I opened my eyes and saw Blane’s face above me, dismay etched on his features. He called out something, and I realized it had been him yelling.
“What . . . ?” I managed to ask, glancing around. I was mostly lying on the floor, though Blane had his arm around my back, holding my head in the crook of his elbow. Coffee was splattered in a puddle on the floor by the window, an empty cup lying on its side.
“You fainted,” Blane said, the words not quite as muffled.
I felt like I couldn’t move, my limbs so heavy it seemed they were held to the floor by invisible weights. I closed my eyes.
“Kat! Wake up, baby. Can you hear me?” Blane’s urgent voice penetrated my haze and I opened my eyes again.
My head was beginning to clear and now embarrassment crept over me. I made myself sit up. This was what I got for not eating or sleeping enough. I’d made a fool of myself in front of Blane. The desperate need to get out of there had me scrambling to my feet, forcing my weak knees to work like they were supposed to.
“Take it easy,” Blane said, hovering close enough that I suspected he thought I might faint again.
Just then, a nurse poked her head in the door. “Is everything all right?” she asked. “I heard someone yelling for help.”
“She needs a doctor,” Blane replied.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“You just fainted,” Blane retorted, his eyes narrowing. “You’re not fine.”
“I’m tired,” I said. “I skipped dinner last night, so probably low blood sugar or something. I’m fine.”
Our eyes were locked in a battle of wills.
“How are you feeling now?” the nurse said, heading purposefully toward me. She scrutinized my face.
“Better,” I lied, hoping she’d just let it go. Blane had paid my last hospital bill, albeit without my knowledge or consent, after I’d gotten hit by a car. But I doubted he’d be doing that again. I couldn’t afford a bunch of tests that would end up telling me what I already knew: I was overly tired and hadn’t been taking very good care of myself. “I’m just tired.”
“I can’t let you leave without having a doctor take a look,” she explained. “Liability reasons. Can you come with me?”
Shit.
I glared at Blane, who blandly smiled.
“As a lawyer, I’d have to agree with the nurse,” he said. “You leaving would put them at risk should something happen on your way home.”
There was nothing I could say to that and Blane knew it. I gritted my teeth and followed the nurse from the room.
She led me to another room not far away and asked me to sit on the bed and wait while she got a doctor. Twenty minutes later, they’d taken a blood sample for tests while I answered fifty thousand questions from the doctor as she shone a light in my eyes.
“The tests should be done shortly,” she said, pocketing the light. “Why don’t you rest here and I’ll be back?”
I reluctantly agreed and she left. After staring at the wall for twenty minutes, I got bored. Fishing my cell from my pocket, I called Alisha.
“Hey,” I said when she answered. “Are you at work today?”
“Unfortunately,” she said. “Why?”
I bit back my disappointment. “Nothing. Just wanted to say hi.”
“What happened?” Alisha was pretty perceptive.
I told her about Blane showing up and me passing out. “Now I’m stuck waiting for them to finish so I can leave,” I said. “Besides feeling like a complete idiot.”
“It’s not like it’s your fault,” Alisha said.
“I know, but still.” I sighed.
“He’s still controlling your life! God, I swear! Can’t he just leave you alone? If you didn’t want to see a doctor, then that’s your decision.” She paused in the midst of her anti-Blane tirade. “Though I think it’s a good idea that you are.”
“Traitor,” I said without heat.
“Well, I know I’ll feel better about it if a doctor gives you a clean bill of health,” she said. “So just this one time, I’ll agree with Blane.”
“You were just all mad at him for making me do something!”
“I have a lot of hidden anger,” she protested.
“Hidden? Really?” My sarcasm was thick though I was grinning, too.
“Okay, maybe not so hidden,” she allowed.
A knock on the door had me saying, “Doctor’s back. Gotta go.”
“Okay, call me and tell me what he says.”
“It’s a she.”
“Whatever.”
I ended the call just as the doctor entered.
“That took a little while,” I said.
She smiled as she pulled a little stool on wheels over next to where I sat. “I apologize,” she said. “We like to be thorough.”
Something about the way she said that, the way she smiled, set off alarm bells in my head, and the leftover grin from my conversation with Alisha faded.
“What is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?” It hadn’t occurred to me that something might actually be wrong with me. But from the look on the doctor’s face, I knew she had something to tell me.
“I’m not sure if this is welcome news or not,” she said carefully, “but the tests show conclusively that you’re pregnant.”
I stared at her, shock rippling through me. My mouth was hanging open and I snapped it shut.
“But-but that’s impossible,” I stammered. “I’m on birth control.”
“No birth control method is one hundred percent effective,” she said, her voice sounding much calmer than mine. “I’d also say you’re suffering from exhaustion and malnutrition,” she continued. “You’ll need to be more aware of your body’s needs the next few months. Eat right, get plenty of water and rest.”
I barely heard her. “But . . . I can barely afford to pay my own rent. How am I going to pay for a child?” I was reeling, the implications and fallout hitting me with the force of a Mack truck.
“May I ask, is the father in the picture?”
Kade. Oh my God. He wasn’t even sure I could be a fixture in his life, what would he say when he found out I was pregnant? And Blane. Oh God . . .
The room tilted again and the doctor jumped to her feet. “Lie down,” she said, easing me backward on the bed.
I squeezed my eyes shut as tears threatened. I would not cry in front of the doctor. I felt her take my hand, but she said nothing until I’d regained control. When I opened my eyes, her face held only compassion.
“If this was unplanned,” she said, “there are things you can do. Terminate the pregnancy, of course. There’s also adoption, if you want to give the baby up.”
This was too much. Her saying those things, it made it all too real.
“I have to get going,” I said, sitting up. “Um, where do I pay the bill?”
“The bill’s been taken care of,” she said. “The gentleman who I believe helped you earlier?”
Blane.
Panic struck. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?” I asked.
“Your records are confidential,” the doctor assured me, “though if he’s the father, I would encourage you to consider telling him.”
Hysterical laughter bubbled up in my chest and I swallowed it down. This felt like déjà vu. Just a few months ago I’d been afraid I was pregnant with Blane’s child. Now I was pregnant, but with his brother’s.
I hurried out of the room, intent on getting away as quickly as possible. I couldn’t think, couldn’t begin to process the abrupt turn my life had just taken. I felt inches from falling apart. If I could just make it to my car . . .
“Hey.”
I was suddenly brought to a halt by a hand on my arm. I looked up to see that Blane had stepped into my path.
“What did the doctor say?” he asked.
My eyes were wide with panic. I swallowed, forcing my voice to be calm when I replied. “She said I was fine,” I said, pasting a fake smile on my face. “Just like I told you.”