Page 55 of The Revenge Plan (Forbidden Descendants 1)

No idea why I apologized or asked that. I knew I wasn’t late. I just… I needed something not-stupid to say.

“Not at all,” he answered even as he turned to glance at the nurse. “This is my sister Darcy.”

Oh my God. Right. Darcy. The sister. I have no idea what I’d been thinking when I’d first stepped inside, saw them together, and instantly felt possessive. Of course he’d be talking to his sister, not…someone else. And besides, covetous jealousy was so not any feeling I should be having about my completely platonic roommate.

Wick stepped back and splayed out a hand to allow me more access to his sister for our introduction. “Darcy, Haven,” he finished.

“Hey, Haven.” Darcy smiled perkily. I could see a bit of Izzy in her, but she seemed subtler, more mature, with maybe even a snarki

er sparkle in her gaze. Holding out a hand, she added, “It’s so nice to meet a friend of Wick’s that doesn’t play football.” Then she paused and canted her face to the side. “Wait. You don’t play football, right?”

I laughed as I shook her hand. “Nope. Not even a little.”

“Wow. He is branching out.” Lifting her hand away from me, she pinched Wick’s cheek. “How amazing. My little bubby’s growing up.”

“Phenomenal,” he answered dryly, swatting her hand away.

Darcy rolled her eyes and turned back to me. “Alright then. I’m ready for you if you are.”

“Oh!” I said. “Right now?” I glanced at the other woman still waiting with her magazine and hoped I wasn’t cutting in line before I sent a peek toward the receptionist, whom I hadn’t filled out any paperwork for. Then I came back around to Darcy, who was watching me expectantly. “Okay. Sure.”

She waved me forward, including Wick in the summons. “This way, guys. Follow me.”

“Me?” Wick faltered and pointed at his chest. “Oh, I can just sit out here in the—” He motioned toward the waiting chairs.

But his sister sliced him a stern glance. “Hurry up, slowpoke. I don’t have all day.”

He turned questionably toward me, probably expecting me to demand he stay behind. Except I was pretty nervous about what I was getting tested for. A familiar face sounded nice right about now. So I grabbed his hand and tugged him along with me.

“Um. Alright,” he answered nervously, letting me lead the way.

As soon as we entered the room that Darcy had brought us to, he let go of me so he could station himself at a wall, his back propped against the poster of a woman’s body in all the stages of pregnancy and his arms folded moodily over his chest.

“So, children, what’re we getting tested for today?” Darcy asked as she sat on a rolling stool and flipped open a file that must be mine. Then she glanced up. “HIV? HPV? HSV? PID? Warts? Syphilis? Chlamydia? Molluscum? Hep B? Gonorrhea?”

Eyes wide, I just blinked at her. Nerves roiled in my stomach, making me queasy with worry.

But seriously, were there really that many sexually transmitted diseases out there? Damn. I’d had no idea. What was worse, I think I only recognized HIV of the initialed ones, and…

Glancing uneasily toward Wick, I whispered, “What’s molluscum?”

He shrugged, having no clue either.

Great. Fat lot of support he was.

But his sister had obviously overheard me and answered, “Skin lesions. Raised, rounded bumps that are either white, pink, or flesh-colored. Mostly harmless, but can get sore.”

Oh. Okay, then. “I…uh, I don’t think I have that one,” I said in a small voice as I glanced toward Wick again. Not sure why I kept looking to him, but he’d been the one to get me here, and she was his sister. So…

With a sigh, he leaned toward Darcy as she marked molluscum off the list. “Can’t she just get tested for all of them?”

Pausing, Darcy glanced up and shot him a dry glance. “Sure. But each test costs money. Some involve a simple blood sample, some urine. One needs a complete blood culture. Then a few more need a pelvic exam and physical, and—”

“Okay, okay.” Wick lifted his hands to stop her. Then he turned to me. His freaky pale blue eyes looked probing as he murmured, “Are you willing to go through all that?”

I nodded, saying, “I mean, yeah. Why not? I’d rather know for sure, right? And I have no idea what Topher was exposed to, so I can’t know what I’ve been exposed to, which means… Better safe than sorry, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” he answered quietly on a wince. “I think it’s a good idea, too.”

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