AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It's the second day of the year and the holidays are over, thank goodness. Oliver is at work, and I consider going to the shop but I’ve been spending too much time there when there’s not much for me to do. I’m not going to try to reopen my studio until the end of January, when I’ll have everything ready for the rebranding, including my new sign. There hasn’t been any further vandalism and the protestors have stopped showing up since my studio closed.
I’m not accustomed to this much free time. It occurs to me there are medical appointments I’ve been putting off. It’d be a good time to get them out of the way.
I’m past due for a dental cleaning and a pap smear. I’ll get those scheduled then work on giving the house a good cleaning until I meet Tori for lunch. For a pariah and assumed murderer, I’m living a boring life.
The dental appointment is scheduled easily enough, but I get put on hold when I call my gynecologist. Once I give them my name, I’m transferred to a nurse.
“Ella Booth?” she asks, then rattles off my birthdate and address.
“Yes, that’s correct.” Great. Does she recognize my name? Are they going to refuse to see me? “I wanted to make an appointment for my yearly exam.”
“Okay, just a couple of questions and we’ll get you scheduled. Have you had your contraceptive implant removed or replaced by another provider?”
Her question throws me for a second. Why would I have gone somewhere else? Before I can answer, she adds, “Or will we be replacing it on your visit?”
“Is it time for that?” Has it been three years? It probably has. After everything that’s happened, I haven’t given it a thought.
“It’s well past time. It’s not recommended for an expired one to remain implanted. It can cause some problems and make them harder to remove. Yours expired…” The sound of shuffling papers fills her silence. “Over four months ago. Are you having any issues? Heavy or irregular periods?”
“The implant stopped my period.”
“Have you been using a back-up contraceptive method?” she asks.
Dread drops into my stomach like a brick. My voice comes out in scarcely more than a whisper. “No, I didn’t realize it was expired.”
“No problem. You may want to take a pregnancy test, but we’ll also administer one before we replace the implant. Does next Wednesday at eight work for you?”
Pregnancy test. She said pregnancy test.
“Ma’am?”
“Yes, sorry, that’s fine, thank you.”
My stomach churns when I hang up the phone. The implant expired four months ago. Well before Oliver and I had sex.
No, the universe could never be so cruel. Not after everything we’ve suffered and are still going through. I haven’t had a period because surely there’s some grace period. The implant isn’t going to turn off like a switch on the expiration date. The hormones are still trickling in, keeping me safe. It’s still working. It has to be.
I can’t bear the possibility hanging over my head so despite the complete denial settling in, I grab my keys and race to the drugstore. The box I choose has three tests. Once I see negative on all of them, I’ll know everything is fine. I’ll get the implant switched out and make sure I never forget again.
It’s still early morning when I return home. The test recommends using your first urine of the day but it’s too late for that and there’s no way I can wait until tomorrow. I’ll take two of them and once they’re negative, save the other for first thing tomorrow just in case.
Maybe it’s nerves or the fact I’ve already gone and haven’t had anything to drink, but I can’t pee. Damn it. My head feels like it’s in a weird fog while I set the test aside and chug a glass of water. I feel zoned out.
It’s okay. Once I see a negative test result, I’ll snap out of it. For twenty minutes, I busy myself with cleaning up the kitchen, stopping to drink more water until finally, I feel the urge.
As I’m unwrapping another test, Oliver calls. Not answering isn’t an option or he’ll worry and want to check on me. I need to be alone for this.
“Hey,” I say, trying to sound normal.
“Hi beautiful. What are you doing today?”
“Not much. Meeting Tori later. And cleaning the house. I’m spring cleaning in the winter, haha!” Okay, the laugh sounded insane. And loud. Tone it the fuck down, Ella.
“Are you alright?” he asks. “Did something happen?”
This time I control myself and give a normal giggle. “No, sorry, I didn’t mean to blow your eardrum out. I’m fine, just went a bit heavy on the caffeine. I should probably eat something.”
“Well, it’s nice to hear you in a good mood.” You poor deluded man, I’m losing it. “My lawyer called and wants to meet with me this afternoon. He’s coming here. He didn’t say what it was about but if you could come…”
