Neda allowed her foot to be picked up, the sandal slipping off easily enough. It was the design after all, shoe buckles and laces were just too hard over this swollen belly. She leaned back into the soft cushion, letting her head rest back as his fingers began to rub the aches and tiredness from the soft tissues of her feet. She let out a groan of satisfaction, watching his fingers work against her pale skin. Neda smiled when his hand moved to touch her swollen belly, not noticing the hike in her dress that revealed a glimpse into the dark shadow that her belly caused over her virtue. Her hand went over his, her warm skin gingerly pressing his hand to her belly. “Yes. I know it is.” She smiled at him, warmth and innocence barely in the stretch of her lips.<br/><br/>Cheeks blossomed red as he mentioned his wife being happy to see him. She didn’t like talking about such things, the intimacy of wife and husband relations. “Oh.” Her eyes averted from him towards the cellar once more. When he answered her question she looked at him again with a cocked eyebrow. “Does Father know?” She asked, unsure whether or not she should hold that precious secret for him. Her foot rose to press her bare toes into his gut near his belly button. “What will you give me if I don’t tell?” Her voice took on a cheeky tone, one that was playful trying to con their parents into buying them a new toy. Her foot fell back into his lap gently, toes wiggling to urge him to continue the stroke. “He’s good.” She grunted as his fingers squeezed at the soft tissue. “That hurt.” She scowled him, warning him to be gentle. “He told me to leave the house.” Her hand stroked her round belly. “He says I should be with my mother during this time.” Genuine sadness filled her voice, missing her husband. She had all but been kicked out of her own home in the last few days. “But that is just until I give birth. Then I can go back with his child.” She smiled at Marlon as if that was alright, that she believed she should be with her mother. That it was for her own good and not the dislike of pregnant women that her husband carried.<br/><br/>It was then she caught sight of Teija. The hung over woman caught the smile of her husband, looking at him strangely with furrowed brows. He rarely offered her such grins of pride. Teija let out a startled yelp as she was pulled down beside him instead of given money. Neda grinned, thinking this was rather cute. He wanted his wife to be with him. Teija winced as his fingers brushed her neck where the bruise was beginning to bloom. Teija looked at him, hearing his words but noting his tone, her eyes searched his with a coy grin tickling at the corner of her lips. Teija looked at Neda as the other girl asked if she was alright. Teija shrugged, her mind set on the trail of his fingers as they worked their way closer to the spot on her back. She let out a wordless gasp as his fingers pressed against the wound, her muscles tensed and her back straightened, causing Neda to look at her oddly. “Are you alright?” The blonde girl asked. Teija made to stand up, wanting to be rid of those painful digits that riddled her skin with stinging sensations.<br/><br/>Neda took her foot from Marlon’s lap and slipped her sandal back on. She giggled at his joke, Teija awkwardly joining in through clenched teeth, her chest arching slightly away from his fingers. Teija suddenly stood, unable to stay under the control of his fingers. Every simply pressure he applied seemed to fuel her headache. She didn’t leave and instead the hung over girl went to sit beside Neda, her hand resting on the girl’s swollen belly, a clever way to hide her retreat from her husband. “When is the baby due?” She asked, Neda’s hand touching Teija’s with a smile. “In a few months still.” Teija nodded, eyes focusing on the rounded belly and avoiding her husband’s gaze. Neda took this obvious avoidance a different way. She sighed and took Teija’s chilly hands into her own warm ones. “You’ll have one soon. I know it.” Neda looked from wife and husband, pitying them that they had yet to conceive.<br/><br/>With no one coming to help her, Emma sank down the door to the cold ground, her fits still resting on the door as she began to cry by the entrance. Her tears were gone unheard, her sorrow unfelt by anyone that could save her. The door kept her emotions locked up, her body unseen and her mind numbing to the solitude that collapsed into her. It had only been an hour, if that and she felt alone, static in the silence.