Page 74 of Always Been You
Lauren’s voice cuts in, and we break apart. Elisa quickly wipes her face on my dress, of course—then leans in to whisper, “Don’t tell her I cried.”
I chuckle, then wordlessly raise my hand, flashing the ring at Lauren. Her eyes widen.
“AAAHHHHH!”
I burst into laughter just as Dr. Penrose appears, crossing her arms, “Let’s have our tests done quietly, shall we?”
We stifle our giggles like kids caught passing notes in class.
Dr. Penrose has been our doctor since we were kids. She knows all our antics and has dealt with us uncountable times. She turns and walks off, leaving us to follow behind.
Lauren nudges me. “We will talk about this later.”
“Sure,” I respond, then I lean closer to Elisa, whispering, “I thought she retired.”
Elisa scoffs. “Her? I doubt she even knows what that word means.”
We all laugh, heading off for our tests—lap tests, urine tests, X-rays, pretty much everything under the sun. Luckily, we’re priority patients, so we don’t have to wait long.
While we wait, I order ice cream for us. And as we sit there, spoons scraping against paper cups, I finally tell them everything—our weekend away, the proposal, all of it.
They overreact at every single word, interrupting me with gasps, squeals, and dramatics.
By the end of it, Lauren just shakes her head, smiling. “I’m so proud of you.”
Elisa nods, whispering, “Yeah. me too.”
We sit in comfortable silence for a moment before I ask, “Where’s Aria?”
“She’s getting her tests done later with Janette. She’s gonna be pissed she missed this,” Lauren says, already pulling out her phone to text her. I shake my head, grinning. The nurse calls my name.
I stand, exhaling. Time to see what’s going on with me.
I step into the office and take a seat across from Dr. Penrose.
“How have you been feeling lately?” She asks, and for a second, I consider lying—just saying fine so we can get this over with.
But one look at her face tells me she’d see right through it.
“I’ve been feeling weak and tired, but it’s manageable,” I admit. “I sometimes feel nauseous, but nothing huge. And before you say it... I will take better care of myself. I’ll drink more water.”
She raises a brow, unimpressed. “When was your last menstrual cycle?”
I freeze.
I do a quick mental calculation and come up blank. Frowning, I pull out my phone, open my tracker, and feel my stomach drop.
“Four months ago,” I say quietly, my heart suddenly pounding. “Why? Is something wrong with me?”
Dr. Penrose shakes her head. “Are you seeing anyone at the moment?”
“Yes,” I say automatically, then flash my ring at her, smiling despite my nerves.
“Well then, congratulations.”
My breath catches. “What’s going on? Come on, I’m anxious here.”
Instead of answering, she tilts her head. “Why didn’t you come in two months ago for your scheduled checkup?”
