Tortured Souls -Oscar Diaz 2-

Chapter 13

Day one went by, and no Oscar. Sofia tried to be optimistic, keep her spirits up for Cesar. But day two went by, he never called. Then day three. Sofia lost hope on day three. She just wouldn't admit it to herself. Oscar would never stay away this long without telling anyone. Without telling her.

He was dead, but Sofia wouldn't let herself believe it. She didn't tell him she was pregnant. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Any unneeded worry would only distract him. That didn't matter in the end. Oscar was dead now, and he didn't even know he was going to have a kid.

Sofia didn't know how she would do this on her own. She needed him, and now he was gone. Her heart was broken. Everything hurt. All she wanted was Oscar, and they couldn't find him. It was clear to her family that something was terribly wrong. She barely left her bed in the three days he was gone. Abuelita was the only one who knew about the baby, so she watched her closely. Making sure she was healthy, or as healthy as she could be since finding out. She knew about Oscar and knew there was a chance he wasn't coming back. It worried her seeing Sofia like this. She had no idea how to help.

Sofia sat on her floor. Her eyes numbly stared at the wall. What was she supposed to do now? She was right. Everything had changed. Her whole world was falling apart. There was a knock on her door, but Sofia didn't move. Ruby pushed open the door, his eyes finding her quickly. "Sofia," he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "How are you feeling?" There was no response, but he expected that. Ruby walked closer, sitting down on the ground beside her. He didn't speak as he grabbed her hand.

Sofia had no idea how much she needed the physical contact until that moment. She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What," he looked back at her. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Sofia shrugged, "how's Cesar?"

Ruby sighed, "devastated. As you can imagine." She winced at his words, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," she promised him. Her eyes went back on the wall in front of her. "I loved him."

"I know," Ruby whispered. He did know that. He knew Sofia loved Oscar more than anything. At first, he didn't understand, but he did now. "When Olivia died, you were there for me. You were there for me more than anyone else." His voice cracked, "I'm going to be there for you."

"I know." Sofia did know that. She blinked a few times. "I didn't tell him. I should have told him."

"What," Ruby questioned confused. "Tell him what?" This wasn't how she imagined telling Ruby, but none of it mattered anymore. Oscar was gone, and her life felt as if it was ending. Reaching towards her drawer, she pulled it open. Inside was a folded imagine, the ultrasound. Leaning back, she handed the picture to Ruby. The younger boy took the paper, glancing at her. He wasn't sure what it was. Sofia didn't watch as he unfolded it, but she heard him. Ruby opened the image and gasped. There had been a few things he was expecting, but this wasn't one of them. "Is this," his fingers were shaking.

"Yeah," Sofia whispered. "I'm pregnant." Ruby stared at her, his eyes wide. "And I didn't tell Oscar." Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I had multiple chances, but I didn't take them." Sofia hated herself. "I didn't want to stress him out, but now." Her voice broke, "nows he's gone." Ruby had no idea what to do in this situation. Learning that Sofia was pregnant was not something he imagined ever happening. But knowing that Oscar was gone absolutely broke him inside. "And I denied the Peters grant to stay here with-" her voice cut out. 

"I'm going to take care of you," Ruby promised her. "I promise."

Sofia turned to him, slightly surprised. But hearing Ruby say those words caused a new wave of emotions to take over. "Ruby-" she had no words, none whatsoever. Ruby moved closer, wrapping his arms around her. Her body collapsed into his arms, her emotions finally taking over.

Ruby stroked her hair, holding her tightly. "I'm going to take care of you. I promise you that." And Sofia knew he meant his words.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby sat on Sofia's bed, a pillow in his lap as Sofia slept. He watched her closely, watching every breath she took. The girl had finally fallen asleep, and that was because of him. Sofia hadn't been sleeping well. Ruby helped her with that. He talked, and he talked a lot. Telling different stories, anything that came to his head. It was enough to make her relax. And sleep took over quickly. Ruby couldn't get himself to leave. He couldn't. His sister needed him right now.

"Ruby," a voice called. "Ruby, are you in here?"

Jamal pushed open the bedroom door. "Shh," Ruby whispered to him. "She's sleeping." Jamal was accompanied by Monse.

"Dude," Monse marched into the room. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Sofia needed me," he explained quietly.

Monse rolled her eyes, "okay. You said you would meet us at the motel an hour ago-"

"We were worried that, you know." Jamal waved his hand, "Cuchillos made a home visit."

"No," Ruby said. "I'm fine."

"Great," Monse gripped her backpack strap tightly. "We need to go."

Ruby was conflicted, "but Sofia-"

"Sofia will be fine," she cut him off. "We're all upset about Oscar, okay? But we need to do this."

"No," Ruby muttered growing frustrated. "It's different."

"How," Monse questioned him. "Cesar lost his brother."

Ruby rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, really," Monse stepped closer. "Cesar's brother might be dead. I get Sofia loved him, but he was his family. He needs us right now." Sofia was still fast asleep, her hair sprawled out over the pillow. Ruby glanced down at her, growing angry that Monse was ignoring Sofia's grief. "She'll be fine. We need to-"

"Sofia's pregnant," Ruby said before he could stop himself.

The silence that followed was heavy. All of them looked down at the girl. None of them knew how to respond to the information. How could they? What would they say that explained what they were thinking? "Are you serious," Jamal asked him.

"Yeah," he whispered. "Oscar didn't know."

Monse's hand fell to her side, "that doesn't change anything."

"Monse-"

"No," she turned away. "This should make you want to stop her more. Cuchillos threatened Sofia to her face. Now there's Sofia plus," she gestured to her stomach. "We need to stop her. We need to stop her now."

Ruby took one last look at Sofia. "You're right. We have to stop her."