Page 222 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

We found Bells cursing at the pan on the stove.

“What are you doing, Bells?” I asked.

“I was hungry so I wanted to make us all breakfast, but this thing won’t cook!” She pouted, pointing at the pan as if it was purposely offending her.

“You have the back burner on, not the front one,” Chris chuckled.

“Did I mentioned I was also sleepy when I came down the stairs,” Bells countered sheepishly.

“I’ve got you. Go sit with the other pregnant lady.”

“Ugh, you’re the best. Violet, hang onto this man.”

“I plan to,” I chuckled.

Bells’ phone rang as Chris was dishing up the food and after a brief conversation, she jumped up and down happily. “What’s up?”

“The inspection passed and the buyers have signed all the paperwork. They have to leave the country soon, so the realestate agent is picking up the keys today instead of the day after tomorrow. We can finally fucking leave!”

“Cool! When’s he coming?” I asked.

“In an hour. Eat up and go pack. We’re blowing this joint!” She stood and did a little shimmy in between bites, but then she swayed on the spot. “Whoa.”

“Are you okay, Bells?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think I just moved too fast.” She shook her head and smiled at me, sitting back down and grabbing her fork. “I’m just excited to get out of here.”

I eyed her but said nothing. Instead, I turned to Chris.

“We’ll go finish packing after breakfast?”

“We should shower, too. We won’t get a chance again until we pull over for the night.”

“Good idea,” Bells said, munching on her food with renewed enthusiasm.

We were on the road three hours later. Bells called Cory and Mom and Dad, while Chris drove her truck. She made sure to ask for a private dinner when we arrived. She didn’t want an audience right away.

I was sitting in the passenger seat, while Bells made herself comfortable with one of Adam’s stuffed toys in the back. Chris already warned us not to ask for the keys. He didn’t want the pregnant women to be stressing over traffic. I’ve never driven a truck, so I was okay not having to deal with it, but Bells insisted that she was more than capable of driving when she wasn’t even showing yet. It wasn’t quite true, her usually flat and toned stomach was already showing signs of a bump, and her overnight bag had nothing but loose shirts to hide it.

Not very far into the drive, Bells fell asleep against the window, and it was just Chris and I mind-linking the whole drive so we didn’t wake her.

I tried waking her when we stopped for gas, but she refused to get off the truck. She slept until we stopped at a diner for lunch, and I struggled to wake her and convince her to join us.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Bells?” I eyed her falling asleep as we ate our burgers.

“What? Yeah, I’m okay. Just tired. Growing these pups is tuckering me out. Cory mentioned this happened to Evie with the twins, so that’s probably just what’s happening.”

Although I was more in my head than anything during those days, I did briefly recall Cory asking Dad about it, so I let it go. Once Bells finished her burger, we used the facilities, fueled up, and continued on our journey. Bells fell asleep minutes after the truck hit the highway again, and remained that way until Chris pulled over at a hotel for the night.

“How can I help you?” The receptionist greeted us at the front desk.

“We need a room with two king-size beds, please,” Chris answered.

“What? No. You guys need privacy. I can take another room,” Bells called out behind us, ending her sentence with a yawn.

“Just one, two king-size beds,” Chris confirmed.

Bells harrumphed, but I could see she was grateful for it. We filed into the room after checking in, and Bells was the first in the shower.

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