Blood On Her Hands

Chapter 16

It turned out I wouldn't have to keep Nancy's pregnancy a secret for long.

She had come downstairs to meet me in the kitchen as I ate my dinner alone after my meeting with Vincent. She had walked over to the fridge to grab a bag of apple slices and some water, not really acknowledging me until she was on her way out. She had paused then, cradling the items to her chest.

"I'm telling them the news tomorrow," she said. She had tapped her stomach in case I didn't get what she was saying. "Invite Darren over too. I don't like him but he's practically family."

With a spoonful of carrot and celery chunks from the soup in my mouth, all I could do was nod.

It was hard for me to sleep that night. All I could do was lie awake picturing everyone's reactions. There would probably be a lot of conflicting emotions. They'd want to celebrate but at the same time the loss of Adonis would hang in the air. It seemed that all of them believed him to be guilty of drug trafficking so would they even feel that bad about remembering he was gone? A horrible thought crossed my mind. The thought that maybe they would be relieved Adonis wasn't around to put his family in any more danger than they thought he had.

Nancy was the one who had a lot on her plate. She was the one with a lot of reasons to struggle. I couldn't help but dream about all of the concerned looks I had been recently getting shifting their direction to her. I dreamt of my relatives confiding in me about Nancy, telling me they worried about her, trusting me with the heavy stuff because I was the one who had to be strong for her.

I was glad I'd have Darren around. He was good at these kinds of things. He always knew what to say - which ironically might have ended up bugging Nancy even more than if he said something lame. Nonetheless, he'd ease the tension a bit and he'd be there for me to hold onto. Nancy must have been coming around to him if she wanted him around for her announcement. Maybe she was starting to see him through my eyes.

Tìo and Tìa arrived from work as expected. Grabbing Julio from his spot in front of the computer, Nancy dragged him into the living room where everyone else was already sitting. My uncle gave her a strange look. He was bracing himself, I could tell. Nancy seemed as if she was about to say something when she noticed the empty spot beside me on the couch.

"He's running late," I mouthed to her apologetically. I avoided her eye roll by checking my phone. He hadn't said anything since he texted to say he would be there. He was probably driving. Just when he was just starting to win her over he had to be late.

Everyone was already watching Nancy expectantly. She rubbed her hands together and posed herself in the archway of the living room. "I have you all here because there is something I want to tell you," she said, her voice wavering slightly.

"You found an apartment?" my uncle asked. He placed an arm around the back of the couch with a hawk-like stare. He was trying to read Nancy. I wondered if he suspected something already.

"No. I'll tell you all when Mickey's boyfriend gets here," Nancy said, pointedly not uttering his name.

My aunt's painted eyebrows lifted in excitement. "Oh, Darren's coming over? Ay, que bueno. I haven't seen him much lately."

I smiled instead of saying anything. I didn't want to encourage any upbeat chatter when Nancy was so obviously hurting.

"Hey, while we're all here, can one of you tell my parents they can't lock me up forever just because they found some weed?" Julio whined. He stood on the opposite side of the room looking exasperated. "It's not even a big deal! Everyone smokes it."

"And if everyone else jumps out the window, are you going to do it too?" my uncle replied quietly but sternly. He never yelled at anyone. It usually made him more intimidating but the phrase he used was so cliche that any impact he was hoping to make fell flat.