Alex being home was bad enough, but of all weekends for him to come home, Sal was there, too. All three brothers and Eric were now in the garage. Alex and Angel were both under the hood of their moms’ car, while Sal, as usual, supervised, making sure everything was done properly.
It couldn’t get any worse. If anything went down today, they’d all be there to tear him apart. The nausea was back. It started at the drug store when he stood there reading the labels on the home pregnancy tests. It only intensified when Sal got home.
Eric stood there taking deep breaths, concentrating on not being sick, while the brothers argued back and forth.
“Will you just hand me the damn thing?” Alex held out his hand.
“Hold on.” Sal bent over to check Alex’s work. “You gotta make sure it’s tight enough.”
“Hey, Mr. Dreamy.”
Eric had been so lost in thought he didn’t even notice Alex was talking to him. “Yo, Eric.”
Eric snapped out of it and looked at him.
“What’s you’re problem?” Alex didn’t wait for an answer. “Make yourself useful and go grab me a water from the fridge.”
“Yeah, me too,” Angel said.
“Make that three,” Sal added.
Eric managed a nod as he walked toward the kitchen. His phone beeped just as he reached the kitchen door—a text from Sofia. He gulped before opening it.
Negative…but what if it’s false? I still haven’t got my…
Relief came and went in the same breath. For now, they were in the clear but she was right. What if?
He walked in the kitchen. Sofia stood there looking worried. When their eyes met, she fell apart. Eric panicked. “Sofie, don’t cry.” He turned to look out the window. “All your brothers are out there, babe.”
To his dismay, Mrs. Moreno walked in from the front room. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
Sofia wiped the tears away and attempted to compose herself. “I have really bad cramps.”
Her mother rubbed Sofia’s back. “That bad?”
Sofia nodded. “Yeah, I’m gonna take an aspirin and lie down.”
Mrs. Moreno turned to Eric. “Did you need something, Eric?”
He’d been frozen in the same spot the whole time. “Uh, yeah,” he motioned to the back door, “they want water.”
She looked at him kind of weird. “They’re in the fridge. Go ahead and grab some.” She turned back to Sofia. “I’ll get you the heating pad. That should help ease the pain.”
Her mom walked out of the kitchen and Eric started to the fridge. As he neared Sofia, he saw her eyes welling up again.
“I should tell her,” she whispered.
“No!”
“But what if I am?” Sofia was falling apart.
“What if you’re not? Give it a few more days.”
This was the worse nightmare of his life and it only got worse. The back door opened and one by one, her brothers filed in.
Sal spoke first, “What’s taking you so—” he stopped when he saw Sofia, “What’s wrong, Sof?”
All eyes were on Sofia, including Eric’s. He gulped, feeling his stomach turn violently and he almost winced from the pain. She wouldn’t throw him to the lions, would she?
“I’m not feeling well.”
“You sick?”
“Cramps.”
Mrs. Moreno walked back in the kitchen, holding the heating pad. “Did you take the aspirin?”
Sofia nodded. Eric nearly jumped out of his skin when Alex poked him. “What’s with you?” He smirked as he moved past him to get to the refrigerator.
Sofia walked out of the kitchen with her mom. Eric could only pray she wouldn’t tell her.
“Yeah, thanks for bringing out the water,” Angel said as Alex tossed him one.
After tossing Sal one too, he asked Eric if he wanted one. “No, I’m good. I gotta go.”
“I thought you were gonna hang out and work out?” Angel said, taking a swig of water.
“I gotta do this thing for my dad, but maybe later I’ll come back.”
Eric couldn’t get out of there fast enough. The second he got the chance, he texted Sofia.
PLEASE don’t tell her yet.
Her only response was, k.
After being sick again at home and walking around the house aimlessly for hours. Eric got the text from Sofia that took the weight of the world off his shou k ofpray lders.
I got it!
Never in life had he experienced such an overwhelming relief. That moment changed everything. He and Sofia would never take a chance like that again. He’d nearly seen his life flash before him when her brothers walked into that kitchen.
He’d been so damn worried about what her brothers would say when they found out, he never even had time to worry about being a teen dad. Now that it was over and he could think clearer, he couldn’t believe how stupid they’d been.
He dropped down on his bed, his heart still feeling the effects of the past few days. He text back the two words that had come to him as the relief manifested.
Thank God!
*
Alex was in the front room watching television when Sofia walked in. “Where’s Angel?”
Sofia had a feeling that would be the first thing he’d ask. “With Sarah.”
There was no hiding the annoyance. “So how’d you get home?”
He already knew the answer to this. She didn’t know why he bothered. “Eric was already at the restaurant so he offered to bring me home.”
“I’m sure he did,” Alex muttered.
Sofia smiled as she reached the stairs. Even though her brother’s clout had begun to weaken, she and Eric were more cautious now than ever. After the scare they had, Sofia couldn’t believe Eric had actually been worried that she would want to continue taking chances. She might’ve taken risks before, but getting hit with such a huge reality check was enough to scare her straight. They were still sneaking around, and they still did things that came awfully close, but the memory of the agonizing worry they’d gone through made it easy to hold off.
Of course, Sofia still planned to do it again eventually. But for now, even using condoms was too risky. Sofia wanted to wait until she was on the pill, but she wouldn’t even think about asking her mom until she had the go-ahead on having a boyfriend. That was still weeks away. Even then, she wanted her mom to let the idea of her having a boyfriend simmer. It could be months before they tried it again.
She got no argument from Eric there. He said the image of her brothers walking into the kitchen that day and what he felt when he thought she might tell them would be with him forever. He’d even had nightmares.
It wouldn’t be too long, and in the mean time, they found plenty of other ways to keep themselves satisfied without the risks. As much as Alex thought he was keeping them apart, he had no idea.
*
Eric got the text just as he walked into the flower shop.
Guess who’s allowed to have a boyfriend as long as she keeps up her grades? =)
He smiled. Sofia had told him when she turned seventeen she was going to talk to her parents about it. She certainly hadn’t wasted any time. Here it was the morning of her birthday and she’d already done it.
Another text came through before he could respond.
I’ll have to start looking for one.
He called her back, instead of responding to the text, and walked out of the flower shop to talk. She answered on the first ring.
“You’re not funny, Sof,” he said, smiling.
She giggled. “My mom was kind of surprised. I guess we haven’t been as discreet as we thought. She said she thought you were already my boyfriend.”
“Are you telling your brothers?” Eric closed his eyes and waited for her response.
“Only if they ask. I’m not gonna announce it or anything.”
The nerves began to stir inside him. He wanted nothing more than to be Sofie’s boyfriend—have the whole world know it, too, but Sofie
was so brazen. Even if they were a couple, he still had every intention of being respectful in front of her brothers. He wasn’t sure Sofia would be with him on that. Especially because Angel could never quite keep his hands off Sarah, no matter who was around.
Even with the okay from her parents, it would still be interesting to see what her brothers had to say about it. He knew they wouldn’t be thrilled, but Angel had been cool about them holding hands prom night. After what happened at the beach that night, when Angel and Sarah finally arrived, Sofia never once let go of Eric’s hand. Angel and Eric had exchanged a glance, but he hadn’t objected. He knew Sarah had a hand in that. She’d softened Angel. Alex would be a whole other story.
Once off the phone, he walked back into the flower shop. He’d planned on getting Sofia a light flower arrangement and a regular happy birthday balloon. Instead, he picked out a heart shaped balloon with the words I love you, and a dozen roses. He had them delivered.
He felt a little flutter in his stomach as he sat in his car. He’d done it now. They’d know in just a few hours.
Later that afternoon, someone honked outside his house. He walked out and saw Sofia sitting in a white Ford Fiesta. She smiled from ear to ear. He’d been expecting her. Sofia had gotten her license finally and Angel had told him on the down low what his parents were up to for her birthday.
“I got a car!” she yelled out of the window. “C’mon, I’ll take you for a ride.”
She told him Alex had been the one to get the door when the flowers arrived. As expected, he wasn’t happy about it, but after realizing he had no choice in the matter, he told her he’d be warning Eric of a few things in person. She gave Eric a heads up.
“Basically, him and Angel are gonna make sure you know the rules,” she laughed, “as if we haven’t broken them all already.”
She reached over and squeezed his thigh. Eric squeezed her hand and looked into the side mirror. If he didn’t know her brothers so well, the thought of those two following them wouldn’t have even crossed his mind.
Sofia drove to the beach and parked. It was a cloudy day and there were hardly any people there. Only k thnow in ja few other cars were in the parking lot. The second the car was off, they were all over each other. Eric stopped a few times, breathlessly, to look around. He just couldn’t put it past her brothers to be watching them, but the coast seemed clear. Sofia reached down and unzipped his pants.
“Sofie, not here.”
She smiled. “Why not? No one can see what I’m doing.”
He should’ve known when she parked in the most isolated corner what she had in mind. A second later, he dropped his head back in sheer delight, forgetting about everything.
***
Months after becoming an official couple, Sofia was still trying to conjure up the nerve to talk to her mom about getting on the pill. So the night her mom knocked on her bedroom door had come as a huge surprise.
“Are you busy?”
Sofia pulled both earphones out of her ears. It was how she always did her homework. She sat on her bed, legs crossed, with her binder over her legs. She moved the book next to her and patted it for her mom to sit.
Her mom sat down and took a deep breath. She glanced around the room. She didn’t come in her room often. Sofia had a collage on her wall of her and Eric. Pictures of them even from when they were kids. She didn’t like how chubby she looked in some, but the memories were so heartwarming, she couldn’t bear not putting them up. Her mom smiled. “You two were so young, but I think that boy was in love with you even back then.”
Sofia smiled and nodded. “That’s what he says.”
Her mom touched her hand. “And you were with him, as well?”
For some reason that made her blush. Was it that obvious? “Yeah, I think so.”
Her mom stared at the collage for a while longer before speaking. Without looking at Sofia, she said, “I know things are getting serious between you two… and I know as much as your brothers think they can keep you two from…”
Sofia cringed. Her mom had the talk with her years ago, but not in direct correlation with anyone specific. “Mom—”
“Let me finish, Sofia.” She squeezed Sofia’s hand. She seemed as nervous about this as Sofia. Though that still didn’t help. “You’re father and I—”
“Daddy?” Sofia sat up. This was so much worse now.
“Your father and I,” her mother continued, disregarding Sofia’s mortification, “we really didn’t think we’d have to deal with this so soon. You see, with your brothers being the way they are, we honestly thought it’d be years before anyone dare come around,” she chuckled. “Little did they know, he’d been around all along.”
Her mother held Sofia’s hand in both of hers now. “We may be old school, Sofie, but we’re not naïve. We know your brothers have been active for years. As much as we would like you to wait… we don’t want you taking any chances. You have your entire life ahead of you.”
Excitement began to replace the mortification. Was her mom really saying what she thought she was?
“We want you to get on the birth control—”
“Okay!” She placed her hand over her mouth, realizing her mom hadn’t expected her to agree so quickly.
Her mom cleared her throat. “You do understand becoming sexually active changes everything, don’t you?” Sofia nodded. “Everything is turned up a notch—a major notch. And once you go there you can never go back. I mean,” she paused, “you decide how much or how often, but if there is ever anyone else—”
“There won’t be.” Her mom was less obvious than her brothers with the ‘you’re being naïve’ look but Sofia could spot it a mile away. She sat up straighter and reiterated, “There won’t be.”
Her mom finally conceded with a smile. “Okay.” She leaned over and kissed Sofia on the forehead, then stood up. “I’ll make an appointment for you this week.”
Sofia jumped up from the bed and hugged her mother. “Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mija.” She raised an eyebrow. “Now, we both know this is your business and no one else’s, but I’m sure your brothers will see it otherwise. Be discreet, Sofia. I don’t have to tell you what might happen if they ever walk in on—”
“Oh God, I know. Don’t worry.”
As soon as her mother left her room, Sofia grabbed her phone and texted Eric.
Guess what?
His response was immediate.
?
She was so excited she couldn’t text fast enough.
I’m getting on the pill this week. My mom’s taking me.
A second later, her phone rang.
“What happened?”
Sofia gushed as she told him about the entire conversation. When she was done, he was silent for a moment. His only response, “So your dad knows?”
Sofia couldn’t help laughing.
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CHAPTER 7
Change is good
Adapting to Eric no longer being in school with her wasn’t easy. He was also going to college and working now, so that made it harder for them to be together as often as Sofia would have liked.
Sofia was a senior now. School was far more demanding and she was still on the track team. She was not about to give her parents a reason to take back her permission to have a boyfriend, not that at this point anything could keep her and Eric apart, but she liked not having to sneak around. So she spent a lot of time studying.
One of the biggest changes now that Angel and Eric were no longer in school with her was boys were really opening up to Sofia. It was new and exciting, but Eric’s senior ring hung on the chain around her neck, faithfully. Still, that didn’t mean she never flirted. With her brothers gone, she discovered just how big a flirt she could be, and she relished it.
As the year went by, she and Eric fell into a routine. During the week, they saw so much less of each other than they had the year before and that past summer, but it work
ed out. She was just glad Eric hadn’t gone away to school. She would’ve never lived through that. Even now, she saw less of him during the week, but she saw him at least twice and they spoke every day, not to mention texted all the time, and of course, they made love frantically, every chance they got.
Late her senior year, while Eric was busy cramming for finals, she finally decided to show up and surprise him at his job. He worked in a big home electronics store at the mall. She’d stopped by at his job before, but he was always so busy he hardly had time to visit with her. So she hadn’t dropped in on him in a while. This was the longest they’d gone in a while without seeing each other. He’d been busy cramming for finals all week. She could tell he was a little worried about his grades, so she stayed away and let him study.
It was a Friday night and the place was busy. It only took her a moment to spot him. He was helping a customer, and she decided to go around the aisle and come up from behind him, to surprise him. She strolled up and waited for him to finish with the customer.
The girl he helped looked older than Sofia. Sofia hadn’t paid attention to the conversation until the girl laughed a little too loud. Then Eric laughed with her.
“Eric, you know I’m a tech idiot,” the girl teased, “that software you installed for me on Tuesday is still sitting there on my computer, untouched. You’re gonna hav kresede to come over and install this one for me.”
“How hard is it to put the disc in and follow the prompts?”