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Then why do I feel like something is wrong? I bite my tongue, holding back my worries. This is about Rachel and keeping her calm. I know added stress is not what she needs and will only make things worse. My gaze lowers and it catches on Rachel’s ankles. Were they always that big? She looks so swollen, now that I think of it. My gaze slides up to her face and I take in how puffy her cheeks seem.
Yeah. Something is definitely wrong.
“Now,” Dr. Adams starts while putting the stick thing away. “We’re going to send you home with a cup. I would like for you to give us some urine samples while you’re at home. Just so we can check your protein levels. Your next appointment is…”
“Next Tuesday,” the nurse rushes out.
Dr. Adams nods. “Let’s move that up to this Friday. Is that alright with you, Rachel? You can come back in two days?”
Rachel nods while pushing down her dress. “Yeah. It should be fine. I’m free in the afternoons.”
“Perfect.”
Rachel slides off the bed and goes to grab her purse near the chair. So that’s it? There’s nothing else for us to do.
“Is there any way we can check to see who the father of the baby is?” I ask quickly.
Rachel gives me a stern look, but I ignore it. Dr. Adams frowns at me and I wonder if she’s even going to answer my question. I have felt so ignored this entire appointment. If she ignores me now, I don’t think I’m going to leave until she answers my question.
“Well,” Dr. Adams starts while plopping down into her chair. “We could, but it would be extremely expensive. And it would be quite uncomfortable for Rachel.”
“Why?”
Dr. Adams looks at me as if I’m a complete idiot. “We would have to take a very long needle and push it through her belly to take a blood sample from the baby.”
Rachel groans and she grimaces at me while shaking her head. “No way,” she whispers at me.
“So what about after?”
Dr. Adams blinks at me. Yeah, yeah, this might be the least of everyone’s worries, but I need to know who the father is. It’s weird… but I’m really hoping it’s Hunter’s. I feel like Rachel will be less hurt over Seth leaving it if turns out the baby isn’t his. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
“We do a cheek swab of the baby and the potential father. It’s also about two grand cheaper.”
I nod. “Okay. And what will the urine samples determine? Should we be concerned about Rachel losing the baby?”
Rachel gasps and Dr. Adams’ frown deepens. “I don’t think Rachel has any cause for concern right now. I only want to double check everything is fine.” She smiles at Rachel. “You have nothing to worry about right now. Just pee in the cup, and bring it back to me, and try to relax as much as you can at home.”
“And what should we do if we discover something is wrong?”
Dr. Adams sighs. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
That’s not a good enough answer, but I suspect Dr. Adams wants to move on to the next patient. So, I nod my head and follow Rachel out of the room, feeling even more worried than I was when we were waiting in the waiting room. Rachel walks ahead of me, moving quickly. I can tell something is wrong, but she’s keeping her mouth shut. I’m not going to apologize for asking questions. That’s what doctors are supposed to do—answer your questions about your health, but somehow, I turn out to be the bad guy? Whatever.
We wait for Hunter outside the clinic. It’s a warm fall day, but I still worry about whether or not Rachel should be waiting inside. She is pregnant after all. I would hate for her to catch a cold. Just when I’m about to say that, Hunter turns into the parking lot and stops in front of us. Without a single word, Rachel stalks to the passenger’s seat next to Hunter. I watch her throw open the door and ease into the seat before slamming it.
Yep. She’s angry. Whatever. I’m over it. I slide into the back and begin researching on my phone all the possible things that could be wrong with Rachel. She can be angry all she wants. I’m just trying to help. Besides, I probably wouldn’t be so worried about her if she had just told me the truth about her pregnancy from the beginning.
“So, how was it?” Hunter asks when neither of us say anything.
Rachel keeps her mouth closed and I force a smile and say, “She has to pee into a cup.”
I can see Hunter’s grimace through the mirror. “Great,” he says sarcastically. “Anything else?”
I open my mouth to respond, but Rachel cuts in. “No.”
Wonderful, Rachel. Let’s keep more secrets. I don’t say anything as Hunter drives. We can have this argument when we get home. I turn my attention to my phone and scroll through all the horrors of pregnancy, searching for what could possibly be wrong.
Chapter 22
