Page 12 of The Room(hate)

The doctor grinned. “Amnesia? Are you having difficulty remembering things?”

I paused, looking up and to the left. “No,” I said after a few seconds. “Unfortunately, it’s all there. Damn. I didn’t even forget middle school.”

“Well,” she said. “I’m just going to check your blood pressure. And you should take these.” She held out a little white cup with two pills inside.

I looked at them distrustfully. “No offense,” I said. “You look super nice and all, but I try not to take pills from random people when I wake up with head injuries in mysterious mansions.”

She nodded. “I’ll leave them here. It’s just a pain reliever, though, if the head starts bothering you. And don’t worry, it’s a safe pain reliever for your condition.” She slid the cuff around my arm and started pumping, then pressed two fingers to the inside of my elbow.

“Condition? Is it a concussion?”

“Mr. St. James asked me to be as thorough as possible. So I ran a full blood panel. To be honest, it was probably more extensive than the situation warranted, but he insisted I spare no expense. I wasn’t sure if you knew, so I wanted to let you know your hGC levels indicated you’re pregnant.”

My eyes glazed over. I’d missed my period three times now, but with my wacky body, that wasn’t entirely unheard of. But I was already worrying about the possibility weeks ago. I just hadn’t worked up the nerve to take a test yet. I swallowed hard. “Oh.”

6

Kenzie

The only sound was my heart thumping in my suddenly clogged ears. The pace kept increasing until it felt like some miniature Viking was in my chest, urging his oarsmen for more speed.

Pregnant?

I didn’t speak for a few seconds while my brain did its best attempt at playing dead. I’d always loved the movie Inside Out, where everyone’s brain was made of a team of little emotionally charged creatures. At that moment, I imagined all of mine at the control panel in my head, slumped over and unconscious. Or maybe on fire and running around the room, screaming.

I flinched when the doctor’s voice came again

“Oh,” she said, smiling. “That blood pressure is pretty high.” She pulled the cuff off my arm. “Maybe I shouldn’t share that sort of news while I’m reading your vitals. Sorry.”

“Does that test tell you if the baby is half devil spawn, by chance?”

She smiled. “In my experience, babies are all very sweet. I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“Wait,” I said. “Did you tell Sebastian? About the pregnancy, I mean.”

The woman shook her head quickly. “No, of course not. That’s private information. I may be friends with Sebastian, but I’m still a licensed medical professional. Your information is safe with me, Kenzie.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“Actually,” she said after a moment’s pause. “I’ve known Sebastian since he was a teenager. I was a few years older than him and used to tutor him in math, and I would house sit for his family until…” she trailed off and gave a little shake of her head. “The point is I’ve known him a very long time, and one thing has always been true. Sebastian doesn’t get attached to people. Sometimes they pass through his life, but there’s always a distance there. When he brought you in last night, well…” she stopped speaking again and frowned. She smiled suddenly, as if deciding she didn’t need to finish that thought. “He wouldn’t say how you two met, actually.”

I decided not to press her for more about what she had been saying. An idiotic part of me had felt a pang of jealousy when I realized they were probably some kind of romantic partners. It would make sense. The pretty doctor he’d known since he was a kid who was on call for personal favors. And a babysitter? It was like a porn script that wrote itself. But I quickly reminded myself he could have a harem of supermodels using his dick like a flute every night for all I cared. Sebastian was just a memory to me. Nothing more.

“I wish I could say it’s a long story,” I said. “But it’s actually not. It’s a stupid story.”

“That might explain his obsession with your condition, I suppose. After what you did at his book signing, it surprised me when he wanted to help you, to be honest.”

“Maybe I do have a little amnesia,” I said. “His book signing? Why would I go to his book signing?” Except even as I asked, I could feel the memories leaking back to me. I had a vague vision of myself holding a steaming cup of coffee while I fast walked past a line of people. Then there was… My head pulsed with pain again, and I stopped trying to remember.

She put her hand to her mouth, covering a small smile. “You know how you wished middle school got knocked out of your head? You might want to avoid asking about last night and be glad you can’t remember.”

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