Dr. Hardy’s smile falls. “Ivory, you know that any type of birth control, other than abstinence, isn’t foolproof. Have you missed a shot?”
“I was a week late getting it a couple of months ago, but I didn’t miss it.”
“I take it this wasn’t planned then?” she asks. I shake my head vigorously. “Even missing a dosage for a couple of days in between your schedule can result in ovulation.
“I’m always careful.”
“I’m not saying you aren’t,” she replies gently. “Before we go off the deep end, I’m gonna have Jill come in and draw some blood. I’ll be back once I have the results.
Jill has me lie back down on the table due to my history of fainting while she preps to take blood. Numbness spreads through my body, and I’m so focused on Dr. Hardy’s words,‘You’re pregnant’, thatI don’t even register the needle going into my arm.
“All done.” Jill pats my arm. “Do you want me to help you sit up, or do you want to lay here for a while?”
“I’m fine here,” I respond.
“Dr. Hardy will be back soon.”
There’s no way I’m pregnant. The urine test has to be wrong.
When Dr. Hardy comes back in about twenty minutes later, her expression shows no sign of what the tests are.
“Was the urine test wrong?” I ask pleadingly.
Dr. Hardy’s eyes soften with remorse. “I’m sorry, Ivory. You’re pregnant.”
“I-I-I can’t be,” I stutter.
“The blood test confirms it,” she explains, looking back down at her notes. “I can’t guess how far along you are due to you being on the shot. Do you know when this could have happened?”
Only one night comes to mind because I haven’t been with anyone since Purgatory. Before that, it’d been months since I broke up with Keith.
Spike.
It’s a good thing I’m still lying on the exam table because my world suddenly tilts on its axis, and blackness engulfs me.
“Ivory, open your eyes,” a voice commands. “Come on, you can do it.”
I slowly peel open my eyelids, blinking the room into focus. “What happened? Where am I?”
“There she is,” Dr. Hardy says as she looms over me, shining a light in my eyes.
I flinch away from the light as everything that’s happened barrels forward in my mind.
Purgatory, a one-night stand with Spike, the camping trip, and Dr. Hardy telling me I’m pregnant. Please, please, please let this be a dream.
A single tear runs down the side of my face as it all hits me all over again.
Someone squeezes my hand, and I slowly turn my head to see Megan sitting next to me, her brows pinched with concern. I slowly sit up, hating that I look vulnerable.
“Easy, Ivory,” Dr. Hardy warns. “Nice and slow.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask Megan, but it’s Dr. Hardy who answers.
“You fainted,” Dr. Hardy explains. “We called your emergency contact.”
“You’re okay,” Megan reassures me once she’s sure I’m going to remain upright. “You should’ve told me you were coming tothe doctor. We both know how you are when they break out the needles.”
That’s all it takes for the waterworks to start. Sobs wrack my body as Megan jumps up and pulls me closer to her.
