Her mom walked out of the kitchen and Eric started to the fridge. As he neared Sofia, he saw her eyes welling up again.

“I should tell her,” she whispered.

“No!”

“But what if I am?” Sofia was falling apart.

“What if you’re not? Give it a few more days.”

This was the worse nightmare of his life and it only got worse. The back door opened and one by one, her brothers filed in.

Sal spoke first, “What’s taking you so—” he stopped when he saw Sofia, “What’s wrong, Sof?”

All eyes were on Sofia, including Eric’s. He gulped, feeling his stomach turn violently and he almost winced from the pain. She wouldn’t throw him to the lions, would she?

“I’m not feeling well.”

“You sick?”

“Cramps.”

Mrs. Moreno walked back in the kitchen, holding the heating pad. “Did you take the aspirin?”

Sofia nodded. Eric nearly jumped out of his skin when Alex poked him. “What’s with you?” He smirked as he moved past him to get to the refrigerator.

Sofia walked out of the kitchen with her mom. Eric could only pray she wouldn’t tell her.

“Yeah, thanks for bringing out the water,” Angel said as Alex tossed him one.

After tossing Sal one too, he asked Eric if he wanted one. “No, I’m good. I gotta go.”

“I thought you were gonna hang out and work out?” Angel said, taking a swig of water.

“I gotta do this thing for my dad, but maybe later I’ll come back.”

Eric couldn’t get out of there fast enough. The second he got the chance, he texted Sofia.

PLEASE don’t tell her yet.

Her only response was, k.

After being sick again at home and walking around the house aimlessly for hours. Eric got the text from Sofia that took the weight of the world off his shou k ofpray lders.

I got it!

Never in life had he experienced such an overwhelming relief. That moment changed everything. He and Sofia would never take a chance like that again. He’d nearly seen his life flash before him when her brothers walked into that kitchen.

He’d been so damn worried about what her brothers would say when they found out, he never even had time to worry about being a teen dad. Now that it was over and he could think clearer, he couldn’t believe how stupid they’d been.

He dropped down on his bed, his heart still feeling the effects of the past few days. He text back the two words that had come to him as the relief manifested.

Thank God!

*

Alex was in the front room watching television when Sofia walked in. “Where’s Angel?”

Sofia had a feeling that would be the first thing he’d ask. “With Sarah.”

There was no hiding the annoyance. “So how’d you get home?”

He already knew the answer to this. She didn’t know why he bothered. “Eric was already at the restaurant so he offered to bring me home.”

“I’m sure he did,” Alex muttered.

Sofia smiled as she reached the stairs. Even though her brother’s clout had begun to weaken, she and Eric were more cautious now than ever. After the scare they had, Sofia couldn’t believe Eric had actually been worried that she would want to continue taking chances. She might’ve taken risks before, but getting hit with such a huge reality check was enough to scare her straight. They were still sneaking around, and they still did things that came awfully close, but the memory of the agonizing worry they’d gone through made it easy to hold off.

Of course, Sofia still planned to do it again eventually. But for now, even using condoms was too risky. Sofia wanted to wait until she was on the pill, but she wouldn’t even think about asking her mom until she had the go-ahead on having a boyfriend. That was still weeks away. Even then, she wanted her mom to let the idea of her having a boyfriend simmer. It could be months before they tried it again.

She got no argument from Eric there. He said the image of her brothers walking into the kitchen that day and what he felt when he thought she might tell them would be with him forever. He’d even had nightmares.

It wouldn’t be too long, and in the mean time, they found plenty of other ways to keep themselves satisfied without the risks. As much as Alex thought he was keeping them apart, he had no idea.

*

Eric got the text just as he walked into the flower shop.

Guess who’s allowed to have a boyfriend as long as she keeps up her grades? =)

He smiled. Sofia had told him when she turned seventeen she was going to talk to her parents about it. She certainly hadn’t wasted any time. Here it was the morning of her birthday and she’d already done it.

Another text came through before he could respond.

I’ll have to start looking for one.

He called her back, instead of responding to the text, and walked out of the flower shop to talk. She answered on the first ring.

“You’re not funny, Sof,” he said, smiling.

She giggled. “My mom was kind of surprised. I guess we haven’t been as discreet as we thought. She said she thought you were already my boyfriend.”

“Are you telling your brothers?” Eric closed his eyes and waited for her response.

“Only if they ask. I’m not gonna announce it or anything.”

The nerves began to stir inside him. He wanted nothing more than to be Sofie’s boyfriend—have the whole world know it, too, but Sofie was so brazen. Even if they were a couple, he still had every intention of being respectful in front of her brothers. He wasn’t sure Sofia would be with him on that. Especially because Angel could never quite keep his hands off Sarah, no matter who was around.