chapter 6

Katya My hips hurt, my stomach hurts, everything hurts as my body stretches. I rock like an old lady, trying to heave myself from the couch, when Mateo calls out to me. Getting to my feet, I start climbing the steps. We need an elevator. My fat ass is not made for stairs, and I don’t want to know how ridiculous I must look whenever I waddle up. “Babe?” Mateo sings out again. “I’m coming, hold your horses,” I snap, climbing the next steps. Honestly, I am genuinely surprised he is calling me up. He has rarely let me on the third level for the last week, using all sorts of excuses, my pregnancy being the most popular one. We have slept in the guest rooms downstairs for the entire week, too. Partly because I am too tired to climb the stairs all the time, but mainly because upstairs sounded like demolition was going on. It was too loud, and the sudden noises kept startling me. Mateo is always doing something up there, and Ezra would help when done with pack business. Those two are plotting