Page 49 of Love and Memories

Bella rested her head on Anna’s shoulder. “What would I do without you?”

“You’d be fine. I’m sure Travis would still be taking care of you.”

The mention of Travis had Bella’s stomach flipping in excitement. She’d been too busy thinking about him to worry too much about the follow-up appointment.

A nurse opened a door into the waiting area and called Bella’s name. She stood and adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder as she followed the woman into the back hallways. She stopped by the lab to have blood drawn before continuing on to an exam room.

“The doctor will be with you shortly.”

The silence in the small room allowed the worries to infiltrate her thoughts. What if she had more medical visits and procedures coming up? Would the insurance pay for it? Each visit had an enormous number tacked behind it.

Blackwater Hope House had picked up the balance on some of her bills, but Bella hated relying on charity. There were plenty of others out there in situations similar to hers, and the thought of taking money that could help others didn’t sit well with her.

The door opened and a dark-haired man stepped into the room with a female nurse carrying a tablet right on his heels.

“Miss Young?” the doctor asked.

“Yes. Isabella,” Bella said as she shook his hand.

“Can you state your date of birth, please?” the nurse asked.

Once Isabella had answered, the doctor took a seat and clasped his hands in front of him. “Miss Young, Doctor Bates sent over your records from your initial hospital stay where they performed quite a few tests. I had intended to order a follow-up MRI of your abdomen so I could make sure things were healing as they should, but your blood tests today indicate elevated pregnancy hormones. Were you aware of your pregnancy?”

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ISABELLA

“What?” Bella asked, still unsure what the doctor meant.

Dr. Henderson’s cheeks lifted slightly, squinting his eyes into an expression of pity. “Most of the imaging I’ll be ordering today won’t affect an unborn child. However, I won’t be ordering an abdominal MRI out of an abundance of caution.” He opened his hand, and the nurse passed him the tablet. “In the check-in paperwork you completed online before your visit today, you indicated that you were unsure of the dates of your last menstrual cycle.”

The air Bella was trying to inhale was thick in her chest. “Right. I– I don’t remember when it was.”

“You also indicated that you were unsure of pregnancy,” the doctor said as he turned the tablet around to show her.

Bella read the question amongst dozens of others. “Are you pregnant, or is there a possibility you could be pregnant?” She’d clicked the option “Unsure.”

The question was like many others with answer options of yes, no, or unsure. She’d clicked right through it when she’d completed the check-in paperwork the night before.

Now, the question stood out on the screen like a neon sign. That little “unsure” had just turned into a “yes.”

The doctor pulled the tablet away from her and tapped on the screen. “Did the lab tech go over what would be tested from your blood sample earlier?”

Bella rested her head in her hand. A gnawing pain worked behind her brows as she tried to remember something that happened just half an hour ago. “She might have. I don’t remember. I wasn’t exactly expecting anything like this.”

Dr. Henderson handed the tablet back to the nurse and clasped his hands in front of him. “I know this is a lot to process. It means we’ll have to be careful with tests we use to follow up on your recovery, but the good news is that you’ll be able to start getting the prenatal care you and the baby need.”

Bella gasped and covered her mouth. It was all sinking in way too quickly. She was pregnant. On top of everything she’d been dealing with lately, this news pushed her over the edge. Her breaths came in quick succession, and each was shallower than the last.

Dr. Henderson rested his hand on her shoulder. “Miss Young, you need to slow your breathing.”

“I can’t. I’m pregnant,” she said through her panting.

“We can refer you to an OB/GYN who will conduct more testing. There is no indication that there is any harm to the baby yet.”

Bella’s head jerked up. “Harm? What do you mean?”

Dr. Henderson’s expression softened. “Miss Young, there’s nothing to worry about. I can share plenty of resources with you. There are many non-profit organizations that assist young mothers in caring for their unborn babies and, eventually, their children.”

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