Metanoia

Chapter 44

"What about this one?" Davide suggests, holding up a bunny costume. "No way, I want something comfortable not tiny," I reply, taking it out of his hands and placing the tiny pieces of material back on the rack.

"Boringggg the best part of halloween is dressing slutty," Elena interjects, throwing a cute firewoman's costume in her basket. 

"Well I can't exactly look sexy with this," I say, motioning towards the huge bump on my stomach. "Nonsense! Men are much more attracted to their partners when they're pregnant, I think it's an actual scientific fact," Joseph replies.

"Yeah are you telling me that you've been putting no effort into wowing your man?" Elena asks. "No," I reply bluntly, thinking back across these past months where all I've been wearing is sweatpants and how we've barely been able to have any sex because my body is sore all the time.

I think for a second before picking up the little bunny costume and placing it in my basket. "Atta girl, operation get Darcy laid is in motion," Elena claps her hands together.

We spend the next couple hours shopping, dragging a very bored Elena into multiple baby stores as me, Davide and Joseph obsess over the cute, tiny clothes. "Okay now this is my type of store," Elena says excitedly as we enter a lingerie store.

I skim through the selection, eventually landing on a lace set in dark blue, Santiago's favourite colour. As I'm thinking if he'll like it, my phone rings. I look down and immediately pick up once I see that it's him.

"Are you okay?" He asks before even saying hello. "Yeah I'm fine, it's only been a couple hours," I chuckle.

"Are you still in town?" He asks, probably hearing the chatter from the other people in the store. "Yeah, still shopping," I sigh.

"You shouldn't be walking around that long, you need to sit down and rest," He says, the concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah! Come home and play Mario cart with us," I hear Nico shout from the distance.

"Don't worry, I'll be home later tonight and I have a surprise for you," I giggle, looking down at the lingerie set now in my basket.

"What is it?" Santiago asks curiously.

"Well if I told you it wouldn't be much of a surprise,"I tease. "I gotta go, I love you bye," I rush out and hang up as I see everyone waiting for me to come pay.

We finish paying and head to our cars, Elena taking her one as Joe and Davide, who walked into town pile until the back of mine.

They only live five minutes away from town, in an apartment on a busy street. It's a big contrast to the huge mansion hidden by miles of trees that I live in.

The apartment is small, but homey. The orange sunlight of the setting sun shines through the big open terrace doors and onto the white walls, illuminating the dozens of family photos they have hanging up.

"Who fancies a pina coladas?" Davide claps, placing our shopping bags next to the oak kitchen table. "A virgin one for you of course," He winks at me.

We spend the next hour chatting while Joe and Davide chugged down numerous drinks. Elena only occasionally sipped hers, which is strange because she's usually the first to get shit faced.

"Costume time!" Elena claps, causing us all to go over to our bags. I pull out my little bunny costume, it's more modest than the one I wore last year with Elena at this halloween event in some club.

We all get into our costumes and take a million pictures. Elena made us all photograph her for twenty minutes straight, saying she needed to 'spice up her insta'.

We finally finish before proceeding to all cram onto their tiny couch and playing a movie. We're fifty minutes into A Nightmare Before Christmas when Elena turns to me.

"Can you get my phone pleaseeee," She drags out. "Yeah where is it?" I say, lifting up the pizza boxes and popcorn tubs that lay on top of us, thinking it'll be hiding under one of them.

"It's in my car," She says nonchalantly. "Please my feet really hurt," She pouts like a baby.

Sure send the pregnant woman to climb a bunch of stairs because you're too lazy.

Not wanting to ruin the perfect day and say no to my best friend who travelled nearly ten hours to come see me, I silently get up and shimmy my way past an extremely tipsy Joe and Davide before grabbing her keys off the kitchen table.

I make it to her car and start looking. Not only until five minutes later do I realise that there is no chance a phone is in here. The car must be a rental because it's completely pristine and empty, even the boot has nothing in it and when I looked there was no phone.

Rolling my eyes, I start to climb out when I hear a persistent beeping sound. I sit for a moment trying to figure where it was coming from before climbing out. 

I start marching back to the apartment to tell Elena that not only did she send me out here for no reason but now there's something wrong with her car.

I make it across the street before I'm flown to the ground.

I clutch my head as the piercing ringing in my ears intensifies before turning around and staring at Elena's car that's now just one gigantic fireball.