*Lokela

Ray needed a goddamn hero. He would be there for her, for her family. If his job was to support her and her sister, that was what he would do.

Using his most steady tone, he said, "Ray, call Russell. I'm sure you have him on speed dial. Have him come to the beach, now."

"Russell!" She smacked her head. A second later the phone was to her ear. "Hey, you need to come to the beach right now, we have a situation. I'm not panicking, and neither is Beth, but our calm demeanor isn't going to last much longer."

"Water," Beth gasped.

Did Lokela have a bottle of water she could have? He shot a glance at Zach, blinking dazed and confused on the sand. "Go get water at the ice-cream stand."

"What?" Zach asked.

"No, I lost my water, Ray, tell him." Beth motioned to the phone,

"Hey, Russell, Beth lost her water, and the baby is coming." She paused. "Yes, now." Pause. "What do you mean you're on the other side of town stuck in traffic? You weren't going to that store. Well, how do we get to the hospital? Call an ambulance?"

Beth shook her head. "St. Mary's. We have to go to St. Mary's."

"The clinic? That's on the other side of the island. We'd never make it. Russell, where are you exactly?"

Beth snatched the phone from her. "Sweet-heart, I need you to come because the baby is on the way now, and I don't want to give birth on the beach while tourists stick their cameras up my hoo-ha to instagram the baby's crowning, with my crazy sister, her drunk ex who cheated on her, and her roommate ex who thought it would be a good idea to end her virginity when she had a broken heart as the only people taking care of me while I birth our baby. Do you understand?" She listened for a second and then gave it back to Ray. "He's coming, but it will take a few minutes."

Ray hung up. "Not that you will actually give birth on the beach, but wouldn't you rather move to a grassy area just in case you need to lay down?"

"We have to go to St. Mary's."

"You are only four weeks early, Beth, that's barely premature. Surely the regular hospital—"

"My doctor said to get to the clinic if possible if anything went wrong."

"So, I call a taxi?"

All this time, Lokela had stood silently as the foundations of a fortress, making sure Beth didn't go anywhere or keel over. But now, he had solutions, he had ideas. "Doug can come with the van."

"Doug!" Ray pointed at him, excited. "He's here! That's right. I had a message from him that said he was at the house." She hurriedly poked at her phone. "Doug? Hey, bring the van down to the beach around the corner. But first, and get the key from under the mat. My sister's hospital bag is in the bottom of the seventeenth century cherry wood armoire in the back bedroom."

"He won't know what any of that is," Beth said, groaning. "Just make him come with the van."

"He'll know," Ray and Lokela said at the same time.

"All right," Ray said in the phone. "See you in five. Beth, we have to go up the ice-cream stand so he'll see us. Can you make it?"

"I've got her," Lokela said. "You can count on me."

"For a change," Ray hissed, as she fell alongside him.

"I can explain everything, please—"

Beth whipped up her head. "Not now. Now we walk to the ice-cream stand. We don't explain and we don't bring up past mistakes. Like wanting to have a baby in the first place."

He clamped his lips shut, unable to argue with that logic.

By the time Beth wobbled her way over the wide stretch of sand, the massive green van that Doug and the guys had rented came rolling around the corner. Lokela waved them down.

"Shouldn't someone get Zach?" Ray asked him.

They both looked back. Zach was leaning sideways, gazing out to sea. Apparently, he hadn't noticed they were gone.

Lokela sighed. Ray was chewing her lower lip, obviously torn between going back and helping her sister into the van. If it was up to him, he'd leave him there to sober up. Alone and miserable, and completely broke because he spent all his remaining money on five beers at the bar two streets away. "I'll be right back. Get your sister settled."

*Ray

Doug waved from the driver's seat as Trevor, Travis, and Miller piled from the side door.

Trevor came in for a hug. "We came to make sure you were all right. You know, tag along since Felipe wouldn't let us tie up Zach in the basement."

"I'm good. My sister is having her baby now. We need to go."

Beth nodded, tight lipped.

"Oh, pregnant lady, right," Trevor backed up several paces as if Beth's condition was contagious.

Ray groaned. "Help her in."

Miller stepped forward fastest and took Beth's arm. "Hey, Ray, nice to see you and I'm sorry about firing you and stuff."

"Just help my sister and know that I will take it very personally if you are mean to her."

"Actually," Beth said. "My pants are wet. Is there a towel I could sit on?"

"Take my shirt," Trevor said, ripping off his tee. "I never wear them anyway."

Beth clambered inside and took a seat in the middle, with Ray on the far side, Miller in the front passenger spot and the other guys behind them. Lokela arrived with Zach lurching along behind him, face decidedly green. Lokela shoved him in the very back, then sat next to Beth.

"Doug, you want to turn around and head out of town, we have to avoid traffic at all costs," Ray said. "Here, I'll get the GPS on my phone to guide you."

Doug maneuvered carefully, treating the van like a delicate flower, avoiding any sharp turns and stops. She reached forward to pat his shoulder in appreciation as Beth muttered about needing to go to the bathroom.

"Just don't push," Ray said. "This is not the time or place to bear down."

"Don't tell me what to do," Beth said.

Lokela turned towards them. "Do you need me to do anything? Hold your hand, or—"

"Wait one minute," Ray said. No matter how hard her heart pounded being near him, she reminded herself why she left the house on Waikiki in the first place. The letters addressed to her, hidden on his desk. And Zach who needed to talk to him to work it everything out. Lokela could almost trick her into forgetting who he was for a few minutes, but she wouldn't let him continue this sweet, caring boy charade. "I think you've done enough."

"Ray, I would never hurt anyone on purpose. I know I fucked up," he said.

"The baby can hear you. Watch your language." Ray pointed at Beth's belly. "If you really wanted to apologize, though, maybe you could write a letter."

"I'm done—"

The sounds of retching from the back interrupted him. Then the sharp stench of half-digested beer filled the car. Everyone gagged.

"Windows!" Beth yelled. "Open the windows!"

Doug pulled over into a small parking lot.

Zach passed out on the back seat, head lolling side to side, oblivious to the smelly mess he had created. The guys piled out of the car in search for water to clean out the mess. Beth clenched her fists and breathed in and out very slowly.

On her left, Ray huffed in anger. "This is your fault, Lokela. I don't know what you two planned on doing or what was going on, but you should never have followed me here."

"You're right, but I had to apologize to face to face and I couldn't trust Zach not to come on his own and bug you."

"Just goes to show you—you really can't trust anyone, can you?" she snapped.

"The letters I wrote were for you, but I never meant for you to think they were from Zach."

"You wrote them? You wrote them for me, but it was too hard to sign them or give the first one to me yourself?" she asked. She remembered finding the letter on the floor and how Zach told her it was from him. "Why didn't you tell me I showed it to you? I said it was from Zach and you let me believe it! You were toying with me, as much as he was."

Beth held up a hand. "Could you not? I'm trying really hard to not give birth in a van in a parking lot with five guys hanging around."

"Six guys," Ray said. She glanced back at Zach, who was dead to the world. "Well, five and a half. Except the others aren't here right now, they're sho—"

"Stop!" Beth yelled. "Who asked you how many guys were in the van? I told you I didn't want drama when you showed up at the airport two days ago! Tomorrow is Christmas eve. Today will be my child's birthday! Give me your phone!"

Ray swallowed and fished her phone from the dashboard. The guys returned, bottles of water on hand to douse the mess on the floor, helping with the smell. Doug hopped back in the driver's seat. "Ready?"

Beth held up a finger as she typed a message. She waited. The phone buzzed with the answer. "Don't bother."

The van's side door slid open. Russell stood silhouetted with the setting sun dazzling behind him. Beth sighed audibly in relief. She reached out her hand. Lokela had to scramble to the side to let her out.

Instead of rushing off, though, Russell stuck his head inside to glare at each of the guys. "I'm guessing he's the drunk ex," he said, pointing at Zach. "So who's the roommate I have to rip a new one for thinking he could sleep with my future little sister-in-law?"

Lokela's four male roommates, including his older brother, turned towards him, faces dark with anger.

'm assuming that would be my little brother," Miller grumbled from the front seat. He jabbed his thumb at Lokela.

"You slept with her?" Trevor asked. "After you were Zach's wing-man to trick her into falling for him?"

"While she was nursing a broken heart because he dumped her? Man, what kind of dude does that?" Travis asked, shaking his head.

"But wait, I thought you were a vir—" Doug started to say before breaking off mid-word.

But it was too late.

"I never told you!" she said. "Besides, it's a social construct, not—"

Several shouts rang out.

"Fucking hell," Miller muttered in a low voice. "Tell me you were not her first. Not after that major fuckery with lying to her about Zach."

Lokela's nostrils flared. "I never lied."

"But you sure as hell didn't tell the truth about Zach, and what a moronic ass-hat he is!," Miller retorted.

"Ray, let's go," Russell beckoned for her to get out.

Lokela caught her eyes just as she shifted, pleading for her to stay.

"Move, please," she whispered. "I'm not going to let my sister wait any longer."

It was a punch to the gut watching her get out of the van and rush off. And he thought he could be her hero? He was lower than the dirt in the pavement.

*** Yikes. Things have definitely taken a bad turn for Lokela... ***