Cry For Me

Chapter 17

“So, what do you have planned for your birthday?” Omar asked from where he was seated on his couch in his living room, sipping on a glass of whiskey neat.

Andrea had her legs propped on his lap as she laid her upper body back, looking at but not quite watching the television. Her baby bump was now showing proudly, and since she had to go to the doctor for her monthly check up, she had to wear something extra loose. It wasn’t like she had a problem with the small bulge, but she really couldn’t run the risk of anyone seeing her like that. 

Straight after that, Omar had invited her over to his home, which she really didn’t have a problem with since she’d pretty much completed her school assignments for the day earlier. The sun was sitting over the horizon, just about to dip below and make its disappearance until the next day. The last couple of weeks had gone by in a blur, with her parents still having the time of their lives in whichever part of the world they were now in. 

They’d promised to be back in time for their twins’ 18th birthday, but it seems that they were having so much fun and had forgotten all about the ‘deadline’. It wasn’t like either Andrea or Salvador needed them present as they both wished to celebrate the occasion quietly and separately. It was a good thing that Emilio wasn’t around, otherwise he would have made sure to host some bash or something of the sort. Heaven only knows that it was the last thing that anybody needed right now.

She shrugged and glanced at Omar, who was playing with the tips of her toes with one of his hands. Since the incident of that night when Rhett showed up, he’d become more protective of her and made sure to be around her whenever he wasn’t busy, which was pretty often. He made sure to make her feel safe, like there wasn’t anybody or anything in the world that could possibly hurt her. And she did feel that way; like she was safest when she was with him.

“Nothing planned. It’s best if I don’t make a big deal out of it. My best friend has been wanting us to hang out but with this little one inside of me, I know I can’t do that. I mean, I trust her; I just don’t want to have to explain myself to her,” she told him and he turned to look at her.

He nodded in understanding. “It’s probably for the best that you don’t do anything too wild and I doubt your parents would approve. I’d have done something with you, but sadly, I’ve got to go to London tomorrow. My father needs a progress report on the vineyard and our new winery,” he explained, and a wave of disappointment washed over her. 

I’m being so clingy, she thought with a frown but she couldn’t help it. Although it was probably wrong, she had grown attached to the man. How could she not, with how sweet he had been? He leaned over to her, and brushed some hair out of her face. “Don’t make that face, Andrea. You know that I have to balance jetting between here and England, that is, until my father thinks I’m worthy enough of running this division on my own.”

Andrea pouted. “I know, it’s just that, who am I supposed to talk to when you’re gone?” she asked him, her voice wavering. How and when had she become such a basket case?

He chuckled at how cute she was being. He wouldn’t let it show, but it made a warmness settle within him knowing that Andrea liked his presence now, after initially being revolted by it not even a month ago. “Well, you have Salvador and Ximena,” he said, counting the individuals on his fingers.

She scoffed and twisted her lips nastily. “Chava will definitely be with his friends this weekend and Ximena and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms, as you already know,” she muttered with a scowl.

“You never did tell me what it was that you said to her. It must have been very nasty if she hasn’t forgiven you until now,” he countered wisely, looking her square in the eye, practically forcing her to spill the tea. 

With a sigh, she looked down at her lap feigning innocence. “I didn’t say anything that bad. She just flipped out due to the hormones. I do it all the time too.”

His face turned in disbelief. “She slapped you, and it left a huge mark. I asked Adriano about it, but he said that she hasn’t spoken to him about it, so it must be serious. Come on, Andy. Tell me what you said to her,” he pried further and she snapped.

“Fine! I told her that I didn’t like how she was speaking about you, and then she said that she didn’t like or trust you. So, I told her she was just angry and probably jealous of that she never slept with you when she had the chance,” she blurted unceremoniously, and Omar froze. 

Moving her legs of his lap, he placed the glass on the coffee table and stood up. “What is the matter with you? Why would you say that?” he seethed with indignation, making her flinch slightly. 

Andrea gulped, looking everywhere else but at him. “I-I don’t know. It just slipped out,” she mumbled in embarrassment. In hindsight, maybe saying those senseless words to Ximena hadn’t been such a great idea. In fact, she felt really stupid for having badmouthed her own flesh and blood to her face. 

Omar made a noncommittal sound. “That was really childish, Andrea. You need to start acting more mature, because I know you’re better than that. You know what, I’m taking you to Ximena and Adriano’s house to apologize right now,” he said and was about to step away in order to grab his keys, when Andrea caught his wrist.

She looked up at him, her lower lip underneath her teeth. “Okay, I’ll apologize,” she said lowly and coyly. “But only if you let me go to London with you this weekend.”

He paused; her words being processed in his higher centers. Was he willing to take her home to meet the rest of his family? As of late, Omar didn’t really trust Amir, much less to be around Andrea knowing full well that he had ill motives. His mother, on the other hand, was fairly harmless. As for his siblings, they were a different story altogether…especially Hakim. 

“Absolutely not,” he stated firmly. 

Andrea rose from her seat, her force contorted with the pain of having been rejected. She wasn’t accustomed to being told no. “What? Why? Are you embarrassed of me all of a sudden? I already met your mum and dad, remember? What’s the difference now?” she murmured, hurt written in her eyes. 

Omar tugged his hand out of hers. “It’s not that, Andy. It’s just that-,” my family is a f—king shitshow and quite frankly I don’t want you around them. “I don’t think you’d like to see them in the same place, all at once. My family is complicated,” he said vaguely, not wanting to add much detail.

She moved closer to him and slid her arms over his shoulder and around his neck. It was a tactic she used all the time, back when they were seeing each other, whenever she wanted something from him. And it was honestly a shame that it seemed that it was still effective. “Come on, Omar. They are going to be my family too, very soon. What’s the worst that could happen?” she asked sarcastically.

He gulped softly and wrapped his arms around her waist. There was something that was telling him not to go through with this, to just let get angry with him after rejecting her. But he just couldn’t bring himself to denying her; he hadn’t done it before and he wouldn’t do it now. Ordinarily, Omar had no problems with telling women no, but when it comes to Andrea Dos Ramos, that mantra goes straight out the metaphoric window.

When he ended up nodding his head in agreement, she squealed out loud before connecting her lips to his. The embrace ended just as quickly as it began, making his heart stir at the brief but enticing connection. “Yes! Thanks Omar!” she beamed and then wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. He laughed at this, but reciprocated the action.

But still, that foreboding feeling wouldn’t subside not matter how much he tried to push it down. There was something seriously wrong with this; why on earth did he feel like taking her along with him was the worst idea ever?

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Hey guys. This chapter is more of a filler but I can assure, a storm is coming. I can only hope that you're mentally prepared for the coming chapters.

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~Deetronite