Bittersweet

Olalla entered the women's washroom and spotted Ava directly by the sink. As much as she didn't like to nor want to admit it, the female grew concerned as Ava wiped away the sweat from her forehead before wiping her mouth clean with another tissue. She let out a shaky breath, calming her body down as she no longer wanted to be sick again.

"What do you want?" Ava asked without taking her eyes away from the mirror. She readjusted her hair before taking out her makeup bag. She reapplied her eyeliner then redid her lips. Olalla crossed her arms as she continued to watch the dark haired blonde.

"I came to check on you, believe it or not." her words left Ava stunned. "Not that I care either, but how are you?"

"I'm fine," groaned Ava. She held her stomach. She could still taste the remaining sickly substance in her mouth. It was too early to feel movement yet but she couldn't help it. Ava's stomach was rough and hard. Olalla glanced down to where Ava held her hand and smirked. She gave Ava a knowing look.

"And the baby?" Olalla asked, stunning Ava completely. A satisfactory smile gleamed on the Spaniard's face as she watched Ava tremble with fear.

"H-how did you..?"

"Oh please! Don't treat me as if I'm dumb, Ava. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." the brunette practically bickered. "I have two young children, you remind when I was like it myself and FYI, it's not a pretty picture." she continued.

Ava gave her the silent treatment as Olalla began to ask more questions about the pregnancy. The young woman didn't feel like answering until another one of Olalla's questions hit a nerve and took her off guard.

"Does Miguel know?"

"No offence Olalla, but it's really none of your business." Ava snapped, glaring down the Spaniard. Anger raised in her voice. "I'm done here, and leaving." Ava packed away her makeup into her clutch before stepping around Olalla. She was nearly out the door until the brunette grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. She had a firm grip causing Ava to struggle.

"Don't think I didn't see you earlier, the way you were gawking at Fernando- your eyes constantly all over my husband." Rage overtook Ava's body as Olalla's emphasis on the 'my husband' sent her into displeasure. Fernando wasn't a possession. She didn't have the right to control him and she certainly didn't own him.

"I wasn't gawking." Ava growled through her teeth as if she was offended. She hardly had the nerve to glance at Fernando all night. His constant staring made her nervous.

"Whatever." Olalla said, rolling her eyes. She still had her hand gripped tight on Ava's wrist and she smiled once the blonde tried to rip her hand free.

"Let go of me." Ava ordered, pulling her hand away hard, leaving her jumping away a little from the impact of the force. Olalla closed the gap between them which Ava then backed away slightly. She could see the strong hate in Olalla's eyes as if she was telling Ava to stay away. This was a woman not to be messed with.

"I warned you once, don't make me do it again." Olalla tried to threaten leaving Ava to gulp as panic set in. "Stay away or else, because you really don't wanna mess with m," she said. "Got it?" with one last glare, Olalla backed away and left Ava alone in the restroom.

Ava had never felt so defenseless.

-

The next day when Ava woke up, her head throbbed from a sudden headache. She squinted her eyes open as the sun shined through the curtains. Not a single sound came from anywhere in the house which meant either Juan and Latoya had left for work or it was still early and they were asleep. Ava thought back to the events of last night where Olalla gave her a strict warning in the women's toilets. She remembered walking out after her and asking Miguel to take her home but everything else after that was peachy. The female reached over to her bedside cabinet and grabbed her phone where she saw a text from an unknown number and one from Miguel.

'I'm sorry we didn't get to say goodbye properly but I hope you feel better soon A x' - Miguel
'I never got a chance to tell you but I hope you get well soon, you took a pretty nasty fall last night, F xx'

'Wait, fall?' Ava thought, no wonder her head was throbbing. It felt like someone was hammering into her skull. Getting out of bed, Ava headed for a quick shower before dressing into some comfortable clothes. She wore a grey vest top with a black zip hoodie cardigan over the top and leggings. Just after breakfast, Ava had rung the hospital to make an appointment to see a doctor. She hoped they would have an available slot open today and she was happy when the woman on the phone said they did. Ava took it without a question and before she knew it, Ava had an appointment. She wrote a quick note for Latoya to say where she was going but didn't say why. Latoya would know anyway. She put on her converse sneakers then grabbed her car keys, leaving the house quietly.

Ava sat nervously in the waiting room 20 minutes later where several other patients were. One guy wouldn't stop coughing his guts up which drove Ava to feel sick again. The young woman tried to remain calm but most of the time, she couldn't stop fidgeting. Ava knew what the doctor was about to tell her. It would change her life forever.

"Miss Garcia? We're ready for you." a nurse called out for her. Ava stood and the redhead nurse politely offered her a kind smile. Ava could feel her knees becoming weak as she entered the small room and sat down on one of the chairs across from the nurse. "So, Ava is it?" asked the redhead who was reading down on a clipboard. Ava nodded. "What can we do for you?"

"I've been getting sick a few times these last few months. I eat normal meals everyday and I just can't keep anything down. I haven't been sleeping too great either, I get light headed." Ava explained to the nurse who wrote notes on Ava's file. "I just thought it was stress, a bug until yesterday when I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive twice so I thought-"

"You'd come and get it confirmed for certain, OK." the nurse looked over her sheet again before explaining to Ava what was going to happen. She told Ava to take a urine sample and then they'd do the rest. The result wouldn't take long and before she knew it, the result came back. Ava was definitely pregnant. "If you would just lie down for me Ava, Dr. Nixon will be here shortly to do an ultrasound." the redhead instructed. After a short wait, a tall blonde entered the room, smiling cheerfully. She clearly looked around Ava's age, maybe just a little older but she was certainly in her 20's. The doctor greeted herself as Naomi before she glanced down at Ava's file. She asked Ava several questions then explained what was going to happen with the ultrasound. Naomi carried out the scan as required to check the baby's condition. Ava freaked when Naomi applied the gel onto her abdomen. The blonde knew Ava would be nervous seeing as this was her first time.

When it finally appeared on the screen, Ava held her breath. "And there we are," said Naomi, positively. "You just passed 13 weeks, so it appears you're now 14 weeks pregnant Ava."

"What?" Ava said in disbelief. That long and she hadn't noticed the signs. Just the thought of a baby growing inside of her made her look to Naomi with worry. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive." Naomi grinned. "You conceived on December 12th which means your due date will be around September 7th." Naomi pointed to the screen and Ava held her breath again as she glanced to the monitor. There on the screen in black and white was a tiny image of a baby. Her baby. She gaped in amazement. Just the sight of it brought tears to Ava's eyes. She'd never seen something so beautiful in all her life. "Congratulations." the doctor said.

"Thank you," Ava said in a whisper. Naomi handed her a tissue to wipe away the clinging tears that stained her cheeks before rubbing off the gel and sitting up on the chair.

"Everything looks great, you have a nice healthy baby so I'll go fetch you the copies from the scan and then we can discuss about booking your next ultrasound." Naomi said, smiling down at Ava before disappearing from sight. Ava was so focused on the screen, she hadn't heard Naomi return. "Here you are," she said, handing over the printed copies. "I'll be your personal midwife and ultrasound technician from now on so if you have any questions or you need any help-advice at all, things like that, don't be afraid to call in, get in touch with me because it's what I'm here for."

"Yeah, I was just wondering." Ava stuttered, obviously still in shock from the scan. "I never knew I was expecting or realised there's a baby growing inside of me. That doesn't make me a bad person, right?"

"It doesn't at all, in fact it's common for women. If you are under a lot of stress or have been experiencing problems lately, your full concentration is mainly on your emotions so it's normal to think you just have a small bug when really, you're actually pregnant. Like you said earlier when I asked if you were on the pill and you said yes, whether you used protection or not, you automatically think there's nothing wrong until you either see the signs or in this case, your friend spotted something different about you." Naomi clarified. "It's nothing to worry about." Ava took in Naomi's words before giving her a thankful smile. Naomi knew exactly what she was talking about and Ava clearly trusted her. She was the sort of person the young woman needed right now. Ava would certainly take on her offer about help and advice. "Okay Ava, your next ultrasound with me will be in 5 weeks time so I'll see you then."

Ava sent her a small nod before placing her black hoodie on and heading out the room. She entered the outside world with a confident smile. A part of her was still wary with nerves. There was no doubt the next few months were going to go fast. She was going to need all the help she could get but as long as Ava had people around her, she'd be fine. Ava's full concern was now telling the father and her parents.

-

When Ava arrived back at the house, it had just turned noon. Entering the building, Ava heard raised voices coming from the dining room. She didn't think it was anything serious until she walked in on Latoya and Juan's arguing and found them both staring straight back at her.

"Um, is everything alright?" she asked, growing quite concerned. She glanced to Juan who had his arms crossed while Latoya gave her an apologetic look.

"No offence Ava, but could you leave the room, we were kinda having an important conversation."

"What you can say to me you can say in front of Ava, Juan." Latoya shot back. Latoya wasn't a girl to be messed around with when she was cross and it didn't take long to make her angry. Latoya was a proud female and whatever opinion she had, she was never afraid to let loose and say it. Juan hesitated a second; he sighed.

"I found these in the bathroom." Juan spoke nervously, holding up two pregnancy test boxes. Ava and Latoya's eyes widened at the sight and caught one another's gaze. "Latoya, if you have something to tell me, you better come clean now."

"You didn't empty the trash? You were supposed to like I told you to." Ava interrupted and Juan gave her a confused look.

"Wait- you know about this?"

"Oh course I know." she confirmed.

"Ava, don't" Latoya butted in but Juan silenced her.

"If you're pregnant Latoya, just tell me, I need to know."

Both girls looked to one another again and Ava sighed.

"Latoya's not pregnant."

"Ava!" Latoya warned her. "No."

"I am," she said. The male Spaniard looked to her in shock and Latoya could only look to the floor in silence. "And I have scans to prove it."