Page 21 of Badger
He nodded and scurried over to his mom.He promptly dug around in the tote by her feet, pulling out a book, and sat in the chair next to her.The kid opened the book, but kept casting me furtive glances.After a few minutes, he closed the book and scooted over until he was on the chair next to me.With a quick grin up at me, he opened his book again and started reading.
Adalia rested her head on my shoulder.“That was pretty damn impressive, Colton.I think you’re going to make an excellent daddy, just don’t throw our kid out a window, okay?”
I bit my lip so I wouldn’t laugh and just winked at her.Let her make of that what she would.If my kid ever acted like that, I wouldn’t promise not to threaten them with a flight through a window.When I’d been in Juvie the first time, the cop had said maybe he could scare me straight.I hadn’t understood it at the time, but now I did.I doubted the kid next to me would forget me any time soon.I just hoped he remembered to behave everywhere he went from now on.It would suck if his life went down the wrong path just because his mom couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.
Adalia’s name was called and I stood, then followed her into the back.We were led to a room a few doors down, and Adalia hopped up on the padded table, the paper crinkling under her.The nurse assured us the doctor would be in soon, then shut the door.Great.We went from waiting in one room to now waiting in another room.Didn’t seem like much progress.
“Have you never waited at the doctor before?”she asked, watching me pace the small area.
“Never been,” I said.
She blinked slowly.“You’ve never been?Like you’ve never, not ever, seen a doctor?”
“Nope.They had medical care in prison, but I wasn’t ever sick.When I’m on the outside, if something happens, I either stitch up myself or get a brother to do it.”
“For the record, you’re not ever stitching me up.”
“You’d damn well better not need stitches to begin with.But if you do, we’re going to the ER.Getting stitches would hurt you, and I could never do that to you.”
Her gaze softened.She parted her lips like she was about to say something when the door swung open.The doctor wasn’t quite what I’d expected.The man looked to be in his early fifties, but had a thick head of hair that only had a sprinkling of silver threaded through it.I wasn’t sure I liked someone like him being around my girl.
“Adalia,” Dr.Larkin said, looking up from the tablet in his hand.His eyebrows rose when he saw me.“And you must be Badger.”
“Yeah.”
He nodded.“Well, I’m not sure what news you were hoping for, but the pregnancy test is positive.I know that’s probably a bit shocking with Adalia’s medical history.I’ve never treated a patient with endometriosis who was able to get pregnant on the first try.Most try for years and still don’t have success.”
It felt like the room was spinning and I leaned against the wall.Pregnant.I glanced at Adalia to see how she was taking it, but her expression was blank.That didn’t tell me shit and I hated it.Did she want this baby?Was she happy about the pregnancy?I needed some clue from her how I should respond to this.
“I’m going to call in a prescription for prenatal vitamins,” Dr.Larkin said.“You’ll need to schedule an appointment your OB-GYN, Adalia.They’ll treat your pregnancy from this point forward.”
“Thank you, Dr.Larkin,” she said softly.
“Do you have any questions for me?”he asked.
Adalia shook her head.
“I don’t think I have to tell you this, but you need to be careful, Adalia.It’s still quite possible you’ll lose the baby before the first trimester is over.Have you had sex since the last time I saw you?”Dr.Larkin asked.
“No,” she said.
“Then I think it’s safe to say you’re three weeks along.”
“I thought a pregnancy test couldn’t be done until a month after?”I asked.
“That’s often a misconception.I actually confirmed a pregnancy a few months ago within a week of conception, using the same blood test we performed on Adalia.We didn’t realize that at the time, but the OB-GYN was able to narrow it down a bit,” Dr.Larkin said.
I watched Adalia, hoping she’d give me something.Anything.She was too quiet.The fact I couldn’t see any emotion on her face scared the shit out of me.The doctor said we could leave and I helped Adalia off the table.She released me immediately and walked out the door ahead of me.With no other option, I followed her to the parking lot, stopping beside the truck we’d borrowed from the club.I hadn’t fit in her tiny ass car, and no way was I going to let her ride on the back of the bike, not with a possible pregnancy hanging over our heads.
I helped her into the truck, then went around to the driver’s side.I hesitated before I got in, and just watched her through the window, wondering if she’d crack and show me something if she didn’t know I was watching.Nope.Still impassive.
I got in and cranked the engine.Then I reached for her hand and lifted it to my lips, kissing the back of it.
“Sweet girl, I have no idea what’s going through your mind right now and it’s fucking killing me.You being pregnant is a good thing, right?I mean, isn’t this like a once-in-a-lifetime chance for you?”I asked, not really knowing anything about endometriosis.I needed to do some research, though.
“You don’t want kids,” she mumbled.“You hated that kid in the waiting room.”
“I didn’t hate him,” I said.“He just needs a good ass whooping.If his mom gave him some boundaries, he’d probably be a good kid.Right now, he’s a rotten little shit.”
