<div style="text-align: justify;">Alexia hated when she felt like this. She had never been a loner, and had always found solace in her family’s company. And now, every now and then, she was feeling this need to withdraw, getting upset for no reason at all. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, of course, but it seemed to be worse this time around. It was hard to feel like this, upset for no reason, and Alexia’s usual reaction was to step away, before having the chance of snapping at someone.<br/><br/>This time, her target had come very close to being Thomas, as he interrupted her for a moment on her way up. Catching herself in time, Alexia forced a smile and took the glass of water she herself had asked her son to refill. With a muttered, almost inaudible ‘thank you’, she finally left for her solitude.<br/><br/>“Shit. Shit. Shit”, the woman muttered under her breath. It was one of her things - Alexia hated using swear words in front of her son. Thomas was just so sweet and innocent that she felt like it was seriously wrong to even think about using bad words around him. That, and she definitely wouldn’t want to see her son ever using that kind of language around. While she sipped her water, Alexia thought to herself about the way she was raising her son. She was a firm believer in raising children by example, and hoped she was doing the right thing. <br/><br/>Shaking her head, Alexia took a few deep breaths. It was all right. Everything was fine, nothing was really wrong, then why did she feel like this all of a sudden? It was an annoying sense of foreboding that she couldn’t explain. “Uh, maybe I should have my head checked”, she murmured to no one in special. Well, of course it was for no one, she was alone there. At least as ‘alone’ as one can be on a farm with livestock all around. Leaning down to scratch behind a dog’s ear, Alexia relaxed a little. She would love to have been able to talk to dad, but that would have to wait. “All right, boy, go do whatever you do”, the young woman murmured to the dog. She wouldn’t minded having the dog follow her back inside, as she never did, but she wasn’t too sure about mom.<br/><br/>Alexia had for dogs pretty much the same love that mom had for horses, and she was always bringing them in - or more properly sneaking them in - as a child. She had never actually asked why mom didn’t want her to. It might, of course, be because she was too young to take care of the dog properly. Shrugging all these thoughts off - and feeling a little more in control of her own mood -, Alexia stepped back in. <br/><br/>“Sorry”, Alexia murmured to nobody in particular and everyone in general, blushing a little as she always did when ashamed. And she was seriously ashamed of her own perceived weakness, losing control of her feelings like that. “Did I miss anything?”, the young woman continued, speaking just a little more rapidly than usual, as she did in the occasions when she felt a bit awkward. “I think we could make a fruit salad for the picnic to go along with the sandwiches, what do you say, mom?”, Alexia inquired, while moving to stand closer to Conor, one of her hands slipping into his as she often did when asking for or offering moral support.</div>