𝗞𝗮𝗰𝗶 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 managed to get downstairs. Dressed in an extremely oversized sweater and baggy jeans, she managed to get to a table without her bump being revealed. She really did have superpowers now, or somebody special was looking out for her, because there was no way she could've done this by herself.
However, her experience before joining her family at the restaurant wasn't as expected.
Sarah had left a few moments after her brother, which meant Kaci should've been alone in the penthouse. But she wasn't. She took her opportunity to pile on the thickest outfit she could, bearly capable of concealing her bump, before she heard the noises coming from the hall.
After the other day, Kaci was on her highest guard around the entire hotel. The men were still not caught; they could come back take her at any given moment, because clearly they had what they needed to break into the penthouse. Metal spoon in her hand, Kaci slowly stepped outside her room.
"Shut up," somebody hissed, a female voice, young.
"You're the one talking," another agued, this time male.
"There's definitely nobody here, right?" a second boy questioned.
"Definitely not," the final one answered. "The whole family is downstairs for dinner."
Kaci rolled her eyes, putting down her cutlery weapon, and stormed through the hall and into her dadʼs set rooms. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
At the demanding sound of Kaci Flores, the four pouges flinched and turned around to face her furious look.
"You said nobody was here," Pope Heyward hissed, looking up at JJ Maybank, who grinned at the girl in front of him.
"Hey, Princess, miss me?" he said, ignoring his friend.
Kaci sent him his own personal glare. "Yes, in the last ten minutes, my heart has ached so badly for you," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes. "What are the four of you doing here?"
Kiara Carrera crossed her arms stubbornly, a pout on her face. "We don't have to tell you shit," she spat.
Kaci turned to her, pursing her lips and raising her brows. "Don't act like you're not terrified of me, Tomato," she stated, and gestured to the three boys around them. "Just 'cause you're back with these guys again doesn't take away the fact that I dragged your ass to England and back."
John B and JJ accidently snorted, swiftly covering their mouths and humour when both girls turned to glare at them. Everyone was around for that fight — it was one of the more memorable moments for the teenagers on the island. Kaci vs Kie; who could forget it?
"Now, again, what are you doing here?" Kaci redirected her eyes to the blonde boy, who wore his work uniform and a cocky grin.
"D'you have a keycard to your dadʼs office?" he asked, and his friends smacked him.
Kaci crossed her arms and shrugged. "Yeah, why?"
"Because I need to use his computer for the Internet."
"Why?" she repeated.
"Porn," the boy answered simply, smirking as she deadpanned him. He loved annoying her. It was like a hobby now — his favourite time consumer, the best thing to do when he got bored. It was so easy to piss her off.
Kaci rolled her eyes. "You know what, I don't care," she said simply, and reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulling out her dadʼs card. She held it inbetween her two fingers, ready to hand it to the pouges. "If you don't give it back to me soon, I'll cut you," she warned before letting JJ take it, their fingers touching slightly.
He grinned. "Course not, Princess."
"You're so annoying."
"You love it."
She flipped him off and left the penthouse without another word.
"Well, that was easy," she heard Pope say through the wall.
"Princess?" Kiara questioned and JJ could he heard chuckling to himself.
This was it, Kaci told herself. When JJ comes back to deliver the card, she was going to tell him. She was preparing the speech in her mind as she made her way down the elevator. He was going to know. He was going to be a good dad. She didn't know why, but she trusted him to have that trait. She could feel it.
And if they found anything on her dadʼs computer, JJ could tell her. Kaci was too scared to do it herself, too worried to find something she didn't want to know. But if JJ was the one to find it, he could protect her. Protect their baby.
When she finally reached her family at the restaurant, she could tell they were annoyed at her late arrival. It was strange being down there while the hotel was closed — a few workers still remained, but most were off or let go.
"Your boobs are disgusting," Jordan commented as she sat down opposite him, a cringe sitting on his face.
"Stop looking, then, you pervert," Kaci told him, scowling.
"I can't — they're huge!"
"Stop talking about my boobs!"
"No, they're not boobs anymore, they're balloons."
"Stop."
"Seriously —"
"Jordan, stop being inappropriate," their mother snapped, looking up at her children from the menu.
He shut up straight away.
The table was silent, everybody watching the man at the head, waiting for him to say something. Workers all around the restaurant paused, stopped what they were doing, to listen. They needed to know what he was going to do next.
"We're opening back up tomorrow," Mikel finally revealed, head high and face strong.
Kaci and Jordan looked at each other, no expressions on their faces.
"However, we need some new people," the man went on. "I promoted some of out trusted waiters to housekeepers, and promoted some of our housekeepers to management, so all we need is some more waiters — preferably teens from the southside, they pay less."
Kaci nodded. "There's a pouge Sarah knows who just lost his job, actually," she said, not thinking before she spoke. "His nameʼs John Booker Routledge."
Mikel turned to his daughter, a plain look on his face, and waited for her to go on.
"He used to work for Mr Cameron, on The Druthers," she told him.
"And why was he let go?" her father asked.
"Rafe replaced him," she was quick to lie.
Mikel nodded, turning his head to his wife. "Sorry, but we can't have him in our hotel."
"Why not?" Kaci asked.
"He's Big John Routledgeʼs kid."
"Why does that matter?" Kaci kept asking questions, anxiety boiling in her stomach, but she needed to know.
Jordan was watching her do it, face straight but a fearful look in his eye. Their dad was getting angry. She needed to stop soon.
"There are some things you don't know, Mija — stay out of it," Mikel told her, voice hardening, warning her.
Kaciʼs heart sunk. She looked down at the menu and began to order.
Big John went missing a couple of months before Luis. They both disappeared randomly. Like Jack did, too. And Mikel Flores was hiding something about it. He knew something.
During dinner, Kaci eat as much as she could, feeding her baby through her anxiety and sickness, caring for it more than herself. Jordan occasionally made a few comments when their parents weren't listening, and Marie and Mikel talked about business as if they weren't sat at a family meal.
Out the corner of her eye, Kaci watched the pouges sneak pass to the exit. When she turned to face them, JJ was already looking at her, a shameless smirk on his face.
He was going to know. She was going to tell him. And the two of them together were going to give their baby a good life.
Authorʼs Note
so, unfortunately, this wasn't the chapter i was expecting to write, so i wasn't as prepared to write it and it's not that good. however, the next chapter is that chapter and i am so excited to write it. somebody will find out kaciʼs secret, but who it is is somebody you will literally never guess i swear. but please keep guessing bc i want to see if anyone does actually get it haha. also, is anybody shipping jj and kaci yet bc idk anymore? and are you team boy or team girl? give me some baby name ideas because i am clueless, and ik y'all are creative af.
love, tay </3