Punished (Calavera Hotels #1)

Chapter Thirty-Five Mireya

I’m in my apartment bathroom, peeing over a pregnancy stick. No big deal. With final exams, work, and fucking Adrian, it turns out I forgot to take my birth control again. Don Cheetos barges through the door and looks at me.

“Stop judging me,” I say to the cat and grab my phone to set a timer. I look through my text messages and laugh when I see Alma’s text.

Alma: Why did no one tell me Axel’s fine ass was in town?

She sends a picture of Axel to the group chat she shares with Thalia and I. Axel is standing with Adrian outside the lobby elevator. I smile when I see Adrian. He’s wearing brown Dickies pants, a white shirt, and all white shoes, the color complimenting his skin tone. He always had a laid back style, but it is the body I know is hidden beneath the clothing that makes my knees weak.

Thalia: Stalker

Thalia and I's relationship is still on the rocks. She took me to the compound the other night, and things seemed like they had a chance of going back to normal, but she has been quiet at work. Almost like she is avoiding me. Adrian says it has nothing to do with me and to give her time. My phone timer goes off, and I walk back into the bathroom to read the test. There is no ‘yes’ or ‘no’, just a little arrow pointing to a book. I pull out the instructions and try to figure out what it means. I’m sure it means something along the line of “stop having unprotected sex and study, puta.” I laugh to myself, but then remember this is no laughing matter. I don’t know if I’m ready for a kid right now. After reading over everything, I figure out the symbol means there was an error and I need to take another test. Thankfully, I bought the pack with two.

This is scarier than watching the Blair Witch before a camping trip. I go to down some ice-cold water. I can’t have a baby with Adrian. I don’t even know how he feels about me. I already told him I love him, and he did introduce me as his girlfriend, so obviously, he wants to be with me. I’m not sure it means forever, though. He has his ways of showing me he loves me, but I just don’t know if it’s like real, durable, have-my-babies-and-forever kind of love.

What I do know is that since he came back into my life, it’s like I’m slowly finding myself. He’s forcing me to speak up for myself and what I want, even outside the bedroom. When I’m not around him, I want to be, and when I am with him, I want the minutes to turn into hours. There is so much that I still don’t know or understand about what Adrian does. About what any of the Consuelos really do for a living. I know they are involved with the cartel, and have pieced together the basic idea. I don’t ask much because I know deep down I don’t want to know all the details; I’d love him, regardless. Even when I thought our paths would forever be separated, the universe led us back to each other for a reason. I would hold on to that.

I finish folding the laundry, and go to take another test. I try the dipping method, since a girl on YouTube swears it to be the most effective way. My ass is still sore from the other night, so I rub some cream on it and smile at the thought. How he fulfilled my fantasy of fucking me in my sleepwalking state. I thought I would wake up scared and violent, like I did with the girls that one time, but when I awoke and saw it was him, the violent urges only sparked my arousal. It excited me. Like that moment before a rollercoaster drops, or jumping off the high dive into freezing cold water.

I hear a knock on the door and place the test on the sink as I go to answer it. When I open the door, I feel a sharp pain in my face. After being hit in the face, I stumble backward, and a black cloth bag is placed over my head. I try to fight against it, but I’m too late. I can’t see anything, but I can hear voices. One I recognize well–my mother’s. I plead through the bag for her to release me. I am going to suffocate in here.

“Stop crying, Mireya. You look ugly when you cry.”

A male voice appears from the bathroom. “You might want to take a look at this.”

I calm my breathing enough to focus on the voice; I don’t recognize it. His footsteps draw near to me, and I can barely concentrate while my mother ties my hands together.

“It’s a pregnancy test,” the voice says. My mother squeezes the rope tighter.

“Nothing we can’t take care of.” A minute ago, I was unsure if I wanted a kid, but now I’m afraid I won’t have a choice. And for once, I’m glad she covered my face as I silently let the tears fall, fear growing in the pit of my stomach as I imagine the lengths she’ll go to punish me and my baby.