Tangled Webs -Oscar Diaz-

Chapter 23

Six Weeks Later

Sofia was enjoying the routine she had going on. She worked four days a week, spent her evenings with either Amber or Oscar, and got to see her family more. It was a nice change.

Monse had been gone a month, and it was taking a toll on Cesar, which meant it impacted Ruby. However, Ruby was already struggling on his own. About a month ago, they had a school dance, and Ruby had heard the song playing when he was shot. Ever since, he has been struggling.

Sofia did all she could to get him smiling again, and for a while, it worked. The two played board games and watched horror movies until dawn. But every time Ruby took a step forward, he took two more back. It was a daunting process, but Sofia wasn't a quitter.

In that time, Amber was getting bigger. She still had a while before the baby was born but looked like she could pop at any moment. The blonde swore she just ate a lot, and no one said otherwise. They were not pregnancy experts.

The last two days have been the worst. Sofia hadn't seen Ruby get out of bed once. Not even to use the bathroom. All he did was lay in the bottom bunk in the twin's room. Since her attention was fully on Ruby, Sofia had hardly spoken to Oscar. She felt guilty but didn't have the time to see him. Not when Ruby was suffering.

Mario had the idea to go out and get sweets. He thought bribing him and then louring him into the living room with the chocolates would work. Sofia didn't have any better ideas and agreed with the plan. "Can the fumes of nail polish affect a pregnancy," Amber questioned from the couch.

"Um," Sofia thought. "I don't think so?" Amber wanted to paint her toenails, but she couldn't reach them with her belly as large as it was. Sofia volunteered to help, and Amber even let her pick the color. She picked two. Her left foot was pink, while her right foot was blue. "Let's hope not because I am almost finished."

The two laughed loudly as the front door opened. Sofia glanced over her shoulder but did a double-take seeing Oscar walking in behind Mario. "Hey," Mario waved at them.

"Oscar," Sofia questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"He's here to help with Ruby," Mario spoke for him. Oscar nodded and let Mario lead him into her little brother's room.

"That was weird," Amber shrugged and looked at her nails. "Pink and blue! I love it."

Sofia smiled and set the nail polish on the table. "I'm glad." The entire morning had gone by in a flash. Sofia had been spending so much time with Amber that she forgot about her other responsibilities. "I hope Oscar can help Ruby."

"Why does Ruby call him Spooky," Amber leaned closer. "He into ghosts or something?"

She chuckled at the comment, "no. It's just a nickname."

"Oh." Amber leaned back into the seat. "It's a pretty good one." Sofia nodded, "I want a nickname."

"You do?"

Amber shrugged, "yeah. Maybe like," her words faded as she thought of one. "I don't have any."

"I can't think of any at the moment," Sofia spoke honestly. "But I will think about it."

That seemed to be enough for Amber, and Sofia began cleaning up the nail polish. The door to the twin's room opened, and Oscar stepped out. Suprinsgly, Ruby was with him. Mario came out of his room with a hopeful look on his face. "Hey boys," Sofia looked at Ruby. "Going somewhere?"

Ruby spoke first, "Oscar's making me go to a party."

It was clear he didn't want to go, but Sofia knew he needed to get out of the house. "Good. You could use some sun." Ruby rolled his eyes, and Mario placed a hand on his shoulder.