Page 11 of Cyrus

I shook my head, but wandered off to sit. I had two positive home pregnancy tests, but this would tell the whole story. I knew I needed to question the paperwork more thoroughly, but I was so nervous I couldn’t think. If they said it was good, it was good. I’d given my information so quickly when I made the appointment, maybe they did have everything they needed.

As I sat in the corner, I jogged my leg and bit my thumbnail. What was I going to do if this was real? Surely it had been a test malfunction. A false reading. But on two different tests? From different manufacturers? When I’d gotten the first positive test, I’d bought another test of a different brand. Same result.

“Miss Muse?”

My head shot up, my gaze finding the nurse standing at the open door leading from the lobby to the exam rooms.

“That’s me,” I muttered, giving her a tentative smile.

She took me back to the nurses’ station, weighed me, took my blood pressure, and had me pee in a cup. Once she put me in an exam room, she did a quick history and asked about my reason for seeing the doctor.

“I had a positive test,” I mumbled. “Just wanted to make sure it was a false positive.” I tried to smile, but didn’t quite pull it off.

She smiled. “I need you to completely disrobe. Here’s a gown and a drape. Just sit on the exam table and the doctor will be in shortly.”

I did as she said, stripping quickly and putting on the gown. Unlike most hospital gowns, this one covered my back but left the front open. I pulled it together and wrapped the paper drape over my legs. Taking a deep, calming breath, I tried to empty my mind. If I were any more nervous, I’d probably cry. Might anyway.

The door opened without even a cursory knock and in walked…

“Cyrus?”

He shut the door and sat in the chair next to the doctor’s work shelf. He leaned back, lacing his fingers over his belly and crossing his legs at the ankles.

“That’s right. You got ten seconds to come clean.”

I lifted my chin. “My life isn’t your business.”

“Yeah?” He lifted an eyebrow. “You ran, Odette. Straight to me. I want to know why.”

I shrugged. “It’s cooler up north. I don’t like humidity.”

“The truth, girl.”

“I’m not a girl!” I raised my voice before realizing other people could likely hear us. “I’m an adult, Cyrus. Regardless of what you think, I didn’t come here for you.”

“That’s two,” he said casually. “I have a feeling you’re not going to be sitting for a week.” He gave me a slight grin, like this was amusing to him. Fucker. “Or longer.”

“My life is none of your business.”

“We’ll see.” The bastard smirked like he held all the cards. Well, I knew my rights. They wouldn’t let him stay if I didn’t want him here. He could take a hike because I wasn’t going through this with him here.

“Why are you even here?”

“Like I said. You came to me.”

There was a knock on the door. Before I could say anything, Cyrus answered. “She’s ready.”

An older man walked in the room, a smile on his face. He had platinum hair and a deep tan. “Good morning, Miss Muse. I’m Dr. Redding. The nurse tells me you had a positive pregnancy test?”

I winced, closing my eyes. I didn’t dare to look over at Cyrus. Did he know?

“Yes.” I wanted to elaborate, but what was the point? Besides, I didn’t want to say anything more in front of Cyrus.

“Well, I think it’s pretty conclusive. Your quantitative test would put you at four to five weeks. Does that fit the time frame?”

“What?” Quantitative test? “I mean, yeah. That’s about right, but what do you mean by quantitative test?”

“Your blood test. It measures the amount of pregnancy hormone in your blood. I got it faxed over from the hospital lab a few minutes ago. Dr. Ewing had it sent over.”

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