SarahEvery morning I wake up and it takes a minute to remember where I am. From there it takes even longer to remind myself that it’s real, that I didn’t imagine getting the life of my dreams and it wasn’t some cruel joke someone tried to play. Jaxon is always next to me, the sun is shining still in some tropical land, and the giant DIAMOND rock is still sparkling and weighing down my left hand. I stared at it for a moment, watching the light reflect off the clear rock. I felt its weight and let it be a firm reminder of my current situation. I tried to let my eyes adjust and wiped away the remaining sleep.I sat up in the bed and looked at the mess of egg-white sheets around us. The sun was peering in, lighting up Jaxon’s face with specks of gold flakes and thin red streaks through his hair. Thoughts and feelings of the night before came rushing back and flushed my skin. I smiled at him sleeping peacefully. I had never had so much uninterrupted time being peaceful and not looki

Sarah Jaxon hardly looked up from his computer, much less touched the salad in front of him. I had long since ignored the work in front of me and now causally popped grapes into my mouth as I watched him. I had been staring at him silently for the better part of an hour, and he hadn't acknowledged me once. I couldn’t decide if I was more pissed or concerned. “What is wrong with you?” I finally spit out. Jaxon glanced up at me like a deer in headlights. It seemed to take him a second to find my face glaring back at him. He looked stunned as if he hadn’t expected me to be there. “What are you talking about?” “For the last few days you’ve been acting… weird. You seem like you get more uncomfortable whenever I’m here.” I wanted to keep explaining and tell him how hurt and angry I was that he was being a neglectful jerk, but I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Sarah, nothing is going on. I’m just busy at work. You’re reading too much into things, my love,” he repli

Sara My neck is still pinched and achy from my horrible sleep the night before. I downed the Advil in my hand and swallowed them with a gulp from my coffee. The coffee at work was not as good as the one at home but I couldn’t risk running late and missing this project proposal. I pinched the bridge of my nose and willed the medicine to work faster. I glanced at my watch and realized I only had a half hour before the meeting. I took another sip of my coffee and started typing feverishly. “Have you heard about it?” one of my coworkers whispered. Despite the small walls between each desk, sound still carried exceptionally well through the bullpen. “I heard she was fighting for him,” someone else answered. “It’s more than that! She got herself knocked up!” It was clear that they were doing their best to keep their voice low but it wasn’t working well. I tried to ignore them and keep working. I typed quickly. “Wait what? How did she get him to do that?” “She says he was

SaraI curled into a ball on the bed. It had been a while since I set foot in my old bedroom. Everything was how I had left it, though it was clear that the cleaning crew had recently been in here. Every part of my body hurt. It was like Jaxon shot a poisoned arrow through my heart and it was slowly spreading. I wrapped my knees tighter to my chest and finally let it all go. My phone buzzed next to me and read a text from Jaxon. It was sweet and considerate but it only hurt more. I wanted to reply. I wanted to go to him and bury myself in his arms but I couldn’t. I couldn’t handle it. Thinking of that only hurt more. Touching him would only hurt more. I wanted to run away, hide somewhere away from shame and humility. I had never been one to let my emotions ruin my work or professional life, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to face my coworkers. Not for a while. Not until Jaxon settled this. I thought about that. I had no idea what outcome I was even hoping for. Obviously, I did

SaraI felt like I had slept in a sauna. The sweat seemed to trap me in my clothes and in the sheets like a tight cocoon. My hair was matted around my neck and my forehead as if it tried to strangle me in the night. My head hurt and I felt disoriented, but the smell of bacon and coffee was alluring. I fought my way out of the sheets until I was finally free and headed toward the bathroom. My face was red and blotchy. My eyes looked sort of swollen. I sighed. I splashed water on my face and leaned down to drink in the cold liquid. I hadn’t realized how dry my throat felt until then. I straightened up a bit before giving up and heading back out to the living room. Lauren was in the kitchen bustling around and singing some up-beat pop music I had never heard. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her a bit. Seeing her instantly made me feel better. “Good morning, sunshine. Would you like some breakfast?” She smiled as she walked over and handed me a cup of coffee. I took it from he