Wednesday, December 21, 2011

It's Nothing


The following one-shot work of fan fiction was submitted as an entry to the 2011 Season of Our Discontent Anonymous Angst Contest, originally posted at FanFiction.net. Thanks to pre-reader @JenJadeEyes and beta @SaritaDreaming for their guidance and feedback.

Title: It's Nothing

PicturePromptNumber:#10

Pairing: Bella/Carlisle

Rating: M (Language, adult situations)

WordCount: 14,395

Summary: He's late, very late again; surely it's nothing, thinks Bella. AH/AU BxC, BxE

Warnings and Disclaimer:
Warning: Characters will be involved in angst-inducing situations often occurring in real life.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Copyright 2011- Do not copy for translation. republication, or re-tranmission/transfer without express permission of author except for personal consumption as a downloaded mobile product on a mobile device.

~ 0 ~ X ~ 0 ~ X ~ 0 ~ X ~ 0 ~


It's Nothing

When she woke up at 2:00 a.m., his side of the bed was cold and undisturbed. She slipped out from under the warmth of the coverlet, pulled on her robe, and eased down the stairs.

She couldn't help it—she felt compelled to check the garage to see if his car was there.

It wouldn't be there, nor would he be in his home office pecking away at his computer.

The damp garage air felt like a reproach as she opened the door. She didn't even need to turn on the garage light to see his car was not in its place. The garage felt void, a gaping unfilled open space.

She shut the door, locked it, and walked back into the family room. She looked out the window, opening it to see better through the driving rain. The chill of the dank air left her feeling as empty as the driveway.

~ 0 ~ X ~ 0 ~ X ~ 0 ~ X ~ 0 ~

She turned on the television to watch something, anything that might keep her mind from wandering.

Bella wasn't worried; she didn't feel the mild anxiety that possessed her when the kids were out for the evening. Of course she'd worry about them even though they were really young adults now and fully capable of managing their time.

A mother's worry never shut off even when children were old enough to drive, to go to college, to get engaged and one day soon get married.

A wife's worry was far more conditional.

Nights spent in the family room were becoming habit. If Bella didn't find herself watching black and white classic movies in the wee hours, she was reading to fill her mind with something other than thoughts of empty frustration.

She fretted the leather couch cushions were beginning to conform to her shape—a dip here from her shoulder at one end, another wider dip in the middle from her hips. She often woke only minutes before her early-rising daughter came downstairs on weekdays. Bella tried not to let the children find her on the couch.

She frequently blamed early hot flashes for bouts of insomnia when caught sleeping on the couch. Or she'd say she'd simply fallen asleep while watching a movie later in the evening after the kids had gone to bed. As far as they knew, there were no other reasons for a mother to be found asleep on the family room couch.