Tangled in the Great Escape

I sighed and closed the cover of my iPad. My neck and my ass is stiff from hours of sitting on this hard surface they call chairs. Frenchi has been in labor for almost 8 hours now and still no baby. I honestly thought the process of having babies are just like in the movies, your water broke and 5 minutes later, voila!

The air was tense; everybody was anxious, impatient and maybe even scared. Outside we could here the occasional screams and grunts, but we didn’t know if it was Frenchi or someone else. I was the first one to go home and freshen up; I was feeling claustrophobic in the hospital and the stress made me crave for a stick. Avela and Jaime also went home quite a while ago to get Mike some fresh clothes and to bring Frenchi’s and the baby’s hospital bag. Mama and Papa Fuentes are with Frenchi’s dad at the cafeteria refueling while Vic and I stayed in case something happens.

I twist my body and heard the bones crack; Vic winced when he heard. I can feel my body is begging for me to move so I decided to walk around the hospital, after telling Vic to call me when something come up. I strolled towards the cafeteria, the gift shop, the coffee shop and back to the delivery floor, still nothing was happening.

“Hey, any news?” I turned around to where the sound originated from and saw Jaime and Avela walking with bags of food and Frenchi’s things.

“Nope” Vic said flatly.

“Well, I got plenty of nourishments if you guys want to eat. I can’t bear the hospital food” Avela set the bags down on the seat next to mine and I can’t help but to dig in.

“Thanks” I took the chicken stir-fry from the bag and began munching away.

I threw the empty box to the trashcan next to where Avela was sitting when I was finished. She looked up to me and smiled.

“I told Cassie. She said she’s not sleeping until the baby pops out” Avela looked at me, chuckled as she began typing on her phone.

Like magic, my stomach went into knots at the sound of her name.

Jaime snorts. “Well, I am” He said adjusting his hoodie so it falls cover his face and closed his eyes.

I didn’t want to start thinking about Cassie so I looked around to see if there’s anything else to do, Vic was busy with his laptop and Avela with her phone so I decide to follow Jaime’s lead and let my self drift into short nap.

-

I jumped awake when I felt something touching my cheek; I opened my eyes to see Mike’s face literally inches from my face.

“Rise and shine sweet boy” He said laughing.

“What? Is the baby here?” I sat up and felt my heart beats a million times faster because of the sudden awakening.

“No, she’s still at 7 centimeters. The doctor is giving her something to help push the baby out.” He sat down on one of the seats, sighing. I could feel the tired vibe on his body.

“How is she? What’s been happening?” Avela leaned forward and I can’t help but to do the same. It’s like listening to a war story.

“Well, she came in with a 3 centimeters dilation and 8 hours later she’s only at 7 so the doctor injected something into her IV to help her dilate more so the baby can come out. Since her water already broke, she fears the baby is going to be suffocated if we don’t get the it out soon”

I can hear the worry in his voice, even though he was smiling and trying to play it all down.

“And Frenchi? She’s still going strong?” Mama Fuentes piped from behind me. I didn’t even realize she was there.

“Yeah, she’s a really tough cookie. The doctor offered her epidural but she insisted that she do this normally.”

“She’s okay with you being out here?” Jaime asked.

“Yeah, she told me to get something to eat or drink. I got a bit light headed back there”

“Here, take this. Must be low blood sugar” Avela throw him a bottle of orange juice.

Mike gulped the entire thing within seconds and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Is Cassie in the loop? I promised to give her news but I literally can’t think right now”

“Yeah, I talked to her earlier. She wished you and Frenchi luck”

There it is again, the weird knots.

“How you feelin’ man?” I asked, brushing off that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Nervous, but good. It’s pretty scary there, I can’t stand the look on her face every time–“

“Hey, how is she?” Our heads turned to where the sound came from and I can tell you for sure, without looking, that all of our jaws were on the floor. I turned to where Vic was sitting, his face was as hard as a rock and his expression was unreadable.

“What are you doing here Rachel?” Avela asked after seconds of awkward silence.

“I heard Frenchi was having the baby and I wanted to see how she was doing. You guys were pretty frantic in the group chat, so I thought I’d come by and–“

“Come by and what, Rachel? You don’t get to just waltz here like we still want you around” Mama Fuentes got up and got in Rachel’s face.

Rachel was stunned. Her mouth was gaping open and honestly I think all of ours were. As if it wasn’t bad enough, a guy clad in a fitting white polo shirt with khaki pants walked up behind her.

“And this is?” Mama Fuentes asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Travis” He stepped from behind Rachel and offered his hand to Mama Fuentes.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!” Suddenly Vic’s voice roared as he jumped up from his seat and charged towards where Travis was standing.

Jaime and I instinctively stood up and held Vic back from beating the guy into a bloody pulp. Rachel had a terrified look on her face and took a few steps back.

“Get him out of here” Mama Fuentes said sternly to Jaime and without words he dragged Vic out from the waiting room.

“I…I’m sorry I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, I just thought… Well Frenchi is still my friend and I want to be her for her. I don’t want to miss this” Defended Rachel as soon as she gained composure.

“Excuse me?” Mama Fuentes stepped forward, closing the gap between her and Rachel.

“Ma” Mike came over and held her back. “Cálmate. I’ll handle it” Mike walked Mama Fuentes back to her seat then walked back to where Rachel and Travis were standing.

“Look, my wife is in the middle of pushing a human being out of her. So I would appreciate it IF YOU WOULD FUCK OFF AND LEAVE” He screamed the half end of the sentence to their faces and just like that, they both scurried away like two scared rats.

I looked over to Avela and we both were suppressing a smile. ‘Fuck!’ I mouthed to her and she gave me a look that says ‘shut up/I know right’.

Papa Fuentes stepped up to Mike and chucked his chin towards the doors. “I think you should go back inside, maybe things are–“

“FUUUUUUUUCK! MIIIIKE!”





It was dark and gloomy outside, pretty bumming since it’s April and it supposed to be bright and bloomy plus, I had the entire day planned out and the dismal weather made the late afternoon seemed like evening, making it pointless to be out and about. A couple of days ago I browsed the web for tourist attraction nearby (I was bored out of my mind, sue me) and found this strip of Victorian houses that was just insanely beautiful. I thought I’d go and take some pictures to send back home. Actually, I wasn’t bummed; I was pissed. ‘Bummed’ would be an understatement.

So, I did what every sane but lonely girl would do. I called my (only) friend and invited him over for a meal and to just hang out. It took me a while to figure out what I was going to cook for both of us, since I’ve been spending all my time at the office, I almost always eat out and didn’t get a chance to grocery shop. Thankfully, I manage to whip up something decent: boneless chicken breasts with steamed veggies and homemade wedges.

“Do you have wine?” Callum asked, opening the fridge.

“I’m out. I didn’t have time to go shopping” I shrugged. “I have whiskey though?”

He laughed. “Way too early for whiskey” He went back to the living room and plop himself down on the couch.

I was happy with the way things had turned out with Callum and me. Even though he is with his girlfriend now, he would still come by to hang out or ask me out for coffee. Things were basically the same, minus the sex.

“So I’ve been hearing stuff about you and Robyn” I heard Callum talk from the living room.

“And?”

“Well, do you wanna talk about it?” He sat up so he can see me in the kitchen.

“Not really. I mean there’s really nothing to talk about. Everybody hates me and it’s all because of you”

“Hey! Come on, that’s not fair” Defended Callum. He stood up, walking towards me sporting a guilty look.

“I was just kidding” I laughed. “But really though, there’s nothing new. Ever since she kind of proclaimed her love for me everything just goes to shit,” I mumbled the half end of the sentence.

“Come again?”

“She’s gay, apparently and oh! She hates you too for hooking up with me”

“Robyn’s gay? And she… what? All this time she was fancying you?” He had this look that would make cartoon characters look normal.

“Yes. Why? Do you not think I’m lovable?” I raised my eyebrow, pretending to be hurt.

“No, you’re too damaged to be loved” He snorts and turned back to the couch.

You got that right. I chuckled to myself.

“Do you me to put on a movie or what?”

“Yeah sure, pick whatever” I said waving my hand in a ‘whatever’ manner.

As you can probably tell, I am not very good at making friends. I’ve been in London for almost half a year now and the only person I can call a friend is only. San Diego was different, when I moved there was practically smothered by affection from the guys and their girlfriends. I didn’t know whether they’re doing it out of pity or they actually like me, but I didn’t actually care, I was in no position to pass up friends. People here, even if you initiate the first conversation, are more reserved than people back home, making friends here takes more effort and honestly, I don’t have that kind of confidence and/or trust.

Because Callum is my only friend, my life here is as boring as… Hah, I don’t even know what to compare it with. All I do is go to work, do as much overtime as I legally could, go home, watch TV and repeat it the next day.

I was getting more and more sure to terminate my contract after the year is up, but as soon as I thought about coming back, a million things come up in my head to why I shouldn’t. I was honestly ashamed to admit that Tony is still there, somewhere up on that list.

The sound of the oven alarm beeping brought me back from my thoughts. I grabbed an oven mitt and took out the fragrant meal, placing it on the plate before serving.

“Great, I’m starving!” Callum rubbed his hands together and making slurping noises before he sat down.

We went halfway through the meal until Callum started the conversation.

“How come your cell isn’t beeping with messages from back home?” He laughed.

“I don’t know, I’m sure they’re busy with their own life. Because they have one” I rolled my eyes, I wasn’t really sure why I was being so bitter about it.

“You do have one, you just choose not to live it,” He said quietly to his plate of half eaten chicken.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I put down my fork; seriously, I was in no mood to take shit from people.

He sighed and put his fork down as well. “You’re being really childish, sorry to say. You have been given this great opportunity to work in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and all you do, since you got here, is complain”

“How can you say that? You know what I’ve been through, how could you be so mean?” I was really hurt by what he said; I can’t believe he thought of me that way.

“You got your heart broken! And instead of picking them up, with dignity, you walk around with it plastered on your forehead for other people to see. Get a bloody grip Cassie, I’m honestly tired of this”

I could feel my face burning up with anger and my hands were trembling. I was at a loss of words and it was like I was put a spell on that made me freaking catatonic.

“Cassie, I’m sorry but you have to see it from my–“ I held up my hand, cutting him off before he could say anything more.

Callum let out an audible sigh before wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I guess I’ll see myself out. Thank you for a great lunch” He then stood up, grabbed his things from the couch and went out the door.

Sitting there, I was literally fuming with anger and humiliation. Deep inside, I have a feeling that maybe what he said was true, about me being a child and that I was blowing this whole thing out of proportion, but I was not about to give him the satisfaction of being right. Instead, I went on a hunt to find my phone to give Avela a full-blown rant.

I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw that Avela head beat me to the punch. The selfish part of me wishes she was just checking up on me and not have problems of her own because I honestly can’t deal right now.



I opened sat down on the couch and opened the application, it loaded for a few seconds before it popped Avela’s message on the screen. For whatever that is Holy, I nearly jumped off the couch and landed on the coffee table when I read Avela’s message.




I held my breath and brought my knees up to my chest. Holy mother of balls, I can’t believe this is happening right now!




I sent her another one before she replied.







The fact that Frenchi is right now pushing a human being out of her, literally, completely threw me on a loop. It made me think how petty and stupid I’ve been and seriously, there are far more important things to think about.

I sat up on my bed, suddenly feeling more homesick than ever. I can’t even begin to describe the empty, sickening feeling in my stomach and the stabbing pain in my chest. A trickle of tear fell onto my hand and immediately I felt embarrassed for crying, I wiped it fast and rough, as if I was afraid of other people seeing me break down over my friend’s birth announcement.

I sent her a quick reply before charging my phone on my bedside table.




After a few attempts of self-soothing, I stood up and make my way into the dining table to clear what is left of my meal with Callum. Uh, just thinking about it makes my stomach churn out of embarrassment. I know I’m going to have to call Callum and work things out because I sure as hell am not losing him too over some silly misunderstanding.

When the kitchen and the dining table were cleared, I began cleaning the fridge and pantry. I knew I would have to keep myself busy until I hear news from one of the guys or I’d probably lose my mind.

I looked over at the clock. 11:30 PM.

I sighed and let myself collapse on the couch. The apartment is now spotless and organized, I cleaned the bathroom and I even made a grocery list. All that and still nothing from the other side, so I figured a nap wouldn’t hurt anyone. Within seconds, my eyes were shut and I was off to a deep slumber.

-

The vibration from phone yanked me back to life, a little too fast, making my head spin like crazy. I forced my eyes to open, as it has been glued shut with sleep, and open the message from Jaime.




I saw the time; it was 4 AM, 8 PM in San Diego. I stretched and blinked a few times to gather the life that was scattered and went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. I took the laptop from my room and lug it out to the living room before firing it up. As soon as my Skype was connected, Jaime didn’t waste any time and his call came in straight.

“Cass? Can you see me?” He said to his front camera phone, a little bit too loud.

“Yes, yes, I can see you. What’s going on?” I asked excitedly and a little bit nervous.

Jaime walked and gave the camera to Mike, who was grinning into the camera and showed me a very tired, sweaty but smiling Frenchi.

“Cassie?” She grinned, “Meet your nephew, Axel Navarro Fuentes” She held up a tiny, bundled up little human and I could feel my breath got caught in my throat.

I was smiling so big, close to actually bursting into tears. “He’s… He’s beautiful French. Aww, I can’t… I’m really happy for you, I really am” I said with quivered lips.

“Cassie, don’t cry! You’re gonna make me cry” Frenchi laughed and I couldn’t help but too.

“How was it? I swear it took you forever to get him out!”

“He’s a stubborn one, that’s for sure, takes after her mom” Mike said chuckling and I laughed. He sure does.

“Honestly, once I heard his cry, all that pain and tiredness just went away. I couldn’t really remember what it felt like”

The call lasted for about half an hour before everybody was sent out so Frenchi could get some rest. I talked to Avela and Jaime as well. Once the call was ended, so was the euphoria, I couldn’t help but feeling blue now that I realize that was over, people back home are back to living their lives and I’m still here, alone.

I shut my laptop and dragged my feet down the hall to my room. I waste no time in falling asleep, at least by sleeping I don’t have to worry about being alone.