfortable reading this story.

Lastly, just so everything is clear, this story is assuming that the whole situation with the Harvest Goddess and the sprites never happened. Anyway, on to the story!

It was the day Claire woke up and wished she hadn't that she realized there was a problem.

Up until then, she had managed to convince herself that she and Rock's marriage was just fine. Sure there were problems, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. It started out with him telling her he wouldn't be working on her farm when they got engaged. He explained – in a way that had seemed so reasonable at the time – that he didn't want to force her into a traditional marriage where he did all the work and she was the little homebody who cooked dinner and raised babies. He'd told her that he knew she was a strong woman who could take care of herself and he wanted to make sure everyone else in town knew it too. She had been so happy to have a husband that wanted her to be seen for exactly what she was. Then, shortly after their marriage, he started to ask her to do things differently on the farm. He didn't like the way the animals smelled, so he asked if she would mind terribly raising only crops. She loved her animals dearly, but she knew relationships needed compromises, so she agreed. (She had conveniently forgotten that compromises involve both parties sacrificing something.) He then told her the dog was a nuisance in the house and that he needed to sleep outside from now on. Then he told her to work on the third field that was overgrown at the back of the farm, so they could grow more crops and have more money.

Not long after that he quit his job at the Blue Bar. He complained that the job stressed him out too much, and that he needed to 'find himself' and discover what his true calling was. They both ignored the fact that he had only worked a few hours a week at the bar anyway, and a few months after this incident, he stopped talking about finding a new job altogether.

That was when the flirting started.

Before they were together Claire had heard the rumors of what a playboy Rock was, but he had been so devoted to her when they met, she was convinced they were just that – rumors. Spiteful gossip about a young man the townspeople knew next to nothing about, just because he liked to have fun. But then, over a year into their marriage, his eyes started to wander. Muffy, Claire's best friend, tactfully informed her that Rock had been shamelessly hitting on her while she was working that day, and she heard from Chris that he had done the same thing to her not two days later. This went on for a little while, and pretty soon he dared to come on to women right in front of Claire. She waved it off, unconcerned. We've been married for a while now, she said to others, and herself. It's normal to start to notice other people. It doesn't mean anything.

He started telling Claire to wear sexier clothing at night, that he was beginning to find her unattractive, always coming in all sweaty and smelly after working all day. He said that she wasn't doing her duty as a proper wife. So she started getting up earlier to put on make-up, and going to bed later each night after sleeping with Rock.

A couple of times she asked tentatively about having children, and he brushed it off, saying that they didn't have room in their life for a child. She worked so much, would she really have time to care for it? Besides, they were still young, she had plenty of time, she could wait couldn't she? She didn't realize until later that he had stopped saying 'we' a long time ago.

And so, three years into her marriage, at twenty-one years old, Claire woke up, and the first thing she thought was God I wish I could just stop waking up. I never want to wake up again.

And she finally realized that things had to change.

Why did I have to get married at eighteen? Claire wondered to herself as she watered her crops that day. Yes, Rock was charming, and charismatic, and so kind, but…but I was so young. I still am. Why did I have to rush?

She stopped with a deep breath and went to sit in the shade, fanning herself. As it was late in the spring, the weather was starting to warm quickly, and the townspeople were already lethargic from the suffocating heat. Claire looked out over her remaining crops with dread, and her heart panged as she remembered her first cow, Betsy. Just one more thing I let him talk me in to. Or out of I suppose.

A great sigh escaping her, she considered what she would do after finishing with the crops, before abruptly remembering that she had promised to meet Muffy at the bar later. Claire grimaced. Best friend though Muffy was to her, all she wanted to do was…well, nothing really. Go back inside, lay on the bed and just vegetate really. She loved Muffy like a sister, and before her marriage she had adored spending time with her…

There it is again, Claire thought to herself. Her marriage. Rock. It's not really his fault though, is it? She wondered. Maybe we just shouldn't have been married. Maybe we rushed into it. I should have waited, spared us both the pain.

With another sigh, she pushed herself to her feet to continue her work. She would go see Muffy, and tell her about how she was feeling. However, she couldn't stop herself from thinking up excuses to leave the bar early.

She didn't go back into the house before leaving for the bar. With all the thoughts she was having right now…she wanted to avoid seeing her husband for as long as possible.

Her pace was slow and her feet dragged. The sun seemed too bright and the world too cheerful. She felt like the very atmosphere was somehow sucking the energy out of her. For a moment, Claire paused and considered going back home and simply crawling back into bed. All she wanted to do was lay down and rest. She felt so lethargic, and apathetic. But she couldn't just sit and do nothing, no matter how badly she wanted to give in.

She sighed and continued moving.

It wasn't long before she opened the door to the Blue Bar. Though there was no air conditioning – save for the inn and the mansion, none of the buildings had any – the feel of the fan blowing was wonderful on her heated skin. Griffin looked up at her from behind the bar where he was cleaning a glass and grinned at her.

"Hey, Claire. Here to see Muffy?"

"Yeah," Claire replied, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt. She didn't think she did a very good job. "She in the back?"

"Yup," he said, looking back down at the glass.

Glad he hadn't noticed her sour mood, Claire strolled to the back door and found Muffy sitting on the couch. Crying.

Furrowing her brow, Claire closed the door silently behind her. "Muffy?"

Startled, the girl looked up, then promptly threw herself into Claire's arms. "Oh, Claire," she sobbed. "He dumped me!"

Breathing a sigh, Claire rubbed her back. Not another one, she thought. "I'm sorry, Muffy. What happened?"

She hiccupped. "There was another girl…He decided he wanted her more."

Claire led her to sit on the couch again. "Well, then you deserve better than him anyway."

"I-I know he was a" she gave a loud sniffle. "a jerk, but I just…I'm just so tired of being left, you know?"

"I know, honey," Claire said, squeezing her hand. Muffy had been left for another at least three times in the years that Claire had known her. She didn't understand why anyone would leave such a sweet and beautiful woman, but it happened time and time again. Griffin was the only man that was truly good to Muffy, and while the waitress didn't see it, everyone in town knew he was utterly besotted with her. Claire only wondered how Muffy would feel when she found out.

Drying her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, Muffy said "Well, I shouldn't be so upset. There's somebody else out there right?"

Claire gave her the best smile she could and nodded.

The waitress gave a shaky sigh. "I didn't want to dump all this on you. Let's talk about something else. Are you still going to Lumina's party tomorrow?"

Claire paused. She had completely forgotten about the party. Lumina and her grandmother threw at least five a year, one to celebrate each season, and one for Lumina's birthday. Their party tomorrow was to celebrate summer, and was going to be a very formal affair. There was really nothing about the parties that had anything to do with the four seasons, and everyone knew it was just a flimsy excuse for the rich family to throw another party, but no one seemed to mind. The very idea of going made Claire tired.

"Oh, um…" Claire stalled. "I um…I don't have a dress."

"We could go shopping in Mineral Town tomorrow for one!" Muffy suggested cheerfully. She adored shopping. Claire had enjoyed it once upon a time as well, but her interest had deteriorated over the past couple of years. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone.

"I don't really think there's enough time to find one in a day, Muffy. I'll just skip it this year."

"But you have to come!" Muffy insisted, then gave her her best pout. "You wouldn't make me go to a party all by myself when I just got dumped, would you?"

Claire hesitated. "I…That's cruel, Muffy. You don't play fair."

Her eyes lit up. "So you'll come?"

The farmer managed to hold her ground for a few more moments, but finally gave in with a sigh. "Fine. But I'm only trying one on, and – oof!"

Muffy had tackled her best friend with a hug. "Thank you, Claire!"

Claire patted the girl awkwardly on the back before she pulled away. "You're welcome."

"So what's new with you?" Muffy asked, obviously feeling much more cheerful. "How's Rock?"

The question made her freeze. "He's…fine."

Muffy looked at her in concern. "Are you okay? You sound…sad."

"I…" Claire looked down. "I don't know how I feel Muffy. I've been thinking a lot lately, about everything with us, and…"

Muffy scooted closer and took her hand. "Did he do something?"

"No…yes? Sort of. I don't know, I sort of feel like he's been doing things our entire marriage…what?" She had glanced up at Muffy, who had the strangest expression of concern and relief on her face.

"I just…never thought you would notice."

"Notice what?"

Muffy bit her lip. "I never really thought you two should be together. Well, after you got married anyway. He's never treated you right, but you always acted like it was no big deal, and I thought everything was alright, I mean, I don't have the right to butt into someone else's relationships, I mean, look at all of mine, but I wanted to say something, but I didn't know how, and now I'm rambling, sorry…" Muffy trailed off before looking back up at her friend. "I just…didn't want to say something and make you mad at me."

Claire shook her head. "I wouldn't be mad. Or…I don't know, maybe I would have been before, but now I…" Claire put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do, Muffy."

"Tell me what he's been doing. Then we'll figure out what to do."

A half hour later, Claire was sitting miserably next to Muffy, every little thing that Rock had done over the past two years having just been spilled from her mouth.

"I have half a mind to head over and slap that man," Muffy huffed, her arms crossed.

Claire blanched. "I-It's really not as bad as it sounds. I mean, I know it seems like a lot when you put it all together like that, but I never even thought about it before today. Maybe it's me, you know?"

"Don't make excuses for him," Muffy scolded her. "He's been hurting you, Claire."

"He's never hurt me!"

"Not physically maybe," Muffy replied indignantly. "But verbal abuse and manipulation are real things too."

Claire twisted her fingers together. "Maybe it's just a blip in our relationship. That happens to a lot of couples."

"Blips don't last the entire marriage, Claire." Muffy sighed and looked at her empathetically. "Have you ever thought of leaving him?"

Claire snorted. "People don't get divorced here, Muffy. I mean, look at Chris and Wally. Everyone knows they don't have a happy marriage, but they stay together anyway. Chris gets enough whispers just from spending so much time in the city instead of being a housewife. Can you imagine how everyone would react if one of us got divorced?"

"But if you're unhappy…" Muffy implored.

Claire shook her head. "It's not a good idea. I'll just…I don't know. I'll figure something out."

Though she didn't look happy, Muffy nodded. "Will you at least think about it?"

The farmer nodded. "I will."

Muffy sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Well, anyway, how about you come over tomorrow before the party and we'll get ready together? I can help you do your makeup." They'd been doing it this way for years.

Claire wanted to say no, but nodded, not wanting to hurt Muffy's feelings. "Sure."

Griffin came in just then. "Hey ladies, just letting you know I'm about to close up. You can stay if you'd like though, Claire."

The woman rose from the couch. "No, I should be getting home anyway. I need to…Rock's waiting for me."

"Oh…" Griffin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, obviously uncomfortable with the mention of her husband. She wondered how long people had been reacting that way without her noticing.

"I'll walk you out," Muffy offered, rising as well. A warm smile from the waitress in Griffin's direction made him blush and cough in an attempt to distract her attention. Muffy remained oblivious.

The walk out the front door was silent and tense. Once the door had closed behind them, Muffy stood in front of Claire, hands clasped in front of her, looking down. After a few awkward moments, the girl threw her arms around her friend.

"Everything is gonna be okay," she said quietly. "I promise."

Claire hugged her back with as much feeling as she could muster – which, sadly, wasn't much. "Thanks, Muffy."

"What are you doing home so late?"

Claire was greeted by Rock snapping this at her the moment she opened the door. He did not look up from the magazine he was reading.

"I went to see Muffy. I told you I was going to…didn't I?" she couldn't help backing down at the end there.

"I guess. You should have just stayed here." His nose wrinkled and he finally looked up at her. "You smell like a barnyard."

Part of her wanted to snap at him and tell him that maybe that was because she had worked all day while he had sat around doing nothing. But the thought made her cringe, and instead she just hurried to the restroom. "I'll go shower…"

"Good."

Minutes later Claire stood under the hot water, letting the temperature nearly become scalding. She felt like she was trying to wash something away besides the dirt and sweat, but for the life of her couldn't figure out what. Eventually she stood motionless in the shower, staring into space. She didn't want to come out. Ever.

The water ultimately ran cold after a while, and she got out reluctantly, putting on the comfiest pajamas she could find. She walked into the main room to find Rock still leafing through the magazine. He cast a glance her way and frowned.

"What, so you don't want to have sex?"

"I…huh?" she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Well if you're gonna wear something that ugly on purpose, I guess that means you don't want to get laid after all." He plopped the magazine on the nightstand.

"I…I didn't know you wanted to-"

"Whatever, just forget it. Goddess, you're so lucky someone is willing to put up with you." With that he flipped off the lamp, leaving standing in the darkness.

Silence reigned for a long minute.

Claire stood frozen, unsure of what to do. She wondered if it would be best to go put on one of the nighties she had to make him feel better. Or if that would just make him angrier. Maybe he wasn't in the mood anymore. On the other hand, it might make him more angry if she just went to bed this way.

She was turning to go and grab one of her nighties when Rock spoke. "Just get in bed, Claire."

She hesitated a moment, but when he huffed irritably she rushed over and crawled into bed. He rolled so that he faced away from her. Claire lay on her back, staring unseeing at the ceiling for hours afterwards.

A/N: If any of you are or have been in an abusive relationship, first of all, I wish you the best. Secondly, if anything I have said has been offensive or if Claire is acting in a way that is far too unlikely for someone in this kind of relationship, you are more than welcome to tell me. I'm trying as best as I can to make this realistic and sensitive.

I hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you think!

Happy reading! :)