To Save a City (Divergent/Eric) 2 of 3 COH Series

Chapter 58 (Eric's POV)

*****

I wake in the morning to a dip in the bed. I hear Hosanna groan and I roll over to snuggle up to her. I can't stop grinning about last night, the compliment she gave me in front of everyone. I realize that she feels unusually warm for her today, though. "You're up early," I whisper on her shoulder as I kiss it.
"I had to go to the bathroom. Ava was in there vomiting. She assured me she was fine and she'll get checked out today anyway," she says.
"Are you feeling okay? You feel like you're on fire," I mention. I hope she's not sick. I hope they're both not sick...
"This is normal for me," she replies.
That's a weird thing to say. I don't ever recall her feeling this warm. Normally her skin is freezing. I slide my hand under her tank top, resting on her abdomen and it's even hotter there. She rolls onto her back with a groan. I try to slip my hand lower and she stops me.
"I don't think that's a good idea," she whispers.
"Are you sure you're not feeling sick?" I ask. She never stops me like that anymore.
"I never said I wasn't feeling sick, I just said this was normal," she responds.
"Normal? For what?" I question. She's not making any sense today.
She bites her lip for a moment before she sighs and says, "I just started my monthly cycle."
Oh. "It's not that bad, you'll just have to wait a while," she insists.
"Did I say something?" I ask.
"No, but you're making that face again. The one that's in between disgust and discomfort," she points out.
"Yeah," I reply. That's pretty much summing up what I thought just then.
"Alright. I'm getting up," she says in an irritated tone.
"Baby, this is all new to me," I tell her.
"Just wait until we have kids. That'll really gross you out," she says in a cranky voice.
"What makes you say that?" I question.
"It's the messiest experience I've ever been through," she responds. I look to her confused. "My neighbor had triplets. I was in the birthing room. Talk about disgusting, but the babies were cute when they cleaned off all the goo."
"Okay. I have a weak stomach. Vomit I can handle sometimes but that... can we change the subject?" I ask feeling my stomach turn.
She laughs. "Or what? I'm going to have two people in my apartment vomiting?" she asks.
"Maybe," I say honestly.
"You know, if you want kids, you'll be in there holding my hand," she says. I picture this mysterious, messy goo everywhere in a delivery room and I'm up running to the toilet.
I empty my stomach contents out and she comes in rubbing my back. "I'm sorry. I didn't even give any details. I thought you were just being overly dramatic," she coos.
I flush and go to the sink to brush my teeth.
"Men have it easy," she mumbles on my bare shoulder.
"What makes you say that?" I ask after I spit.
"You don't have to deal with this," she says behind me. I turn around to see she's grabbing her abdomen and looks like she's in a lot of pain. I can tell by the way she squeezes her eyes shut and I frown. I never thought about that. I've never really seen her like this before either and it makes my heart ache. When she finally breathes and the crinkles around her eyes aren't so tense, I kiss her head.
"I'm sorry," I frown.
"For what?" she asks with her eyes still closed.
"I didn't think about how you would be feeling. I just didn't want to hear about it. I'm sorry," I say again.
She opens her eyes and looks at me. "It's okay," she whispers.
"Are you going to be up for our exercises today?" I question, realizing how terrible she must actually feel. She's not one to complain about discomfort which is one of the many reasons we get along so well.
"It's never stopped me before. I just think I need something for the pain this time. This is worse than normal and early, too," she tells me. "It's probably from the stress. Mama returning from the dead and not caring about me hit me harder than I let on," she admits.
I don't know why, but my first thought is to comfort her. The second thought is not to touch her because eww... but that's silly, she's my wife. She will have my children and I need to think about her needs first not my discomfort. I reach out and gently pull her closer to me. I hold her cautiously. If she's feeling bad, I don't want to make it worse. "I love you," I tell her.
"I love you, too," she says and I can hear the smile in her voice. That makes me feel better.
"How long do I have to wait?" I inquire.
"I don't know. This one is different, weird. It's usually four days on the shot for me," she says.
Four days? Can I even last that long? I look to her and see she's watching my face. She's frowning.
"It's a month after a baby," she states monotonously.
"Maybe I don't want kids," I blurt out.
"We're not talking about that now," she says outraged.
"Why not?" I ask.
"Because I'm hormonal and I'm going to say something I'll regret later," she says annoyed pushing me out of the bathroom and slamming the door in my face. I still have my toothbrush in one hand.  I hear the water turn on in the shower and I lean up against the door.
I glance down the hall when I see Ava standing in the middle of the hallway staring at me. "What?" I ask irritated.
"She was like that in the dorm, too," she tells me flatly.
"Oh yeah?" I ask surprised. I've never seen her like that.  She's always been nice, though.  This is just ridiculous. "Is that normal? The mood swings?"
She laughs. "Pretty much for everyone. She's much kinder than most. Wait until Mia and Ryan are married. She's been the meanest so far during her period. I'm hoping he sees it before it's too late," she chuckles as she walks back in her room.
"Are you having leftover wedding cake for breakfast?" I ask realizing what she was eating.
"This is my second piece," she tells me through the door.
"Maybe you should come workout with us, too," I point out.
She laughs peeking her head back out. "You're lucky I'm not on my period or I'd probably slap you for that," she says.

*****Thanks for reading!*****

Words of Wisdom:
I know for some women it can be tough to control our hormones at times. When you lose your cool, apologize. If you do or say something you don't mean to, try to stop yourself in the act. Always have a repentant heart and attempt to keep the peace, even if you don't feel like it. It's through our struggles that we have glory. We overcome evil in this way. Don't let there be a foothold to squirm in and ruin your efforts. Pray for help and guidance and strength.

"See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭139:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬