“You don’t have a fever. Your friend told us you’ve been throwing up for a few days now.”
“Yes, actually, it has been going on for about a week, damn stomach bug.”
She just smirked at me. Why was she smirking? This wasn’t funny. “Yes, well, the doctor will be here in a few minutes to go over your results.”
She exited the ER room, and I looked to Damien.
“Baby, I was so scared when I found you. Why didn’t you tell me this has been going on a lot longer?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I didn’t mean to scare you, honestly, I didn’t. Wait a second. What did you do with Zeus?” My poor little baby. I hadn’t taken him out since last night.
“I wasn’t sure if you had taken him out or not, and I couldn’t exactly leave you when you were passed out, so I called Justice.”
“Oh, thank God.”
The doctor chose that moment to enter my room. “Hi, Ms. Summers, I’m Dr. Cain. May I speak to you alone?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. He can stay.” I motioned toward Damien,
“That will be fine then. I have the results from your blood work. I need to know when the last day of your period was.” He had a smile on his face. I thought back trying to remember. And then it hit me. I didn’t have a period last month. I just had spotting the month before. Placing my hand over my mouth, it hit me at once.
Oh, no. I felt the bile rise in my throat, and I grabbed the bedpan and began to dry heave. Damien was instantly there pulling back my hair and telling me sweet things.
No, this can’t be happening. I started to sob uncontrollably after I had finished vomiting.
He kept staring at me. “Take your time, Sydney,” the Doctor said.
I tried to calm myself down, but I was such a wreck. “W…two…. two months ago. But it was just light spotting.” My stomach whirled, and I felt like I could be sick again, my nerves were completely out of control.
But my stomach wasn’t letting up. I lifted the bed pan off the portable table in front of me and dry heaved again. The doctor took his time and was very patient with me.
I finished my round of puking and the nurse came in to take the bed pan from me.
“Baby, you okay? You’re white as a ghost,” Damien asked with concern lacing his voice.
“She’s actually just fine. She’s going to have a baby. We need to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay, and at that time, we’ll check to see how far along you are. From what I gather, she’s most likely two to three months along.”
And I knew instantly how far along I was. I had to be a little over three months along. It had been that long since the rape, and I hadn’t had sex since. And it had been a year before that.
The tears continued to flow down my face. And I couldn’t get the image of Wes taking me against my will out of my head. He’d done this to me. This moment was crippling.
“We gave you medicine for the nausea, but I’ll have the nurse administer some more. I will also be sending you home with a script. There are some natural remedies you can find on the internet as well. If you’d like, I can send by a counselor to talk to you. I will also have a nurse bring you some information about your options.”
I couldn’t talk. I was paralyzed by the results. Why was this happening to me? “Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate it.” Damien replied for me.
He left the room and the tears started flowing even harder. Damien took me in his arms. “Sweets, we’ll get through this. I will be there for you and support your decision no matter what you choose. You have me, sweetheart. I’m here for you.”
Those were such sweet words and by all means, I was going to have this baby. I didn’t believe in abortion, but maybe I would give it up for adoption.
I pulled away from Damien. “Damien, why is this happening to me? That fucking asshole took away my choice to choose when I wanted to be a mother. I hope he rots in hell!” I continued to sob. “I don’t believe in abortion, so I’m going to have this baby, but I don’t know if I will keep it. I have a lot to think about.”
He tapped me on the nose with his finger. “Oh, sweetheart, it is going to be okay. I will help you work this out. If you do decide to keep it, I think you would make a damn fine mother.”
The tears were still running down my face. Would this baby be a constant reminder of that tragic night, or would I be able to overcome it and give the baby a happy, healthy life like he or she deserved. I never expected this to happen. I thought I was in the clear.
A person dressed in scrubs came into the room who I hadn’t seen before. “We’re going to take you for your ultrasound now. Are you ready to see your baby?”