Page 10 of Lawless
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to judge," I sighed with a small shake of my head. When did humanity become such a shithole? "May I touch you?"
She allowed me to press gently on her stomach while I asked all the routine questions. I had my suspicions but after just a few minutes of examining her, I was all but certain.
"What's your name?" I pulled my hands away from her and sat up.
"Kitty," she answered, fear creeping into her eyes. "What's wrong with me?"
"Kitty, your stomach's fine. But my suspicion is you have an ovarian cyst. With your permission, I'd like to perform a pelvic exam to make sure."
Her eyes widened. "What the hell is that?"
"An ovarian cyst is a growth on one of your ovaries that can cause pain and cramping. They're usually benign, meaning not cancerous, but carry a risk of rupturing, which can cause internal bleeding and severe pain. Sexual intercourse, especially if it's rough, can increase the risk of a rupture."
"And you want to do what?"
"A pelvic exam," I replied clinically. "I'll need to insert two fingers in your vagina and put pressure around your lower abdomen for a few seconds to examine your uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries."
Kitty scooted away from me, a grimace of disgust on her face. "I don't do chicks."
"Neither do I. There's nothing sexual about this," I told her. "It's purely medical. But it's also your body. I won't do anything without your permission."
She hesitated, nearly doubled over with pain. "And if it is that thing you said? Then what?"
"Considering how much pain you're in," I chewed my lip, always hating this part, "I think removal of the cyst would be the best option."
"Removal?! How?"
"With surgery," I said as gently as I could. "It's a relatively minor surgery, although that depends on the size and where exactly the cyst is located. And I need to do the pelvic exam to find that out.“
Kitty's face paled as she scrambled off on my bed, heading for the door as she clutched her stomach. "Fuck no! You arenottouching my pussy and you sure as fuck arenotcutting me open!"
I nodded, completely unsurprised at her reaction. “Let me know if you change your mind, Kitty." I began cleaning up my supplies. "I'll be here for two more weeks. I just want to help."
She left my room, muttering to herself about fucking dykes while I threw all my used gloves and wrappers into a plastic bag and tied it off. Years ago, she would have offended me. I remembered the helpless feeling of trying to make a fellow woman understand that examining her was part of my job. The more I tried to explain it to her, the more she freaked out. I almostdidfeel like some kind of predator, even though I only wanted to help.
An OB/GYN consoled me after that, reminding me that consent and respect for our patients' autonomy was paramount in today's world. Above all else, people needed to feel like they could trust us, and that meant backing off when they said no. Even if their lives were at risk.
I cleaned everything off my bed and began tidying up before heading down to eat, when a small voice came from my open doorway.
"Mari?"
I whirled around. "Gretchen!" I gasped, stunned at the girl's face.
She had two black eyes and a split lip caked in dried blood. Bruises covered her neck, arms, and probably more places I couldn't see. It took all my self-control to quell the rage within me. Choosing the life of a prostitute was one thing, but she was just a kid, for fuck's sake.
"Come here, sweetie." I sat on the bed and patted the spot next to me. "Who did this?"
"It doesn't matter," she rasped, allowing me to feel gently around her face. No broken bones as far as I could tell.
"Did those fucking bikers attack you?" I got up to rummage through my pack for pain relievers.
"Don't worry about me, Mari. I'm used to it," she gave a weak smile that broke my heart. "But do you have any, ah, morning-after pills left?"
Of course, I knew before she said it. But for some reason, her saying those words hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. I'd treated dozens of sexual assault victims before. Why her asking me that affected me so much, I had no idea. Maybe because she was young with so much potential, or that she'd just escaped the exact same abuse months before. Or it could have been the way she smiled through the pain in her face, as if trying to encouragemeto chin up and get through the day.
"Gretchen..." I didn't know what to say. My chest felt so heavy. So I just pulled the sealed package of pills from my pack. "Take these right away. Both at the same time. You might feel some side effects—“
"Thanks, Mari. I'll pay you back in some way. I don't have much to trade but I can clean your room or—"
