Page 60 of Ivory Obsession

K. Take care, babe, came her immediate reply, followed by a little heart emoji. Guilt pinched at my heart.

Will do, El, I typed back, pocketing my phone with an exhale that felt more like surrender than relief. Onward to the clinic, to confirmation, to decisions I wasn’t ready to make. But ready or not, the truth waited for no one—not even Dr. Jade Bentley, who thought she had control over every aspect of her life.

The clinic was a nondescript building sandwiched between a run-down laundromat and a bodega with neon signs that had seen better days. The bell above the door chimed softly as I entered, not quite ready to face the reality I suspected waited for me.

“Can I help you?” a nurse at the front desk asked, her voice professional but not unkind.

“Jade Bentley,” I murmured, the name feeling foreign on my lips.

“Please fill out these forms,” she instructed, sliding paperwork across the counter. I took a seat in the waiting area, its sterile neutrality oddly soothing compared to the storm inside me.

The walls were adorned with bland, abstract art—splotches of color that meant nothing and everything all at once. Other patients sat around me, lost in their own worlds of private concerns. I scribbled answers mechanically, ticking boxes without truly reading the questions.

“Jade Bentley?” A nurse’s voice cut through the soft hum of activity, the sound making my heart leap into my throat.

“Here,” I answered, standing up too quickly, my legs a little wobbly.

“Follow me, please.” Her scrubs rustled as she led me down a hallway that smelled faintly of antiseptic.

The examination room was small, functional. A man with a name tag that said Dr. Alvarez and looked about five years younger than me entered soon after, his eyes scanning the chart in his hands before they met mine.

“Miss Bentley, I’m Dr. Alvarez. What brings you in today?” His tone was kind, his gaze steady—a rock amidst my swirling sea of doubt.

I rubbed my temple. “Doctor.”

“Yes, I’m–”

I held my hand up. “I’m Dr. Bentley.”

He nodded. “Right. A physician?”

I shook my head. “No, and look, it doesn’t matter,” I said, wishing I hadn’t corrected him.

“So, what does bring you in today, Dr. Bentley?”

I hesitated, the words catching like hooks in my throat. “I’ve been having persistent headaches...and there are two positive tests.” My voice was barely a whisper.

He took a second to process this. “Oh, right,” he said. “I understand. We’ll take good care of you. Let’s start with some basics and go from there.”

“Thank you,” I managed to say, tucking away my fears. There would be time enough for those later. For now, I was just another patient in Dr. Alvarez’s capable hands, clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.

A few minutes later, I was sitting at the examination table.

“Take a deep breath for me, Dr. Bentley,” Dr. Alvarez had instructed as he pressed the stethoscope against my back. I complied, feeling the cool metal through the fabric of my tank top, inhaling the sterile scent of the clinic that had become too familiar in the last hour. The crisp paper beneath me crinkled with every shift of my body, each sound echoing my unease.

“Any discomfort here?” His touch was clinical as he palpated my abdomen, eyes focused, searching for signs I couldn’t begin to understand.

“None,” I replied, staring at the ceiling, willing myself to be anywhere but on this examination table.

“Alright, we’re going to run a few tests. It won’t take long.” Dr. Alvarez’s reassurance was meant to comfort, but the wait churned my insides more viciously than any centrifuge. “We could do another urine test for hCG, but I have a feeling you’re going to want a blood test.”

“Is it more accurate?” I asked, grasping at the hope of certainty.

“Both tests are accurate,” he said with a gentle smile. “However, a blood test can provide quantitative results, telling us how much hCG is in your system. This might give you some peace of mind.”

The mention of peace of mind sent a hollow laugh rising up my throat, but I swallowed it back, nodding instead. “Yes, let’s do the blood test. Will you be able to tell how far along I am?”

Dr. Alvarez nodded, a thoughtful frown playing on his lips. “We can estimate based on the hCG levels, yes. But keep in mind that it’s just an estimation. An ultrasound would be more accurate.”

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