Dahlia
"I'll be there in a bit," I hear a familiar voice, my eyes blinking open. Estevez must've brought me here yesterday. I turn over to meet Estevez naked back.
"Oh, you're up," Estevez turns to look at me with a small smile while I scratch the top of my head, scrunching my nose.
"Is this your room," I ask the obvious question. I was expecting the room to have darker tones, but it's more of a soft gray vibe, I like it, and he has plants. I wonder if he takes care of them.
"Yes, don't worry, I slept over there," he points at the couch that doesn't look as comfortable as this king-sized bed.
"My sister is here. She would like it if you could eat breakfast with her," he starts to button the long white sleeve, tugging on his collar a bit. I notice how his biceps show through the shirt, and my stomach turns.
I remember his sister, her and Armando are similar to me, but she seems more cheerful than him.
"Okay," nodding, I let out a yawn. "There's a bathroom there. I already put your things in there, but if you aren't comfortable sleeping here, I can get someone to fix up the guest room for you. I just thought-" I raise my hand, "It's okay, Estevez."
This is the best sleep I've had in a while. Last night was a blur. I just remember a dead guard and killing someone, then Armando came.
"Well, I've got to go run some errands with Rowan; if you need anything, ask Aerylin, and you can text me too," he grabs keys from the dresser and puts on his blazer. He looks good, but the door closing snaps me back into reality. I slam my head onto the soft pillow.
I could just bury myself in this bed. A small groan leaves me. My feet are first to leave the bed, meeting a soft carpet. I stretch my arms up, walking to the bathroom.
-
"Good morning, Dahlia," I hear Aerylins chirpy voice before I see her. When I round the small corner of the staircase, I'm met with a woman who wears a uniform and Aerylin helping her cook something that smells excellent.
"Good Morning, Aerylin," she gives me a small smile, and I look at the shy woman. "Pen, Dahlia. Dahlia, Pen," the lady gives a small smile.
The lady looks about the same age as my mom. I wonder how long she's been with them. My thoughts drift to Daphne, and my shoulders drop a bit.
"Need any help," I look at the two who seem to have already completed most of the work, but I may as well be useful. "Oh no! It's okay. Pen and I got it. You'll be our taste tester," Aerylin clapped her hands together lightly and returned to flipping the pancakes.
Estevez
"How was I stupid enough to leave her with only one security guard, one fucking guard." I take the shot that Rowan just poured me as I pace around my office, and he sits on the sofa staring. "Would you sit down? You're making my brains hurt," he groans.
"You only have one brain, el tonto," I sat in the seat behind my desk and unlocked the pc in front of me. I need to know how that man got into the building. I go through the files of the building and pull up the recording from that night.
I see the man entering the lobby with all black on and his hood on; you would think someone would find that fucking suspicious, but all my workers obviously can't do their one fucking job. How'd he even get a key card?
I notice how the man doges almost every camera as he enters the elevator; switching over to the elevator cameras, his head still hangs low. This is fucking useless. I aggressively click the mouse and fast-forward to him taking the guard, Matteo, out.
I see Matteo throw a punch, but this guy's way too large for Matteo as he dodges the punch and pulls something out of his pocket. I pause the video zooming into the man's slightly exposed arm, "Rowan," I look up at him, "Come look at this for me and tell me what it looks like."
Rowan groans, getting up from the chair and standing next to me, practically shoving his face in the screen to get a close look at the zoomed-in screen, "A needle," he states the obvious, "No I mean look at his hand," the man has a familiar tattoo on his hand. However, I could've missed that since he's tatted everywhere.
"Armani." He looks at me as I nod, staring at the fresh grim reaper tattoo. "That fuckers already stole shipment. How did he know where Dahlia was?" I run a hand through my hair. It's not like I can beat the answers out of a dead man.
"When we catch that fucker or any of his minions, we'll get answers, Armando." I lean back in the chair and mentally curse at myself.
I could've lost her if Dahlia wasn't strong enough or even let her guard down. I shake the thought away and look over at Rowan, who texts on his phone, smiling. I raise my eyebrow looking at him.
I haven't seen Rowan this smiley since his last girlfriend, Davinia. "So... why are you all smiley," I need a distraction right now. His face immediately straightens, and he puts his hands behind his back.
"No reason."
Normally I was the secretive one between the two of us. Rowan's an open book. My eyebrows furrow. Welp, there goes a distraction. I keep staring at him, hoping he'll crack. He gives me a fake ass smile, "When the time comes, I'll tell you."
"Okay." He's right. He doesn't have to tell me everything. I'm just not used to Rowan keeping secrets.
I sit a little, thinking, "I have an idea." A distraction for everyone.
Dahlia
Aerylin and I have been talking for a while now, and with the stories she tells, I see how tight Armando and Aerylins' bond is. It reminds me of Sebastian and me. I miss him even though he hasn't replied much to my texts lately.
I pull out my phone to try texting him again.
Me: Hey... I haven't heard from you in a while.
I stare at my phone, and the grey message bubble pops up and disappears again. A small frown forms on my face. "Everything okay?" Aerylin pushes herself off the large couch, "Yea, just thinking, that's all."
"Well, don't get lost in your thoughts Dahlia, can't have you zoning out on me," she giggles. A notification pops up on my screen, and Aerylins phone dings simultaneously.
Armando: Both of you should come outside.
Rowan: We're taking you, ladies, shopping. :)
We turn to look at each other, a smile on her face as she jumps up, " Come on," she holds her hands out for me and does a little shimmy, and I take them, letting her aid me off the couch even though I completely pulled myself up.
She puts on her white sneakers. I go to put on my blush pink crocs. "Pen! We'll be back soon," Aerylin shouts. We walk- well, Aerylin skips out of the living room and down the hallway to the large front door.
"This is going to be so fun," she pulls up the hood to her large comfy while I tug a little on my blush crop top.
When we walk out, the cool air is the first thing to hit me, and the sun shines. We squint as we walk down the concrete steps and the walkway to Armando's car, Rowan in his own.
Armando and Rowan dress like they just came to a business meeting. Meanwhile, Aerylin and I look like we just got out of bed. In my defense, it is Sunday. I normally just use my Sundays to relax.
Armando exits the car, "We'll just ride in Rowan's car. There's more space for whatever you guys decide to get." He opens the back door for me, and Aerylin is already hopping into the front seat. She did tell me how she hates sitting in the back.
"Thank you," I enter the Jeep it's red interior is suitable for us four but a bit small. There's a large trunk in the back. Armando shuts the door looking over at me and smiling.
"Alright, kids buckle up," Rowan puts on his sunglasses, and before I can breathe, the wind is caught out of my lungs by how fast the car goes; my back hits the seat.
Armando looks at me while I try not to choke on the air. My reddening face makes him laugh. "It's not funny, asshat," I hit him lightly in the shoulder, coughing.
Once I catch my breath, I sit straight, letting out a deep breath. We sit in comfortable silence, Aerylin starting a conversation here and there. Rowan even started singing some- horrid songs.
When Armando types on his phone, I realize how Rowan and Aerylin pass looks to each other, a small smile planted on my face.
I turn my head to Armando, and he looks up at me. For a second, I forget to breathe. His blue eyes travel down to my lips and licks his plump lips.
"Jeez, you guys are killing me back there," Rowan is the first to say something as I glare at him through the mirror. He pretends to seal his mouth with an imaginary zipper and throws the key out the window. Armando shakes his head while chuckling his dimples showing. The sun hits his face, and the more I look at him, the more angelic he looks.
-
"How does this look," Aerylin twirls in a pretty blue sundress, her blonde hair flowing with her. She's beautiful. "You look great."
"I'd have to agree with what Dahlia says for once," Rowan seconds my comment, a small smile on his face.
She walks back into the changing room. I look into Rowan's face as he watches her walk away. "You like her," I nudge him on the shoulder lightly. He shifts his whole body his face reddens, "Is it that obvious?" He twists his face.
I look over at Armando on the phone at the store entrance. His eyebrows grow, and his voice will slightly raise but turn back to hushed whispers to whoever he's talking with. "He doesn't know," Rowan must've seen me staring.
"I don't know how to tell him-" He's cut off by Aeryling running towards the bucket outside the changing room, vomiting. I instantly shoot up and run up to her. "Aerylin, what's wrong," I rub her back and brush her hair out of her face.
"I think I overate breakfast. Can we go home?" Tears brim her eyes, and she wipes her mouth with her forearm. Rowan and I share a look, but he looks confused. "Go get Armando. We'll meet you both at the entrance," he throws the car keys at me and picks up Aeryling bridal style.
I pick up Aerylin's shopping bags along with mine and walk toward Armando. Thoughts swarm my mind, but I shake them away.
When I reach Armando, I tap him on the shoulder, which I probably shouldn't have. His shoulders tense, and he whips around, his jaw clenched and a glare on his face, his chest heaving.
I hesitate before saying something, "We have to get back to the house." I flip my straight hair over my shoulder, averting my eyes from him.
"Is everything okay?" I don't want him to freak out. "Yea, I think Aerylin is just tired. Rowan said they'd meet us outside" He nods and puts his hand on the small of my back as we walk out of the mall. I feel a tingle shoot up my spine.
When we reach the car, he slowly takes his hand off my back. The missing feeling hits me. "I can drive," he offers. "No, I got it." I enter the driver's seat turning the ignition on.
"Please don't kill us," he jokes but looks scared. "I'll try," I smirk and reverse out of the parking spot heading towards the mall entrance.
-
I close the door to Aerylins' room.
"Are you doing alright?" I look at Aerylin through the mirror. She stands in pacing. She opens her mouth to speak but closes it again and sits on the edge of her bed with me. Tears start rolling down her right cheek.
I feel a small ache in my heart. I debate hugging her, and affection is not my biggest thing. Fuck it. My hands wrap around her shoulders, and she breaks down in my shoulders. A loud sob escapes her.
"I fucked up." she looks up at me with bloodshot eyes and pulls some strands of her hair behind her ear. "I fucked up, Dahlia," her lip quivers.
"What do you mean," I look at her in confusion. My eyebrows raise in realization. Please don't be what I fucking think it is.
"It's not Rowans." My eyes avert to the ground. I don't know what to say.
"Just listen," she gets up and stands before me. "I already feel fucking stupid enough. I don't need you to judge me." My gaze softens a bit, and I nod.
"Armando had this friend," her voice cracks a little. "At first, it was just small glances we gave each other, which turned into a friendship. I craved his attention, and I just couldn't figure out why. If Armando figured out we had seen each other as more than friends, he'd freak out."
"He did sweet things; he would buy me chocolates, he even won me that giant bunny for valentines day at a damn carnival. I know it's cringy now that I think about it, but I loved him." Her voice goes in and out as she points to the brown bunny lying on her bed.
"We decided we were going to take things slow." My nose wrinkles slightly. "At some point, we decided we were ready. I never knew how to tell Armando, so we kept it secret, but I didn't know that he never really put on a condom." She lets out a dry laugh.
"I was a fool," she furiously wipes the tears away. "A month ago, I started getting the morning sickness and these weird cravings, but I tried to shrug it away. We had broken up, and he and Armando fell out because of business."
"A few nights ago, I took a test. Well, I freaked out the first time and took five and-" she choked on her words, taking a deep breath and looking up to the ceiling. "They were positive," I finish for her. She rapidly nods, putting her hands up to her face.
I stand up and hug her. She wraps her arms around my shoulders on her tiptoes. "What do I do, Dahlia," she whispers. "Aerlyin," I break the hug and look her in the eyes. "This is your story and your choice, whether you tell Rowan and Armando right now or keep the baby." I honestly don't know what other advice to give her. I've barely known her for long.
I understand why she told me, though. It gets hard having nobody to confide in. I remember when I had this moment, and Sebastian barely knew me, but we'd pour our world out to each other. I trust him, though; maybe I can be that person for Aerylin.
Armando seems like a great big brother, but he would freak out that his little sister is having the baby of an ex-friend and ally.
A/N: I almost gave myself a heart attack writing this. I know how controversial the pregnancy trope is, and I have been debating posting this chapter, but I realize this is my story, and if this is how I want it to go... it's going that way.
Always feel free to leave CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, though. <3
I Hope you enjoyed it, my loves.
(Word count: 2672)