"I crave you as if I've already had you before, that scares and excites me all at once"
« In which Adriana Narvaez, a mother
of two, finds herself falling deep
into the world of crime after an
innocent robbery turns into a money-laundering bus...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Hurry up."
Adriana's knuckles turned white as she clutched the edge of the sink, her eyes tightly closed in an attempt to calm her racing heart. She couldn't bear to look, even when her phone's insistent vibrations signaled that the agonizing three minutes had passed.
As Rio made his way into the bathroom, she stood still, too afraid to look at the results. Despite her efforts to deny it, she knew her body all too well during pregnancy—this wasn't her first time going through it; she had experienced it twice before.
For weeks, she had kept the unused pregnancy tests on her nightstand, but the thought of taking them seemed too daunting. She clung to the hope that the symptoms were just a figment of her imagination. Admitting to Rio that she was pregnant felt like a risky gamble, but in her heart, she knew the truth.
Rio remained silent beside her, his presence all too consuming to ignore. Willing herself to open her eyes, she glanced up at him through the mirror to find him already looking at her, the two positive tests clenched between his fists. His jaw clenched, eyes drilling holes into her skull. The two stood in silence, eyes locked onto each other as they tried to process what this would mean.
$$$
"You're pregnant? With gangbanger's baby?"
Adriana stared blankly into the steaming cup of tea, her mind reeling with the thoughts that threw her deeper and deeper into despair. She wouldn't lie and say all her feelings for Rio were gone, that was far from the truth, but all her trust in him was gone and the little bit of fear that she always harbored was now magnified by ten.
Her eyes darted between the three other women in the room before landing on Beth who swiftly looked away, avoiding her sullen gaze. She hasn't been able to look Adriana in the face ever since Rio shot Dean. Adriana wasn't quite sure if it was anger or guilt that Beth had harbored for her, and she wasn't about to ask either.
"What are you gonna do?" Annie piped up in the silence, interrupting Adriana's thoughts with the question she had yet to ask herself. What was she going to do?
"Can--can we talk about something else? Let's get back to the pen cap."
"Right. So, we scout the courier, learn his schedule, and grab the pen from the truck. "
"Sounds easy enough," Annie mused.
"Hardly."
$$$
Adriana kept her gaze glued to the parking lot outside of the Starbucks, waiting for the courier to follow his daily schedule and head inside, leaving the van unattended. The car was silent, leaving the two Boland sisters and Adriana to do nothing but wait. It was clear that Annie was uncomfortable with the silence, clearing her throat as she shifted in her seat.
"So, when's Deansie coming home."
Adriana could feel Beth staring at her through the rearview mirror, her eyes flashing with an unreadable emotion. Adriana couldn't blame Beth for her choice, but she couldn't help but think that if things had gone differently, she wouldn't be here and her kids would not have only lost their father, but their mother too. Adriana couldn't discern whether it was distrust or resentment that she felt when she looked at her oldest friend, but it hurt. The two hadn't spoken of that night, and when Rio had shot Dean and dragged Adriana out of the house, Beth had only spared her a worried glance before she went to tend to an injured Dean.
Adriana can feel the paralyzing fear she had felt that night as if she was back in that moment.
"Tomorrow."
"What did the doctors say?"
Adriana found herself asking, much to both the sister's surprise.
"The bullet was only a few inches away from his heart."
Beth didn't have to finish her sentence for Adriana to know what that meant, and Adriana didn't want to know more, tearing her gaze away to study the parking lot once again.
"Adriana, I don't know what to say--"
"Check it out. Two o'clock!" Annie pointed to the van pulling into the parking space right in front of the Starbucks, only a moment passed before the man hopped out of the transportation van, leaving the perfect moment for the girls to carry out their plan.
"Have you ever seen a clock?"
"We'll go in, Adriana, you keep watch."
$$$
Adriana released a long, weary sigh as she collapsed onto the plush couch, her heavy eyelids betraying the mental exhaustion she was feeling. Her mother, seated nearby, observed with concern as her daughter curled up under the cozy throw blanket, enveloped in a heavy silence that mirrored the weight of her troubled thoughts.
"When will you talk to me, Adri?"
"Mom."
"I'm serious! At the rate you're going, I don't know what could happen to you but it's not going to be good. Adriana, your kids need you. You have to slow down. Come on, talk to me."
Adriana knew that the news of her pregnancy would fill her mother with joy and destroy her all at the same time, However, she had reached a point where she could no longer bear the burden of her troubles alone.
"I'm in trouble, Mom. Big trouble and the only way I can get out of it would just put in me bigger trouble, and I just-- god, I just wished I had listened to you before any of this happened. "
Adriana's mother hurried to her daughter's side, enveloping her in a warm, comforting embrace as she observed her visibly upset and teary-eyed.
"What is it, Mija? What's going on?"
"I'm pregnant, and I don't think I can have this baby."
$$$
"How you feelin', mama?"
Adriana spun on her heel at the sound of Rio's voice, a surprised gasp escaping her lips as she gripped her keys tighter in her grasp. She hadn't expected him to be waiting for her in her driveway, leaning against his large SUV parked right beside her sedan.
After finding out she was pregnant, he had left without a word, leaving no indication of what this meant for the two of them. Adriana had assumed that he wouldn't be back for another week or two, enough time for her to figure out what she was gonna do, but it seemed like he had already made up his mind.
"Hm? I said, how you feelin'?"
"Pregnant. How about you?"
Rio only shrugged in response, pushing himself off the car, his steps slow as he approached her.
"Well, how 'bout we go for a drive, pick up some food. What are you cravin'? Donuts, a burger?"
"I'm craving some alone time."
His lips twisted into a smirk, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he tore his gaze away from hers, a moment passing before he turned on his heel and headed back to the car.
