XXIX.

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I held Maria's hair back as she continued to lose her lunch in the restroom

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I held Maria's hair back as she continued to lose her lunch in the restroom. I had never been more grateful that I wasn't a sympathetic puker.

"Oh God! I hate vomit." Julian gagged as he peeked through the door.

Guess he was a sympathetic puker.

"Then. Get. The. Hell. OUT!" Maria croaked angrily through her dry heaving, and poor Julian scurried away.

I rubbed her back soothingly and gave her a wet towel to wipe her face.

"You're a trooper, Maria. A warrior, really." I praised, and Maria groaned in despair.

"This is the worst. Like, honest to God, the worst," Maria complained.

"Just wait until your child launches out of your vagina!" Josh called out and I winced at the withering glare Maria sent to the door.

"You guys aren't helping!" I scolded and helped Maria up. "Are you sure you don't want to tell Xavier about your morning sickness? At this rate, you won't be able to hide it from him much longer."

"No way in hell. He'll use any excuse to put me on bedrest. I need my last few moments of freedom before I have a nagging mother hen on my ass for the rest of my pregnancy. It's already bad enough that he is eying how much nutrients I am eating," Maria muttered. "Pretty sure it's first trimester nerves. I told the man not to look up any pregnancy statistics."

"Why don't you lie down and rest?" I suggested but Maria waved me off, plopping herself on a recliner.

"My mother's coming to visit and Xavier will be here any moment. I'm not moving anytime soon. If I do need help, they won't run away like cowards," Maria said casually and gestured to the guilty party.

"What? Our sister talked on and on about the tearing and how everything practically turned into one–"

I clamped my hand over Julian's mouth with wide eyes.

"I don't think this is the best time to mention that," I whispered with flushed cheeks. A shudder ran through me at the visual. "We are here to encourage and support her– not scare the snot out of her with pregnancy horror tales," I said with a fake smile.

"Yes, I would like my snot to come out naturally," Maria huffed, leaning back and resting her feet. I joined her in another seat. Josh rested against the wall while Julian decided to spread out on the floor. "Thank the heavens you two aren't doulas or midwives."

I rubbed my temples in emotional exhaustion.

It'd been a couple hours since the meeting with Xavier and Damon. I went straight to Maria for some girl time. It lasted for about ten minutes when the twins barged in, claiming it was a 'matter of my security'. While the twins were driving the two of us nuts, it felt nice having a bit of normalcy – well, as normal as it could be.

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