Overexposed

Ch. 5 You Should Be Here

Angela was cursing whatever asshole had brought the stomach flu onto their plane as she knelt in front of the toilet, emptying her stomach into the bowl for what felt like the tenth time that night. She'd successfully avoided throwing up while tucking Evie into sleep with Tessa in her room, but once she sat down at the computer, ready to call Juice for some naughty Face Time, her stomach had turned on her. She'd sprinted across the hallway to the bathroom and had made it just in time.

Sitting back, she raked her fingers through her sweat soaked hair, sighing softly. "Fuck me," she muttered, staring up at the ceiling before closing her eyes as another wave of nausea hit. She'd been in this exact position before many times after long nights of partying with Esai. Dia would always hear her and open the door to give her some water and some painkillers.

"Angelita," Diana's soft voice prompted her to open her eyes.

She looked over at Dia with a small smile. "Right on time," she murmured weakly. "I swear, I'm not drunk, 's just some stomach bug."

Dia smiled warmly, kneeling beside her and rubbing her back. "Ay mi amor, ya lo se," she assured her. Leaning forward, she opened one of the cabinets underneath the sink and pulled out a little box. "I want you to try something." (Oh my love. I already know.)

Angela's brows furrowed in confusion as she stared at the box in Dia's hand. A pregnancy test. "No, its not. I'm not...I never got sick like this with Evie," she insisted, shaking her head. "Its just the flu or somethin'."

"Every pregnancy is different, mija. With Esai, I was sick every day, my feet swelled up. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong con ese loco pero con Tessa?" she trailed off, shrugging a shoulder. "Nada. Sometimes you just get lucky." (with that crazy, but with Tessa? Nothing)

She shook her head stubbornly. No way was she pregnant. Not now. They'd been trying for over a year with no results. There was no way her luck was bad enough that she was finally pregnant and in Charming. "But I can't...not now, not here. This is all wrong. I'm just...just sick. That's all."

"Por favor, just try it," Dia pleaded, holding the box out to her again. "If its positive, good, if not, better, you prove me wrong and that's not an easy feat. Ask Marcus."

Angela laughed lightly, taking the box from her. "Dia, this test is new. Why the hell do you have it?"

"Do you know how many pulgas come to me tellin' me a Mayan knocked them up? Always want Marcus to step in, make the boys take responsibility. I bring one of these out and they go runnin'. I buy Costco packs of these. Even keep one in my purse just in case," Diana explained with a smirk before leaning over to kiss Angela's temple. "This is different though. This is good. I'd love to have another grandbaby. So do it. Ahora." (fleas aka Maya sweetbutts...Now)

She sighed, pulling herself to her feet and opening the box. "You gonna watch me pee?"

Dia laughed softly, shaking her head. "Dime cuando 'stas lista." (Tell me when you're ready.)

Angela nodded, opening up the package and pulling the little white stick out. Her stomach churned, the directions blurring in front of her eyes. "Shit," she murmured to herself, raking her fingers through her messy hair. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she took the test, setting it down on the counter and sitting on the closed toilet lid when she was done. Setting a timer on her phone, she stared at the numbers as they started to count down. Clearing her throat, she called Dia's name, not at all surprised when the door flew open; she'd had a feeling the woman had been standing there keeping guard.

Dia stroked her hand over Angela's hair, kissing the crown of her head. "This is a good thing, mijita," she reminded her.

"Just wish Juice was here," she murmured, feeling tears sting her eyes. They'd taken a few pregnancy tests during their two years in Texas. Each time, she'd take the test late at night after the kids were asleep. Juice would pace outside the bathroom door since she couldn't pee with him watching. After she was done, she'd sit between his legs on their big bed, watching the minutes tick by on his phone while the test results developed. He'd dot kisses across her shoulders, his hands roaming all over her body while he whispered how much he loved her in her ear as they waited. The negative results never fazed him, usually he would just laugh, playfully turn them over and then make love to her while he swore this time his 'magic penis' would do the trick. Angela yearned for him to be there now because, for the first time, she had a feeling this test would be positive. "This sucks."