Page 100 of Feverburn

“Yeah, your IUD dislodged and tore through your uterus. You almost bled out in the fridge at work. You went septic.”His eyes got glossy with unshed tears.“I’m so sorry I did this to you.”

I grasped his hand again.“You didn’t. There is no way you could have. Did they? Did I have a hysterectomy? Did they take out my uterus?”I stuttered.

He shook his head.“No, they were able to avoid it. But it traveled to your liver.”

My vision tunneled, and I could hear my heartbeat whoosh in my ears.

“Rosie?”he asked.

“Yeah, I’m here. I’m just…wow…”

“But it’s okay. You’re okay. The doctors got you stable. We’ve got you. You’re sostrong.”He kissed my hand.

A doctor came in to talk. She had gray hair that hung in a blunt bob and wore clogs with fireworks printed on the glossy surface. Her energy was contained, calculated in a professional way I couldn’t read, but her navy eyes set on me in careful consideration. She introduced herself as Dr. Samantha Rasmussen, the woman who saved my life.

After checking my vitals and chart, she rested a cold hand on my forearm.“As you know,IUDs are inserted in the vagina, then through the cervix, and stay in the uterus as birth control. Sometimes, these devices perforate, which means the IUD will tear through the wall of your uterus and make its way to other parts of your body. In your case, once it tore through your uterine wall, it nicked a uterine artery, causing acute bleeding. The IUD then lacerated your liver and embedded in it.”

I nodded for her to continue.

“You went septic, and you had substantialbloodloss, but we were able to stabilize you. You’re still being treated for infection, and we will need you to come back for follow-ups regarding your liver.”

“Why did it dislodge? It just happens?”I asked.

“It’s hard to pinpoint the cause, but IUDs have a risk for migration since they’re a foreign object in your body. Usually, the body absorbs the IUD in fatty tissues, but in your case, it went somewhere moredangerous.”

Her gaze shifted to Carson, knowing he had something to say. He cleared his throat,“I know the IUD never poked me because it was inside her uterus, but I swear I felt the strings attached to it once. I feel responsible.”

Dr. Rasmussen tilted her head,“It’s not uncommon to feel your partner’s strings in certain sexual positions, but this would’ve happened regardless of whether you felt them. You didn’t do this. If anything, you saved her life.”

“I feel responsible,”he repeated.

She nodded patiently.“I’ve heard this from other patient’s partners, but I assure you that intercourse didn’t cause the perforation. Birth control is so commonplace in our society we forget there’s always a risk. Rosie was, unfortunately, an outlier.”

I turned to Carson, giving him my full attention.“You didn’t do this. Thank you for finding me, honey.”He gave me a sad stare. Picking my battles, I turned back to the doctor.“Will I still be able to have babies?”

She squinted, “I can’t say definitively, but this shouldn’t impact future fertility or pregnancies. Some patients have punctures that are completely asymptomatic. Your case was emergent due to the blood loss and septic shock.”

“So, babies are possible?”I asked, feelingstupid.

“Yes,”she affirmed, her eyes crinkling with a polite smile.

I looked over at Carson,gratefulto see his expectant eyes. He wanted babies, too, which made mehappyin such a sad situation.

As the doctor left, I stared at Carson, trying to clump together enough sense in my brain to convey my feelings. I patted the empty spot near my legs on the bed, wanting him closer.

As he sat down, pulling at the neck of his shirt, he said,“I’m so sorry mycurseput you in this situation.”

“Baby, you didn’t.”

“I did. First the fire, now this. What’s next?”

“I know it’s over. I had this vision, this dream. Listen, you’re not cursed.”I waved to him to help me sit up more. I sucked in a deep breath, gathering myself.“You’re not cursed. You have astrongsense of intuition. You’re psychic as fuck.”

“That’s Kaylee, not me. I’m not psychic.”

“What if your dreams predict what’s going to happen? What if you’re intuitive and never knew mystical stuff like this was real until you talked to someone like me?”

His body and gaze froze.

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