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“Ugh. I didn’t mean it like that. Just enjoy the fan, Noor,” Theo mutters.
“Thank you,” I say sweetly, feeling my spirits lift as I cool off.
“Did you call my name?” Liliana asks, walking over to us. “Is everything alright? You’re all walking very slowly.”
“I’m—”
“In fucking labor,” Elijah says innocently, ignoring my glare. “She’s hiding it.”
“Snitches get stitches, cabron,” Liliana says, sneering at him.
“Thank you,” I reply. “I’m just going to be a little slow. My bladder feels as if it’s currently being squished.”
“Do you need the restroom?” she asks, looking around for one.
“No, not yet. I’m good.”
“Then you’re not drinking enough water,” Theo says, pulling a bottle from his back pocket and handing it to me.
“You have Mary Poppins pants,” I say, grinning as I take the water from him and twist off the top.
“They’re normal ones from the store,” he shrugs. God, I love Theo and all of his quirks.
He is a very literal person.
“Of course they are.” I take a slow, long sip of water, realizing he’s right. I should need to pee by now.
More fluids are definitely necessary.
“I guess we can keep Theo. Elijah, you’re attracting attention. You’re a dirty old man who's going to be hit by a very concerned person soon,” Liliana says. “I’ll take over while you go update Rachelle. Do not be loud or I’ll cut off your balls. Entiende?”
“Si,” Elijah mumbles automatically, stepping away. Liliana is quickly sliding into the space he occupied, not giving me any time to hiss in pain before she’s digging her fingers into my back.
“Your accent is improving,” Liliana says. “Off you go.”
“You’re so pretty and scary,” he says. “It’s a weird combination.”
“Thank you, but you don’t do it for me, baby,” she says, smiling innocently.
Don’t ask. None of my business. I still don’t understand why all of Rachelle’s husbands but Ignacio are scared shitless of Liliana. Their dynamic is so odd.
Fuck. I whimper as my stomach tightens until I’m bent in half. I breathe through it as the world falls away and as it ends, I hear kids laughing and animals “talking” to each other.
“That sucked,” I rasp, opening my eyes to find Rachelle standing in front of me. “Hi, Mom.”
“Don’t ’hi’ me,” she murmurs, her hands shaking as she places them on my stomach. “This is really hard, Noor. How long has your stomach been like this?”
“I woke up with my belly having dropped and hard as a rock. I didn’t think anything of it,” I admit. “I haven’t had any real pain until this. That was a contraction, huh?”
“Definitely. You handled it like a champ. What do you want to do? We can leave the girls with my mom and Emil and head out if you want.”
“How can you talk so normally?” Theo asks, his lips parting in shock. “You disappeared completely when you had the contraction.”
“I have a disgustingly high tolerance for pain,” I reply. My breathing is returning to normal, and I have an odd feeling this is going to take a while. “I’m good to keep walking. I don’t even know when the next contraction will happen.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” a woman says, glaring at me as she walks with her stroller. “Your parents should be too.”
“Oh lady,” Lili says with a wicked smile. “She has six parents. You really don’t want to dance with us. Move along with your perfect little family. I bet you don’t have a single problem in your life, right?”
