Page 75 of East (The Moral Compass 3)

What the fuck? She’s dizzy, not throwing up. As the doctor moves over to the bed, so do I. No way is anyone laying a hand on her body without me seeing exactly what they are doing.

“It’s all right, Zed, I’m only checking to see if any of her organs are enlarged. Stand down, soldier.”

Cocky fucker. I’ll stand him down in a minute.

He presses and taps and moves his hands around her lower abdomen.

“Everything’s good. Nothing to worry about.”

“What about the test? What does that say?”

“Ah, yeah.” He picks up the dip strip. “So, I don’t know if this is good or bad news, so I’ll just say it…”

Chapter 31

East

Zedhasbeenacomplete dick in the doctor’s office. It reminds me of how he was when I first met him. It’s actually how he is with everyone but me.

I’ve been poked, prodded, and had things stuck in my ears, and now, it’s the moment of truth.

“So, I don’t know if this is good or bad news, so I’ll just say it… The test is negative.”

The breath I didn’t realise I was holding releases. I look over to Zed. He smiles back, but if I’m not mistaken, he looks deflated. I, on the other hand, am ecstatic.

“Thank God. Phew, I was a little worried there for a while,” I say cheerfully. Zed’s face changes, and the disappointment is clear. He looks pretty pissed off right now.

Oh hell.

“So, I want to take some blood and run some tests, but I am fairly sure your dizzy spells are down to your low blood pressure. What’s causing it is another question. I’ll take the blood now, and the results will be back tomorrow.” I hear the doctor talking, and I roll up my sleeve and hold out my arm, but I can’t take my eyes off Zed. What’s going on in his head? Why does he look like I stole his last cookie?

He should be happy. We have a real chance at something real, not something built on a mistake. If things work out, there might be a chance at a baby way down the line.

“There, all done. I’ll give you a call tomorrow with the results.”

I nod and reach out my hand to Zed. He looks at it. Then, he finally stands and takes it.

“Thank you, Doctor Mathers,” I say.

Zed simply grunts as he pulls open the door.

“Are you not going to say thank you?” I whisper.

“For what? He hasn’t told us what’s wrong with you yet. I’ve had a text from West. He wants the debrief at 11:00 a.m., so we better get moving.” He grumbles.

Who the hell has eaten his canary? As we walk to the car, I decide to bite the bullet.

“Spit it out.”

“What?”

“You and the grumpy fucking arsehole routine.”

“I’m okay. I just wanted to know you were okay, and that shit doctor couldn’t even do that.”

“It’s not about the dizziness, is it?”

“Yes, of course it is.”

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