Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 151304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 605(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 605(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
“She is a doctor,” I quietly responded.
Anika frowned. “I know, but—”
“Nastasia?”
Anxiety had my stomach churning almost violently. I stood and looked up at the tall, willowy woman with big glasses and a messy bun atop her head.
She smiled easily. “Ah, yes. I remember you. Why don’t you follow me? You can fill me in.”
I was already nodding when the doctor spotted Anika, who weirdly enough seemed to be hiding her face behind the open pages of a magazine.
“Anika?”
My brow lowered as Anika sighed, put down the magazine, and sighed softly. “Hello, Dr. Henley.”
Wait. They knew each other?
I looked between them a moment. There were some weird vibes thrumming through the small, white room.
And then the doctor spoke quietly. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”
Anika returned just as hushed, “I know.”
“You need to come back and see me.”
My brow lowered in confusion. What the hell was going on here?
Ani huffed out a short breath. “I really don’t want to.”
“We can figure this out,” the doctor said quietly. “Just lend me your time.”
My heart clenched.
Was something wrong with Anika?
But Anika’s hollowness returned, and she uttered a dismissive, “I’m just here for my friend.”
The doctor, however, was determined. “Ten minutes. That’s all I’m asking for.”
And Anika’s mask faltered, revealing the cracks she so desperately tried to hide. It took her a while to respond. Until, finally, she let out short breath, avoiding the doctor’s gaze while muttering a cool, “Ten minutes.”
The doctor smiled with relief. “Don’t disappear on me, okay?”
Perplexed beyond belief, I was thankful that Anika didn’t offer to come in with me and followed the doctor into a sterile-white exam room. The moment she closed the door behind us, before she had a chance to sit, I blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
And Dr. Henley blinked, then sat, and her careful gaze searched my face. She motioned to a free chair, and her soothing voice said, “Please.” At long last, I sat, and she guessed, “Not a planned pregnancy, I take it?”
“Not even a planned seduction.” I slumped back in the chair, running a hand down my face.
She began to type on her computer. “And you did a home test?”
“Yes. Ten.”
She kept typing, but her mouth pulled down. “Ten what?”
“Ten—” And as though it just hit me at how psychotic that sounded, my voice faded slightly. “—tests.”
Her brows rose. “Thorough.”
Feeling a little sick to my stomach, I folded in on myself, lowering my head between my knees and uttering a strained, “I just wanted to be sure.”
“Do you know the supposed date of conception?” I told her, and she nodded, typing still. “So.” She straightened, setting her watchful eyes on me. “What’s the plan?”
I knew what she was hinting at. I rose, sitting up once more. “I want to keep it.”
She smiled softly at the certainty in my tone before reaching into her drawer, pulling out a little cup, and wiggling it. “Fill ’er up.”
I took it and made my way to the attached bathroom, filling it as best as I could with shaking hands. When I returned, the doctor took it from me, did her own test, and then we waited in silence.
I was hardly surprised when she looked down at the result and revealed a cheerful, “It’s a baby.” My nod was solemn. That changed remarkably when she walked over to a curtained-off area and opened it, revealing an exam table, then said, “Want to meet him?”
What?
Could we do that?
Oh shit. Was I about to cry?
What a weak-ass bitch.
I nodded once more, not trusting myself to speak.
The doctor instructed me to remove my pants and panties, leaving me a thick white sheet to cover myself with before closing the curtain behind her. When I was ready, she joined me, and I lay back on the cold bed as she brought a rectangular machine close.
Dr. Henley removed a long phallic-looking object, and I balked. She noticed, and her eyes laughed. “I know. It looks—” She thought on her choice of descriptive. “—impressive, but it shouldn’t hurt. If it does, just say the word, and we’ll stop.”
I looked up to the ceiling as she talked me through what she was doing. “I’m going to need you to bend your knees for me. Yes, like that. And now I’m going to insert the transducer. It will likely feel a little uncomfortable but, I remind you, should not hurt.” My face twisted as the cold lube-covered object was inserted. “That’s it. You’re doing great.”
The screen was turned toward me, and as I lay there, my brows furrowed as I tried to spot any sign of life. But, “I can’t see anything.”
The doctor squinted at the display, slightly moving the device inside me to a point where she was happy. Once she found what she was looking for, her eyes smiled. “There.” The little black sack on the screen pulsed as the doctor spoke. “Size is good. Strong attachment. Solid heartbeat.”