Page 11 of To Hate You

My legs felt numb as I stood. I was sure I’d fall on my ass if I moved. But Silas gently nudged against my arm as if to say,‘I’m right here.’It gave me a slight sense of ease knowing I wasn’t alone.

I smiled as best I could when I greeted the nurse and followed her down the hall. Once inside the examination room, my stomach felt heavy, my heart racing impossibly fast as I glanced around.

The walls were painted a soft, soothing lavender while the same antiseptic smell lingered in the room. A painting of a bouquet of white and pink roses hung against the wall. Flowers were always the safe option for any office when one of your objectives was to keep everything neutral and vibrant. To have an image of a mother holding a baby wouldn’t exactly have been the ‘sensitive option’ if you were dealing with a woman who just had a miscarriage.

“So, Mrs. Whitlock—”

“Miss.” I corrected the nurse and felt my cheeks burn.

She didn’t even blink as she turned her attention to Silas. “And you are Miss. Whitlock’s partner?”

“Oh God, no,” Silas blurted. “No. She’s my little sister.”

“I see.”

I had to suppress a snicker.

“Okay, so, Miss Whitlock. Based on the date of your last period, you’re around six weeks pregnant?”

“Yes.”

She pushed her glasses higher up her nose. “Have you had any blood-work done?”

“No. Not yet. I wasn’t sure...you know, how this all works.”

A thoughtful expression crossed her face, a stray strand of blonde hair fanning down her cheek. “No worries. We’ll take care of it. Any health issues I should know about? Heart conditions, blood pressure, diabetes?”

I shook my head. “No. None of that.”

“Any recent trips overseas?”

“No.”

“And you’re not currently taking any medication?”

“No. I just took a sleeping tablet now and then but stopped when I found out about the pregnancy.”

“That’s good. Now, I need to do a urine test. There’s a ladies' room.” She pointed at a white door to the left. “The pee cup is on the cabinet and already has your name printed on it. Once done, you can undress from the waist down, pull on one of the robes and make yourself comfortable. Doctor Garcia will be with you shortly.”

She turned halfway before looking back and pointing at a tray next to the bed. “Oh, and you can grab one of those large paper sheets to cover yourself with.”

“Thank you.” I tried to plaster on a warm smile even though I was slowly suffocating.

When I opened the ladies' room door, Silas stood in the far-end corner of the room the entire time, probably freaked out of his mind. And after I peed in a cup and pulled on a robe, I came back, finding him in the exact same spot.

“You okay?” He studied me while keeping his arms crossed.

“Yeah. You?”

“I’m not gonna lie. This place is scarier than I imagined. The entire fucking aura in this place is screaming babies, babies, babies.”

I snickered at his unease. “It’s because this place is mostly about babies, babies, babies.”

The bed creaked as I sat down, and Silas started toward the door. “I should probably wait outside.”

“Silas,” I called. “Would you…would you stay? If it’s not too weird.”

“Oh, it’s weird as fuck.” His brows arched. “But I guess ten minutes in this tiny room with my half-naked sister won’t kill me.”

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