Rollercoaster (The Circle Series - Part 3)

Chapter 26

"Ethan...baby?" Ari whispered. She couldn't sleep. The babies were squirming and stretching, poking her in every internal organ she owned. She couldn't wait for them to arrive...just a few more days now.

Her husband let out a long drawn-out snore, his dreams undisturbed.

"Fuck you!" she grumbled, "I'm so getting you back one day." She threw the covers off and grabbed her water bottle. It was hot and stuffy too, regardless that the air-conditioning was set to arctic temperatures. Closing the bedroom door, she made her way through their small apartment to the stairs up to the main house, the LED floor lights illuminating her pathway.

Ari was panting hard from the climb, stopping at the top to catch her breath and rub her belly before waddling into the kitchen for something cool to eat. Yogurt maybe, or some fruit...ooh some mango! She had a craving for mango the past few weeks.

Her Aunt Leesha kept the fridge well-stocked with both fruit and yogurt, three mangos hidden away from the men in a special compartment. She grabbed a spoon from the drawer and ripped the top off a small container of strawberry yogurt, shoving the creamy dessert between her lips with low moan of relief.

She took out the container of pre-sliced mango cheeks, popped it open and bit into the sweet fruit, smearing the juice all over her face. She smiled as she remembered her mother teaching her to eat mangoes in the bathtub, swearing that it was the only way to do so to save the messy clean-up afterward.

"Can't sleep either, kiddo?" David's voice startled Ari from her ravaging of the fridge and she popped her head over the door, spoon dangling from her mouth and eyes wide.

"Holy shit!" Ari exclaimed, "You almost scared the twins out of me, Uncle Lema!"

"Sorry." Dave rubbed her back as he hobbled to the cupboard. "Didn't expect anyone else up."

"Can't sleep again?"

He shook his head. "No...doctor upped my steroids and insomnia is worst. Plus my joints hurt like hell."

"I'll trade you the sore joints for four feet kicking you in the ribs and two heads rubbing on your bladder," she retorted.

"Pass. I love you, squirt, but dealing with your Aunt being pregnant three times was enough."

"Was she better or worse than I've been?"

Dave paused while pouring hot water for his tea. "With Ethan, she kicked me out of the bedroom for getting her the wrong chips. Janelle...she had no patience for the smallest noise. I couldn't even piss without her telling me to keep the noise down."

"Wrong household to be in for peace and quiet," Ari chuckled, "I don't think I've ever known this house to be quiet...even when you've been away on vacation." She groaned a little from a twinge of pain in her lower back, her hand rubbing absently over the spot.

"What can I say...the house can get wild sometimes. Throws parties even I don't know about." He opened the tea drawer and deliberated over which he wanted. Settling on an herbal tea for relaxation, he draped the tea bag into the hot water and inhaled the vapor.

Ari giggled at the picture of the house spontaneously bursting into party mode. The crazier her visions got the more she laughed making her belly jiggle in front of her, until suddenly she stopped. Her eyes went wide in shock as she muttered a tiny, "Oh!" and felt a warmth flow down her legs.

Dave looked up at the dark wall as the sound of liquid hitting the floor met his ears. He turned slowly and looked at his Goddaughter's feet. "Oh fuck..."

"Uncle Lema...," Ari groaned as the pain in her back increased. She gripped the spoon in one hand and the countertop in the other.

He knew that look. He'd seen it several times and felt utterly helpless. "It's okay, kiddo...shit..hold on..." He hobbled over to the intercom and pressed the button for the master bedroom. "Honey, wake up!"