Page 81 of Forged Absolution (Fates of the Bound 4)

Lila sat on the exam table in the dusty orange room, her sock feet swinging back and forth, the paper crumpling underneath her thighs. She shivered in the flimsy gown she’d been given. The heat had just turned on in the women’s clinic, all to warm the space in time for the first doctors, nurses, and admins to arrive. Posters filled the room, covered with anatomy Lila did not care to think about. Stainless steel utensils plinked against a tray as Dr. Helen Randolph dropped them one by one, prepping for her paternity test.

A needle sat upon a tray.

Lila squeezed her thighs together and looked away.

Helen turned to face her, dressed in fresh dusty orange scrubs to match the walls, her gray hair slipping from her bun. “I’ll need to take your vitals first.”

“You should have taken them before I saw the needle.”

“It?

?s going in your arm.”

Lila relaxed immediately.

“You have a grad student at Grace Medical to thank for it.” The doctor turned on her tablet. A personal tablet, as the clinic’s logo was absent from the back. “It’s her test that can give you results so early and so easily. Four weeks. It’s a record. I suppose in ten years, someone will cut that down to three.”

“Why the gown, then?”

“I’m giving you a physical. You were nothing but a giant bruise last time I saw you. How are your ribs? Are they still bothering you?”

“Not much.”

“Any problems over the last month?”

Lila bit her lip. Should she mention the heart trouble she’d had earlier in the week?

Perhaps not. It had only been a bit of stomach trouble when it came right down to it, probably brought on by not eating much at the cottage then stuffing her face once she’d come back to New Bristol.

“No, I’ve been fine. I even ran most days.”

“With bruised ribs?”

“I liked the pain.”

“You’re nuts. You know that?” She moved Lila’s gown and peeked at her ribs, pushing and prodding.

Lila barely felt it. In truth, the doctor’s cold fingers bothered her more.

“You’re a fast healer, madam. It’s good to see.” Helen replaced Lila’s gown and touched her cheek. “What happened here?”

“I had an argument with some furniture.”

“It won, I see.”

“Yeah, what a bench.”

Helen took Lila’s vitals, recording the results on her tablet. The needle came next. Helen injected it into her arm, filling several vials with blood. “There’s a small bit of your baby’s DNA in this already. Did you know?”

Lila shook her head. “I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“You don’t have to know. It is what it is.” Helen marked the vials with a few sticky labels. “Do you have a sample from the father?”

“No. What do I need?”

“Sleep. Whether or not you’re keeping the baby, you still need to rest.”

“I will. I promise.”

---