Page 39 of Out of the Darkness

“I don’t understand,” she said softly, unable to look away from the one word on the page that was changing her entire life. “I’m on birth control. I’ve been on birth control since I was a teenager. How is this?—”

“It happens sometimes,” Dr. Price replied, the tone of her voice implying that it was not a big deal. “It’s rare, but it happens. I’m guessing this isn’t what you expected when you came in today?”

Madelyn scoffed a laugh and shook her head. “No. This was definitely not on my bingo card.”

She had heard stories about it happening before, women getting pregnant while on birth control, but they had been so few and far between that she never thought it would happen to her. To top it off, it could not have happened with the worst possible man.

Xavier was a murderer. He had admitted to killing countless people, and he’d stalked her for months. Unhinged didn’t even begin to describe the guy, and then there was the fact that he was a shifter. What did all of that mean for the tiny life that was now growing inside of her?

Because she didn’t know very much about shifters, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to raise one. It wasn’t like there were any baby books on the subject, and Xavier was out of the picture since she had no intention of telling him about the baby. Why would she? She wasn’t the kind of girl to try to trap a guy by getting pregnant, and he had moved on already anyway.

“I’m going to set up a referral for you to see Dr. Catherine Diaz,” Dr. Price continued, making a few notes in her file. “She’s an amazing OBGyn and a very good friend of mine. She can tell you how far along you are and go over the next steps. You will be in good hands with her.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, deciding not to comment on the fact that she already knew how far along she was. She may not know which time he had knocked her up, but she still had a fairly good idea.

She also knew what the next steps would be as well. Months of morning sickness, weird cravings, weight gain, and that was if she decided to keep it. That was something she was going to have to figure out sooner rather than later. She doubted that she was capable of handling being a single mother to a shifter child, but she didn’t think she would ever forgive herself if she got rid of it. It was not the kind of decision that could be taken lightly; it was one that required a lot of thought.

Madelyn ran her fingers through her hair, unable to believe that she was in this position in the first place.

Dr. Price seemed to be oblivious to the downward spiral that was going on in her mind. “In the meantime, I’ll prescribe some prenatal vitamins and anti-nausea meds. They should help give you some relief and allow you to get some food in you.”

Nodding, Madelyn cleared her throat. She couldn’t freak out, not yet. She could at least wait until she got home before she lost it. “Thank you, Dr. Price. I appreciate it.”

The doctor patted her leg in response. “Chin up, Madelyn. This is supposed to be the happiest time in your life, becoming a mother. Once the shock wears off, you will see that.”

She highly doubted that.

Rising to her feet, Dr. Price picked up the file and headed to the door. Just before she opened it, she looked back at Madelyn from over her shoulder and smiled. “You are good to go. You can get dressed. I’ll go put in the referral and the prescriptions. Take care of yourself, Madelyn, and take it easy the next few days. At least until you regain some of your strength.”

“Okay, will do,” Madelyn replied, jumping off the exam table. She was more than ready to get out of there because she was in desperate need of some fresh air. The room was beginning to feel stuffy and small.

“Oh, and congratulations, mama.” With that and a wink, the doctor vanished down the hall, leaving Madelyn staring after her.

Madelyn managed to dress herself in a kind of daze. Her mind was still reeling from the news she had received, and she was still having trouble believing it even though the proof was right in front of her. She kept looking at the test results, thinking they had made a mistake somehow. But every time she looked, it only drove the fact home.

After getting rid of the scratchy hospital gown and changing back into her own clothes, Madelyn picked up her purse and then made her way to the pharmacy counter. The clinic must not have been that busy because they handed her a small white bag with her medications as soon as she showed them her ID. Madelyn shoved the bag into her purse before wandering into the waiting room where Bernie was still waiting for her.

He jumped up as she approached and looked her up and down expectantly. “Well?” he asked as she led him quickly out of the building. She couldn’t seem to get outside fast enough. “Did they figure out what’s going on with you?”

“Uh, yeah,” she replied. “Yeah, they did.”

There was always the option to lie to him. She could say that it was just a cold and that she was fine, but she was just so sick of all the lies. She didn’t want to do it anymore, nor did she have the strength to keep them all straight. So, at that moment, she decided that the truth was all she had.

Bernie laughed when she didn’t say anything more and gently grasped her arm just before she stepped into the parking lot. “Well? Do I need to start planning your funeral, or are you going to get better soon?”

“Um, define soon. Because what I have usually sticks around for about nine months or so. Plus side though, I’m fairly certain it won’t kill me.” She wasn’t trying to make light of the situation. It wasn’t anything to laugh at, but humor was her defense mechanism, and she was feeling rather defensive.

Bernie, however, didn’t laugh. He just stared at her in surprise. “You’re… you’re pregnant?”

“Yup.”

Madelyn went to step around him to go back to the car, but Bernie was in front of her again. “Hang on. You just told me on the way here that there wasn’t a man in your life. Are you holding out on me, kiddo?”

Laughing softly, she shook her head. “No, I’m not holding out on you, Bernie. There is no man in my life. I thought there might be for a bit, but it didn’t work out.”

The two started walking again, crossing the parking lot together. “Are you going to tell him? About the baby?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I haven’t seen or spoken to him in two weeks, and another girl answered when I called him this morning. A girl he previously admitted to having a sexual relationship with. So, I’m pretty sure he’s done with me.”

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