Page 36 of Slay King

“I see. This puts a spin on things. Let’s put that aside right now and have you lie back.”

I took a deep breath as a cold sweat broke out over my body and my hands began to feel clammy. I did as he’d instructed and closed my eyes tightly as he put my feet in the stirrups and moved my gown up to my thighs.

How was this happening? I knew that I hadn’t been positive about the date of my last shot, but I’d been close.

This wasn’t Hill’s baby. That much I knew. It had been over two, maybe even three, months since we’d had sex, and even then, he hadn’t come inside me. He had thought it was messy and didn’t like it.

But … what would King say … what would he do when he found out?

I’d told him I was on birth control. He’d made sure of it. He had asked me. I was still in danger from a gang. I couldn’t be pregnant. What kind of life would I be bringing my baby into?

My baby.

Those two words hit me like a sledgehammer, and I covered my mouth to keep from letting out a sob. I had a baby growing inside me. A life that was a part of me. That I had helped create.

“Easy. Relax,” Dr. Drew said as I felt him reach inside me and probe around.

I sucked in a breath as a tear squeezed out of the corner of my eye and rolled down the side of my face.

“It’s very early,” he said. “I’d say six weeks, at the most.”

My eyes flew open. “How? I didn’t have sex six weeks ago. I said it was almost six weeks. Closer to five.”

He nodded and removed his fingers from inside of me. “Yes, but in pregnancy, we count from the last menstrual cycle, which you didn’t have since you were on the shot. Technically, the embryo started growing around three weeks ago. Meaning it was fertilized shortly before. Even if you had incorrectly guessed how long it had been since your last shot, it’s not one hundred percent effective.”

He reached for my gown and pulled it back down, then took my hand and helped me sit back up. When his eyes met mine, I could see the concern in them, and I felt my own start to water up again. I seemed to be doing a lot of that today.

“I understand that by law, I can’t tell anyone, but you have to understand that your situation … my situation is different. I don’t fear the government the way I do lying to anyone in the family. They are the only law that exists for those of us involved with them. That means me … and now you.”

He was telling me I had to tell King or he would.

Words didn’t come to me. I simply nodded.

“I’ll go get Maeme.” His tone was gentle, but I could hear the warning there. To be prepared.

I stared straight ahead at the wall while he went to get her. There was a child inside me. King’s baby. And as much as I loved him, I knew it wasn’t enough to make him love me.

What if he didn’t want it? What if he asked me to abort it? He wasn’t young, like he had been with Scotlin. He was older. He was changed.

Life had changed him.

“Lord, Drew, she’s white as a ghost,” Maeme said as she walked into the room. “What on earth did you do to her?” The fierceness in her tone was almost frightening.

I turned my gaze to her, and I knew he hadn’t told her yet. I had hoped he would. Get it over with. Just say it.

“Rumor.” He said my name with a nudge to his tone.

The tightening on my throat didn’t make it easy to speak. “I’m …” I whispered, but I had to stop and suck in some air.

It felt as if I wasn’t getting enough oxygen all of a sudden. The room started to spin, and I gripped the sides of the examination table and tried to force air into my lungs. I could hear the accelerated beat of my heart in my ears. A darkness was closing in on my peripheral vision, and I fought harder to breathe. Nothing helped though.

“Get her!” Maeme yelled just before the darkness pulled me under.

• Fifteen •

I’m just trying to protect King.

Rumor

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