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I pull the sweater’s sleeves over my fists without thinking about it. “Really?”
“It’ll only take a minute. I’m a pro at finding a vein on the first try.” She waves me over to where a syringe is waiting, along with a handful of vials. The woman wants to bleed me dry.
But there’s something about her that makes it easy to be trusting. She seems kind, which I’m not used to always seeing from doctors. So it’s not so nerve-wracking, pushing my sleeve up so she can stick me with the needle.
“There. All done.” She places gauze and tape over the prick from the needle before marking the vials. Once she’s finished, she looks up at Lucas with a smile. He hasn’t moved since we came in. “Thanks, Lucas. I think we can take it from here.”
It’s obvious from the way he hesitates that he doesn’t want to leave me on my own in here. He’s afraid of what I’ll say. The doctor clears her throat. “Privacy, please,” she murmurs, raising her eyebrows. They stare at each other for a long moment—then he sighs and turns on his heel, marching out of the room and closing the door with a loud click.
She shakes her head, snorting. “Men, right? Always thinking they know what’s best.”
“They do that,” I agree in a soft voice.
“Why don’t you get undressed for me,” she suggests, though it’s not a suggestion. I know I don’t have a choice. “There’s a gown on the table. Meanwhile, now that we’re alone, I’ll move on to the personal questions.” She checks out her tablet, scrolling with the stylus. “Do you have a family history of any major diseases?”
“None that I know of.” Unless she wants to count being a bunch of insufferable assholes as a disease. “Though I didn’t have a close relationship with my family. I didn’t know a lot of them very well.” Though after the way my father treated me all my life, I wouldn’t mind finding out he had ass cancer.
“Fair enough. What about your personal history?”
“I’ve never had any major diseases.”
She gives me a gentle smile. “What about the not-so-major things?”
“I’ve been pretty healthy, really.”
“Heavy periods? Migraines? What about anxiety or depression?”
“Why are you asking me these questions?” I turn to her, now wearing the paper gown she left for me. There’s a chill in the air, and I shiver from the cold.
She lowers the tablet, frowning at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend or overwhelm you. These are standard questions asked of all incoming students. It helps if I know what to expect—or whether students need medication, so I can have it on-hand.”
Of course. I’m being an idiot, looking deeper into things than necessary. “Sorry. I’ve—”
“You don’t have to apologize. We all have our reasons for keeping our privacy. But it would be helpful if you’d answer my questions.”
So I do while climbing up onto the table. “My periods are pretty regular. I’ve been taking birth control since I was sixteen. The depo shot. Occasional headaches but nothing severe. No history of depression or anxiety.” At least nothing that’s ever been officially diagnosed. It’s not like my aunt had the resources to take me to specialists, not that she needs to know that.
“Lucas filled me in on what happened to you, but he didn’t give me a lot of details. Were you sexually assaulted while you were held captive?”
“No one fucked me against my will.”
Dr. Lauren raises one eyebrow at me, and I immediately regret not simply saying no. “Did they do anything else to you?”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Ugh. Why didn’t I just tell her no? I don’t want to open this fucking can. Dr. Lauren doesn’t look like she is letting it go.
“They made me get naked, so they could jerk off on my tits.” Just saying it out loud makes me feel dirty, and I want to scrub my chest clean all over again. As if the soap will help get rid of that disgusting feeling in my gut.
“That’s not something to take lightly. They might not have physically harmed you, but that doesn’t make it any less of a sexual assault.”
“Can we not talk about this anymore?” I just want to forget this ever happened.
“Of course, but I’m always here to talk if you need to.”
She goes through the rest of the examination in silence, and I’m more than glad about it.
Once we’re finished with the only minorly embarrassing part of the visit, it’s time to get down to the truly humiliating stuff. She takes a look under the hood, checking out all my parts until I’m blushing while staring at the ceiling and waiting for it to be over.
“Okay. You’re all set.” She rolls her stool away from the table while peeling off her gloves. “The results from your blood work should be in within a few days. I’ll let you know if I find any abnormalities, but if everything’s okay, I won’t bother you.”
