Page 27 of Sinful Embers

"So she’s been without it for days?" Nikolas’s voice is tight with worry. "Fuck. She doesn’t have it on her now?"

"I don't know much about this shit," I admit. "But I take it Leigh can only get RH-Null blood?"

"Yes." Sabrina and Nikolas say in unison.

"She donates blood to a mobile clinic that comes around to her every six months," Sabrina tells me.

"Does my mother know?" As soon as the question leaves my mouth, I know it’s a stupid thing to ask—of course she does.

"Yes." Nikolas nods.

"Great!." My heart is now pounding in my chest so hard it feels like its going to hammer its way right through my ribs.

Before I can dwell on it, Sabrina’s phone bleeps loudly, cutting through the room.

She glances down, then groans. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Nikolas and I both glance at her as she silences the reminder.

“What?” I ask, my patience wearing thin.

“It’s a reminder to buy tampons. My period starts in twelve days,” she says, completely unbothered.

I blink. “Thanks for sharing. I could've gone my entire life without knowing that.”

Nikolas glances at her as if she's grown two heads.

Sabrina glares at me. “As a dancer, I have to be prepared. When I was fourteen, I had an incident during gymnastics." She shudders at the memory. "Ever since then, I set reminders fourteen days before my cycle starts. It also reminds me not to have unprotected sex—not that I have unprotected sex.”

Her words trail off. Her eyes widen. “Oh, fuck.”

“What?” Nikolas and I say at the same time.

Sabrina swallows. “Two years ago, the drugstore Leigh and I have gone to since we were teenagers changed hands. A new creepy pharmacist took over.”

I sigh. “Is this more about your monthly problems?”

"The previous pharmacists knew us very well, and they always ensured they had what Leigh, and I needed each month." Sabrina ignores me, her voice sharp. “But this new dude." Her brow rises as she pulls a face. "He'd go beyond that and every month, didn’t matter if we went two days before our usual pick-up date, because we tested it, the guy would have our orders ready and bagged before we even walked through the door.”

“That’s just efficiency,” Nikolas points out. “What’s so suspicious about that? Maybe he was as uncomfortable as I am right now talking about my daughter’s monthly woman problems.”

Sabrina glares at him. “It was creepy. And get this." She looks at me. "He kept pushing this new fertility and women’s health clinic. Telling us that they gave free checkups, bringing high-end medical care to people like us who can’t afford it." She scratches in her wallet again pulling out a business card. "Eventually, Leigh and I thought, what the hell, free six-month checkups.”

Nikolas shifts uncomfortably. “While I’m glad you and my daughter take care of your health, can you get to the point, Rina?”

“For one,” she snaps, “the creepy pharmacist is Russian. Second, the clinic was obsessed with freezing our eggs. They kept telling us we were in our prime.”

A cold chill rushes through me. Little Vasilikis test-tube babies? The thought makes me want to punch something.

“And you know how when women live together, their cycles sync up?” Sabrina presses on.

“I’ve heard of it,” I mutter, and Nikolas nods.

“Well, Leigh and I lived together for years.” She gives me a pointed look. “So if my period is due in twelve days… so is Leigh’s.”

The realization slams into me like a freight train.

“That means…” My breath catches. “Leigh and I had sex during her fertilization window.”

---