Page 39 of Beautiful Storm

She glances down at the file in front of her before looking up in concern. “I saw you a few months ago, so I’m guessing it’s not an annual checkup.”

“No, it’s not. But it is something we’ve spoken about before.”

“I’m listening.” She maintains a straight face, but I know she’s going to judge me.

“As we’ve discussed, I don’t sleep well when I’m stressed and…”

“Yes.”

“This is different. Some afternoons I struggle to keep my eyes open, and this time around I’ve been getting dizzy spells too.”

Dr. Roland frowns a little as she flicks through some paperwork. “Has this been happening since our last visit, or more recently?”

“More recently. Last few weeks maybe. Right about the time I started my new job.”

“Okay. Let me check the symptoms of the contraceptive we’ve got you on so we can rule that out. You’re still taking it, right?”

“I am.” Not that I have a sex life, but I take it like clockwork.

My legs bounce again as she types away at her computer, and I try to remember if my pill has ever affected me before, but I’d been off it for so long, I can’t remember.

“Your pill doesn’t explicitly list fatigue or dizziness, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the cause. How about we run a few tests, and if we can’t find another reason, we can try swapping to a different option.”

“Perfect.” I sigh in relief. “That would be great.”

I hadn’t considered the pill being the issue. If that’s all it is, I’ll be laughing.

“You’re pregnant,” Dr Roland says as I stare at her wide-eyed. I heard her the first time but it’s taking me a second to process it. I blink a few times with the words rolling around in my head, my expression undoubtedly marred with confusion.

“Sorry, what?” That can’t be right.

“You’re pregnant,” she repeats for the third time, her lips pulled into a smile though I can tell she’s holding back, waiting for my reaction.

“I can’t be pregnant.” I shake my head.This is crazy. “I’m on the pill.” We just discussed that. “I…”

“You’ve only been on the pill for a few months. You likely got pregnant before you started.”

Shit.

“I’ve…ahh…” My face scrunches as I admit the truth. “It’s not possible. I was already taking the pill when I…” God, this is embarrassing. “I’ve only had sex once in the last six months, and it was after—”Oh God. No. No. No. No. No.The blood drains from my face.

“Amelia, are you okay?”

“No.” My breath quickens and a fresh wave of dizziness takes over me, my fingers biting into the armrest of the chair as I fight to calm myself.

“Pregnancy doesn’t have to be scary.”

My gaze lifts to hers as I process what she’s saying, what she’s telling me. “I’mpregnant.” I’m pregnant withLuke’sbaby. “But how?”

“How long had you been taking the pill when you had sexual intercourse?”

“A week? Maybe two? I— Oh God.” Realization hits me and I feel nauseous. “I… I… Is it bad? Have I hurt it? The baby. I didn’t know.” I suck in a deep breath, but it’s pointless. I can’t get any air. “I…I would have stopped taking it if I’d known. But I purposely kept taking it to skip my period so I had no idea and—”

Dr. Roland steps forward and tentatively squeezes my arm, cutting me off. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Amelia. It’s okay. The pill isn’t always as effective in that first month and can also be affected if you don’t take it at the same time every day or skip a day.”

God, I can’t remember.Did I skip a day?I guess it no longer matters how. It’s happened.

“As for any distress you have for your baby… You should book an ultrasound to make sure the baby is healthy and happy, but there are generally no risks associated with taking the pill during pregnancy. It’s not recommended, but it shouldn’t be a cause for concern.”

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