Page 167 of Huckleberry Hill
Declan had helped me change, but when he saw the bruising on my body, he’d wrapped me in a wool blanket and carried me to the truck and driven me to the hospital. Terror had been etched on his face every time he looked at me.
The curtain around the exam table slid back and a middle-aged doctor with fine lines around her eyes and brown hair streaked with gray appeared.
“Hi there,” she said. “I’m Dr. Novak. I’ll be taking care of you today. Tell me what’s going on.” She glanced at Declan and his attire, but her focus returned to me.
I quickly explained that Declan was my boyfriend and what had occurred. “I’d love some painkillers.”
“I’m sure you would,” she commiserated. “Please lay back for me, so I can do an exam and see what we’re dealing with here.”
I laid back and lifted my shirt.
“Ouch,” Dr. Novak said as she put on a pair of gloves. She gently touched the left side of my abdomen and worked her hands up to my ribs.
It took everything in me not to howl in pain.
“You’ve got a lot of bruising. I don’t know if there’s any internal bleeding or broken ribs, so I’ll need to get some images. Before I administer pain meds, I need to know if you’re pregnant.”
I hadn’t been prepared for the question. “No,” I rasped. “I’m not pregnant.”
“Any chance you might be?”
“Doubtful,” I whispered.
She patted my shoulder. “You can sit up. Do you remember the date of your last period?”
“No.”
I hadn’t bothered tracking my period after finding out I couldn’t have children. What was the point?
“All right.” She nodded. “I’m going to have you take a pregnancy test anyway to rule it out. It’s protocol. I’m going to order a rush on it, okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“I’m just going to get someone to draw your blood, but—” She handed me a cup for a urine sample. “Bathroom is right over there.”
Declan immediately came to my side and helped me off the exam table and guided me to the bathroom.
“I don’t know why I need to pee in a cup,” I muttered. “We both know it’s negative.”
“Protocol, like she said.”
“Fuck protocol,” I moaned. “I’m in pain.”
I went into the bathroom and did my thing. I returned to the exam table and handed off the sample to the phlebotomist, who wrote down the information on the label and then drew my blood.
She took the samples and left us alone.
My mind was bouncing from one thing to the next. Declan’s cell phone rang, and he unzipped his jacket and reached for it in the inner pocket.
“Your dad,” he said.
“Answer it,” I suggested.
“Connor,” he said in greeting. “Yeah, we’re at the hospital. A doctor has just seen Hadley. She’s going to do some x-rays.” He paused. “Sure. Here.”
He handed me the phone which I put to my ear.
“Hey,” I said.
