Recommended listening: Hurry Up and Save me by Tiffany Giardina

Reviews appreciated! :)

(Not related to the last one...unless you want it to be I guess)

"Please open the door."

No reply.

"Cindy-"

"Go away, I need some time alone."

She heard him linger in the hallway for a few moments before he trailed off in defeat.

She was sick of this mundane life of hers. Sure, she was the wife of the highly acclaimed Jimmy Neutron, and sure she'd been in space so many times she'd lost count, but nothing seemed beautiful or valuable to her anymore. Her skin felt like a prison, and her heart was always aching. Some nights, it felt suffocating just to breathe.

She opened up a window and glanced out at the sky. She was another cog in the giant machine of the universe. A blonde lawyer with a sharp tongue. Certainly not the only one out there. There was nothing special about her— she was just plain old Cindy Vortex.

She fell facedown on the bed behind her, smothering her face into the pillows to scream and scream but nothing would come out and this only made her more mad, so she started to sob angrily, throwing the pillow across the room as she curled into a fetal position. Some unknown poison had taken root in her veins, and made her foreign to herself.

"Cindy?" The voice came again, this time afraid.

"I told you to leave me alone, Neutron."

"Cindy, I'm worried, you spend a lot of time alone in that room these days. I need to know that you're okay."

"I see you've emerged from the lab to check on me for once." She mocked.

"Cindy that's not fair. You know I love you." He swallowed down the lump in his throat. " Right—and you've definitely shown that by holing yourself up in that damn lab all the time." She coughed violently, another sob overtaking her.

"Cindy, you know I'm on the verge of this breakthrough-"

"Where in hell is my breakthrough?" She wailed, slamming her fists down on the mattress.

"Let me in." His voice was soft, loving.

She gently got up and unlocked it. As soon as he heard the click, he tossed it open. He wanted to embrace her but he was unsure if she was okay with contact. He settled on laying a hand atop her arm.

She flung herself at him, and cried into his sterile white lab coat. He put his arms around her. "I'm sorry I haven't been around as much as you'd like."

"It's okay. You're making something of your life." She said earnestly. "Don't let me stop you from finding the cure to—"

" Cindy, you don't impede my progress. You are essential to it. I would be lost without you."

She sighed. "I just wish I could have a breakthrough." A cold puff of wind drifted in through the open window. Cindy shivered. He pulled her closer.

"Everything happens in time, Cindy. You're smart and capable. And believe it or not, everyone feels like they're in a rut at some point in their life."

"Neutron, this isn't just a damn rut, this is the end. I quit my job at the highest paying corporate law firm in the country at the height of my so-called career."

"Only because you needed some mental rest and time to reevaluate things." He pointed out.

"No one else needs mental rest or time off to spend crying at home." She countered.

"We all need mental rest. But not all of us are courageous enough to ask for it." Jimmy said this so quietly he wasn't sure if she'd even heard.

"I guess." She shrugged.

"I promise I will do whatever I can to help you. You can make it through this."

"I hope that means you'll stop locking yourself away in the basement like a mad scientist."

"I will try my best not to be a brilliant recluse." He teased.

She whacked him on the arm. "What was that for?"

"Your ego is still the size of a continent."

"Your aim is still pretty good." He rubbed his forearm accusingly.

"Good, I'm still on track with something." She smirked.