Page 102 of Traitor

I took a deep breath and forced a smile before turning back around. “I can’t believe it. Kaden’s going to be a big brother—do you know what you’re having?”

Elizabeth’s smile disappeared and her eyes widened in alarm. “Lauren, are you crying?”

I tried to shake my head, but more tears gathered in my eyes. “I’m just—I’m just so happy for you.”

The stool scraped across the floor as she climbed down and came over, pulling me into her arms without another word. “There’s a reason he didn’t tell you. Oh my god, I’m such a moron. I should’ve given him a head’s up that I was going to be stopping by.”

My tears dropped one by one onto her shirt. “No, seriously. I’m so happy for you both. I just got off my period so everything makes me cry—noHallmarkchannel for me right now!” I laughed, even as my heart shattered.

She eyed me skeptically. “You’re sure?”

I nodded and tore a paper towel off the roll, holding it under my eyes as a catchall. “Oh my goodness, look at the time. I forgot I’m supposed to meet with the tile guy about redoing the downstairs bathroom. I’ve got to go.”

I walked toward the front door and held it open for her.

“Lauren—” She tried.

I waved my hand. “I’m fine. Stop asking. I just have to get over to meet with him. Call me this weekend and we’ll work on stuff for a baby shower. It’ll be great.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, still eyeing me with concern.

“Okay. Take care.” I slammed the door and locked it as the timer went off in the kitchen. On legs that no longer felt like they belonged to me, I pulled the cake from the oven and set it on the counter to cool.

Then, I wandered into the living room, anxiety wreaking havoc on my brain. An anguished sob burst from my chest, quickly followed by another, until I was wailing. I’d been able to control so much—had worked so hard to not be seen as a victim, while taking active steps to move on with my life. But, I couldn’t control my own damn body. I pulled a blanket from the chair and curled up into the fetal position on the couch, letting my tears bathe the fabric, until exhaustion pulled me under.

“Mijita, open your eyes.”Abuelita’ssharp voice forced me back to consciousness.

I blearily opened one eye and then the other.

“What has happened?” She asked as she peered into my face. Little Ricky popped up over her shoulder, along with a woman I didn’t recognize, and I jumped back in fright.

“Jesus Christ! How did you get in here?”

Abuelita made the sign of the cross before answering. “We have come withla curandera.” She wiped the still damp tears from my cheeks and pulled me into her bosom. “Come here, my LoLo. It’s okay.”

I had no idea what acuranderawas and was still more than a little confused on how she and Little Ricky managed to get into the house, but being in her arms dredged up the events from earlier, causing me to fall apart all over again.

Her hands moved up and down my back—it felt so nice to just be held and comforted.

The strange woman muttered something in Spanish, her voice raspy with age. Little Ricky turned to her and nodded before looking back toward the front door. “Torch, we’re going to need your help for this.”

I broke away fromAbuelita. “What’s happening? Why are you all here?”

Little Ricky grinned. “We’re here to get you knocked up. I was promised tamales if I helped. Same for Torch.”

I immediately scooted away from him on the couch with a look of horror, shaking my head vehemently. “Oh, no. No, no, no!”

Abuelitainterrupted my little rant. “LoLo, they are not here to make you pregnant. You need to listen to me—I know you cannot conceive.La curanderais here to help—I just needed the men for thecomo se dice?Heavy lifting. We are going to perform a fertility ritual to help open your womb.”

I hadn’t told her that I was having problems—I hadn’t even verbally told my own husband.How had she found out?Nobody else knew that we hadn’t used protection in over a year. Maybe she’d gone through the trash?

I massaged my temples, briefly wondering if all of this was a hallucination caused by my depression. “Abuelita, you cannot just show up at people’s houses and demand to perform fertility rituals on them.”

Thecuranderabegan walking around the room, picking up various knickknacks and turning them over in her hands.Abuelitafrowned. “Lauren Gloria Santiago-McGuire-Sullivan, I am an old woman and you are my only grandchild. Is it too much to ask that I receive the blessing of a great-grandchild before I die?”

I cocked my head to the side. My middle name was not Gloria, nor could she be considered elderly by any stretch of the imagination. “You’re only sixty-five, woman!”

She nodded, as Torch and Little Ricky backed slowly out of the room, clearly not willing to offer me any sort of help in the matter. “Sí, and yourAbuelowasn’t even given that, so humor me?”

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