Page 15 of Kings
“Except for Emily,” Ella muttered. She set her danish back on her plate when the mere scent of it turned her stomach. She’d thought she was feeling better after having to run out of class that afternoon, but it seemed like she couldn’t catch a break.
“Isn’t that kind of awkward, her being your mother-in-law now?” Avery asked, grimacing. “Since she raised you and all.”
“She’d have to have seen herself as my mother for it to be awkward on that account, and she definitely doesn’t, no matter what she’s saying now,” Ella sighed. That was another person who’d changed her tune dramatically in recent months, and Ella still wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Avery gave her a sympathetic look. “Have you been back since Axel marked you?”
Ella shook her head. She told herself it was just the thought of another dinner with Emily, but the wave of nausea that swept over her was overwhelming. She stood from the booth suddenly.
“Are you okay?” Avery asked.
“I’m just not feeling great,” Ella admitted.
“Come on,” Avery said, standing to take her arm and lead her into the bathroom. “Some cold water on your face will help.”
Ella nodded, but the moment she made it to the sink, her stomach had other ideas. She barely leaned over in time to retch into the basin. Fortunately, she had nothing to throw up but bile, but it was still embarrassing.
“Yikes,” Avery said, gathering her hair back as Ella continued to gag.
After a few moments, she felt like the wave of sickness had finally subsided. She rinsed her mouth out profusely and decided to take the advice of splashing her face with cold water, even if it was a bit late.
“You’ve been sick for a while,” Avery said, watching her worriedly. “That’s why you bailed on class this afternoon, right?”
“Yeah,” Ella admitted. “I think it’s stress. Or maybe I caught something.”
“You suck face with Axel and Bishop so much I think they’d be puking their guts out if that was the case,” Avery said wryly.
“Okay, that’s enough of a visual picture.”
Avery smirked. “I’m just saying, maybe you should go to the clinic.”
“I’m fine,” Ella insisted. She’d spent so much time there dealing with her heat that it was the last way she wanted to spend an afternoon. At least until she remembered her tentative plan of finding out more about the test results. It was a long shot that Dr. Miller would have left any evidence behind, but she had to try something. “Actually...I guess it couldn’t hurt.”
“That’s the spirit. Come on, I’ll walk you,” Avery said, handing Ella her bag.
Ella was relieved to have the company. She had missed Avery more than she’d imagined during the short time they’d been on the outs. It was nice to have someone to confide in, even if she could only share some of the things that were weighing on her heart.
To Ella’s relief, the doctor was out, but his nurse was taking patients. There was no one else in the waiting room, so she was ushered back quickly. After a series of questions, the woman looked her over carefully. “And you’ve been experiencing the nausea for how long?”
“About a week, on and off,” Ella answered.
“And this started after your heat,” the nurse said, glancing down at her clipboard. Ella really didn’t like the fact that it was such common knowledge, but that was par for the course.
“Yeah, I guess. I was going to ask about getting the implant now that it’s over.”
“You can discuss that with the doctor when he returns from vacation, but he’s going to want to run a pregnancy test first,” the nurse said.
Ella blinked. “Pregnancy? I was on suppressants.”
“It’s just a precaution, and I’m sure they told you that’s not a guarantee.”
“Well, yeah, but...” Ella trailed off, suddenly speechless.
The nurse took a packet out of one of the drawers and handed it to her. “Take this. The instructions are on the side, but it’s fairly straightforward.”
Ella took the test, trying not to melt into the floor with awkwardness. Avery was giving her a sympathetic look. “It’s no biggie. The odds are low, right?”
“Yeah,” Ella said with a strained smile, climbing down off the doctor’s table. She disappeared down the hall to take the test, embarrassed enough that they both knew she was peeing on a stick without them being right outside the door. She stared down at the test on the edge of the sink, tapping her foot as she waited for it to develop.
