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FIFTEEN
~ Elina ~
My stomach had been hurting all day.
Leaning against the top of the filing cabinet, I fumbled my way across the office. I knew I needed help and fast. My feet couldn’t seem to coordinate as my eyesight went fuzzy. Luckily, one of my colleagues was walking past and must have noticed my demeanor.
“Is everything okay, Elina?” he asked, holding me from beneath the elbow.
I couldn’t seem to formulate words; all I could do was shake my head. I tried to lean against him to walk forward, but it was no use. Finally, giving into the darkness, I shut my eyes and let myself fall. I never even felt it when I hit the floor.
And then I woke up.
I was no longer in the office. I was in a brightly-lit room that burned my eyes to look up. There was beeping nearby, and I could feel a needle pricking into my arm. It took several blinks for my eyes to adjust to the light, and even then, my head throbbed. With a dry mouth, I sat up, still unable to speak. It was at this point, Zane came rushing up.
“Elina, you’re awake!”
Pointing to my throat, I signaled that I needed something to drink. Zane quickly filled a plastic cup up with water from the side table and handed it to me. After my first sip, I felt a lot better. I was able to look about, and I knew that I was in the hospital. Fear struck through me, and I widened my eyes.
“What happened?” I murmured croakily, “Why am I here?”
“You collapsed at work,” Zane explained, laying a comforting hand on mine, “One of your colleagues caught you, and they called an ambulance to bring you here. They said that everything looked fine, but they were going to run some tests to identify the cause of it.”
I collapsed? I vaguely recalled walking through the office and falling into my colleague’s arms. My mind was blurry, and I felt myself break out in a cold sweat thinking about it. My heart rate on the monitor started to go up, and a nurse came rushing in.
“Good to see you’re awake, Miss Miller. You need to relax now; you don’t want to get worked up in your current state.”
“My current state?” I asked, “What’s my current state?”
She fiddled about with a few of the tubes and wires connected to me before shaking her head.
“I’ll go get a doctor to explain. You just lean back and relax.”
After she left the room, I turned to Zane, panic ripping through me, “What’s she going on about? What state is she referring to?”
Zane looked equally freaked out, “I’m not sure. They wouldn’t say much to me as we’re not married and I’m not related to you. They just let me stay with you until you woke up. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.”
I could have sworn it was the longest ten minutes of my life. Despite the nurse instructing me to relax, it was near impossible. I gripped tightly onto Zane’s hand the entire time and stared at the door, unblinking. He seemed on edge, too, as he gently rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand, his jaw clenched in anticipation. When the white coat finally showed around the door, I let out a long breath.
Now I just had to face whatever was about to come my way.
“Good afternoon, Miss Miller. I’m Dr. Sanders. Now, you were admitted because you collapsed at work, is that correct?”
I nodded, “I believe so. I don’t remember much.”
He checked the clipboard he was holding, “It makes sense. We’ve had to run a few tests to identify the source of your problem, and we have some news.”
Both Zane and I leaned in at the same time. I feared the worst, and I could feel my eyes starting to brim with tears.
“You’re pregnant.”
My mind went blank for a moment. How could I be pregnant? He couldn’t be right. I couldn’t get pregnant. That’s what the doctors told me before. So, how could I be pregnant? Zane’s mouth had dropped open, and he looked across at me, questions in his eyes. I stared up at the doctor.
“That can’t be right…”
“Because of your endocrine system disorder? Yes, we checked your medical records and made sure to run all the tests, but I can promise you that you’re pregnant. Shall I give you two a minute to discuss?” he asked, looking at Zane.
I nodded silently and waited for the doctor to leave before turning to Zane. I still couldn’t quite comprehend the news.
