When they said my solo was third place in the junior division at the competition, of course I was upset. I had gotten third place before but I worked really hard and I wanted to win the whole thing because my dad is here and he never gets to come and see me dance. And when I was dancing the song made me think of my parents and how their relationship used to be before they got divorced and everything got all weird. While I was dancing I could've sworn that I saw them holding hands in the audience and it made me really happy. But now I'm just upset because I wanted my dad to see me win.
"Hey lovebug, what's wrong?" Mom asked as she was helping me take my hair down in the dressing room. I didn't want to cry in front of my teacher or my teammates because then they would call me a brat and say that I'm ungrateful. But I'm not. Is it bad that I just wanted my dad to see me win with a dance that I worked really hard on?
"Nothing...where's dad?" I wiped the makeup off of my face and smiled when it was all gone. I love putting on competition makeup and it makes me look really pretty, but I don't like wearing makeup all the time because mom says I'm pretty without it and I don't need it to be beautiful. She says that a lot too, so it must be true.
"He's waiting outside for us. We have some time before the jet is ready so we could get some dinner to celebrate your win," Mom suggested, combing through my curls as I shook my head.
"I didn't win though." I'm such a cry baby and I hate it. Even when I tell myself that I'm not going to cry I still do. And it's just that I cry when I'm sad. I cry when I'm angry too and it's just so stupid. I need to learn to control my emotions.
"Gabi-" mom didn't get to finish her sentence because I got up and walked out of the room, thinking that I would be alone to get myself together in the hallway but my dad was literally right outside.
"You guys ready to - Gabi, what's wrong?" Dad asked, kneeling down to my height because I'm not that tall yet, even though I want to be.
"Nothing," I said as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and tried to control my breathing. Mom is always worried about my breathing because of my asthma but she's over dramatic.
"You're crying. There's obviously something wrong." Mom walked out of the room and came next to us and I just started crying even harder.
"I really wanted to win today because I worked really hard and I wanted you to see me win but I lost. I don't like losing," I cried as my dad pulled me in for a hug and did that thing that he always does where he kisses my forehead and runs his hand over my hair. I don't know why but it always makes me feel better.
"You didn't have to win for me to see that you were amazing. And you beat some girl that's two years older than you, Gabi. You were amazing," Dad said as he wiped my tears away.
"Gabi, sometimes you work really hard and you put in your best effort and you still lose. You're never too good to lose. We all lose sometimes, but that doesn't mean you stop trying. Take it from us," Mom finished for him as dad nodded and I finally got myself together. If Jasmine saw me she would be so ashamed.
"Okay..." I said as I nodded and finished wiping my face off. This is why my parents need to be together. If it had just been my mom here I probably would've cried the entire way home. But with my dad here he was able to say the things that she couldn't. They needed to be together. They just had to be.
I don't know what happened between the time that we left the competition and waited for the jet to get ready, but my parents aren't talking. At all. They won't even look at each other. They're not even sitting next to each other. It's like we made all this progress and now there's just nothing.
Mom is sitting next to me on the plane and she's busy on her phone. Dad is a few rows ahead of us on his iPad. And I'm stuck in the middle. What's wrong with them? Everything was just fine literally two days ago and now they're acting...divorced. If I'm going to get them back together, I'm gonna need some help.
Three weeks after the competition, mom and dad were still being awkward with each other. They didn't talk on the phone anymore and mom didn't answer the door when dad came to pick me up. I'm really getting tired of spending every other weekend at his house, especially since he went back to Eiza. She apologized to me and said she wouldn't do it again but I still don't like her. She's just in the way.
"Gabi! You're gonna be late for dance!" Mom screamed up the stairs as I searched through the contacts on my phone for my abuelo's number. I don't have time for dance. I'm trying to get my parents back together.
"I'm coming!" I yelled back, but I really wasn't. I found his number and patiently waited for him to answer. I know he'll be on my side with this.
"Gabi?"
"Hey abuelo! I have an emergency! Mom has been really sick lately and I know she could use some help around here so that she could get some rest. Maybe you can come stay the weekend with us," I suggested. I wasn't lying. My mom has been really sick lately. She throws up every morning and she sleeps more than she used to. I don't know what's going on with her but she needs to get it together.
"Well if it's okay with your mom, I'll come down there and keep you busy so that she can get some rest."
"YES! That's great! Just come Friday night and we can go see the new Marvel movie that's out," I suggested. I heard my mom coming up the stairs so I hurried and rushed my abuelo off the phone just as she entered my room.
"Gabi, you're gonna be late. We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago." Mom looks so tired. It makes me wanna call my dad and have him take me to dance instead, but mom usually stays there and watches me rehearse and I doubt dad would do that.
"Okay." I stuffed the clothes that I was holding into my dance bag and followed my mom out the door. I'm sure she'll be feeling much better once my abuelo gets here and she's free to do whatever she wants.
Demi POV
"Gabi's at dance right now. Where's Eiza?" I asked as I entered his house. I don't come here often because I honestly can't bear it but today was an emergency. For once I couldn't sit in the viewing room and watch Gabi take her classes, which I felt bad about but she was so busy with her friends that she didn't mind.
"Out shopping or something. I don't know. You can use the bathroom right there," Wilmer said as I nodded and entered the bathroom with the CVS bag in my hand. The last time I had to take a pregnancy test was when Wilmer and I came back from our honeymoon. We had been gone for an entire month and I missed my period and immediately knew that I was pregnant. Finding out that I was going to have a child had been one of the best moments of my life, but now with the way things are, I doubt I'll have the same reaction this time.
The tests were ready after ten minutes but I stayed in the bathroom for twenty. This can't be happening. This can not be happening. This feels like a horrible reality show. This doesn't feel like my life. This isn't real.
"Demi." Wilmer knocked on the door a few times before he gave up and just opened it, but my eyes were fixated on the tests.
"Oh my god..." Wilmer breathed out, resting his back against the door and I grabbed all three tests in my hands and stared down at them. The results blurred because of the tears gathering in my eyes and in a sudden burst of anger, I threw them at him.
"You got me pregnant!" I screamed, shoving at his chest as my blood boiled. For some reason I was so mad. Not just mad at him, but mad at myself. We were divorced. We were two grown adults. I shouldn't be pregnant. This shouldn't be happening.
"It takes two!"
"Well no shit, asshole! But I'm not the one who's married here!" I yelled, combing my fingers through my hair as I paced back and forth in the bathroom.
"Demi-"
"No Wilmer just shut the hell up. I'm sure you're just gonna tell me to abort it. I wouldn't want you to risk your relationship with Eiza," I spat, repeating the same words that he told me when we finally discussed our little one night stand. Even though he said that it had been the best night that he had in a while, he didn't want to leave Eiza. He was in love with me but he didn't think we would work out. My heart broke when he told me that. Not even just my heart but my entire body. He loved me but I wasn't enough for him. I wasn't a good enough reason for him to leave his unhappy relationship.
"Why would you even say something like that?" He hissed.
"What, like it's not true? I'm not good enough for you and I doubt my baby would be either."
"Your baby? It's just your baby now?" He questioned as I dropped my defensive shoulders and grabbed my purse.
"I have to go get Gabi. I'm sure your wife will be home soon. We'll talk about this later." I'm tired. I'm so tired I don't even know how to describe it. Sometimes I just wanna go to sleep and never wake back up.
"Demi-"
"No Wilmer...I can't do this. I can't handle this." I used to instantly calm down when he would gather me into his arms when I was crying or having an anxiety attack. I used to just melt into him and all of my problems would float away. But that doesn't happen anymore and he can't fix this with his arms or his heartbeat or his soothing words. We got ourselves into this huge mess and I don't even know how to clean it up without someone getting hurt.