Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
He steps forward and extends a hand. “Poppy,” I squeak, taking it.
“Poppy, beautiful name. Now, how about you take a seat and tell me what’s going on.”
We do. I sit closest to Eddie, and Beckett sits beside me. Eve stays standing, her arms crossed, her eyes on Eddie. No doubt she’s thinking the same thing as me. How the hell did we not know Beckett’s father lived in town and was a doctor? Judging by her face, she didn’t know either, and that makes me wonder what the hell went on for them not to know.
Beckett goes over everything, telling Eddie precisely what happened. Eddie listens, nodding as he goes, and then when Beckett is done, he turns to me. “Did you have any type of bleed after the pill, Poppy?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Cramping? Nausea?”
“No, nothing.”
“You took them as instructed?”
“Yes.”
He nods, typing something into his computer.
“How long ago did the two of you engage in intercourse?”
“Fuck me,” Beckett mutters. “Sex. We had sex!”
Eddie looks at him, his face blank. “Yes, how long?”
“About two weeks, maybe a bit more,” I answer.
Eddie nods. “Have you had any other symptoms?”
I think about it. “No, nothing.”
“Okay, well, let’s lie you down on the bed and have a look. I’ll run some bloods, get your levels, and we’ll go from there.”
I walk over and lie down on the bed. Eddie does a quick examination and then brings a nurse in to take some bloods. After that, he tells me he’ll do an ultrasound to see if he can see anything. He leaves the room and comes back with a large machine.
“This might be a bit uncomfortable. We have to do an internal ultrasound at this stage, I’m afraid, and there is a good chance we won’t see anything at all, but we’ll have a look. Do you know when your period was due, Poppy?”
“I have very irregular periods, so no,” I answer.
“Can you recall when the last one was?”
“Maybe eight weeks ago.”
He nods.
He closes the curtain while he preps me for the ultrasound, and then with my permission, he opens it.
“Internal, you mean you’re stickin’ that thing up her?” Beckett asks.
Eve slaps him. “Don’t be so crude!”
“Yes, Beckett,” I answer before Eddie can. “He’s shoving it right in there. Any other pointless questions?”
Beckett grunts.
Eddie gets on with it and carefully begins the ultrasound. It’s uncomfortable as hell, but once he finds what he’s looking for, I relax a touch.
“As suspected, I can’t see a great deal, but I can certainly see a yolk sac.”
“A what?” Beckett asks, his voice somewhat horrified.
“Yolk sac, that’s how all babies start. Soon, that’ll turn into your baby with a beating heart.”
We all fall silent.
“Nice thick uterine wall, a good healthy yolk sac, you’re definitely pregnant. Judging by this, you’re around the five-week mark.”
“We didn’t fuck five weeks ago,” Beckett pipes up.
“That’s not how it works, son,” Eddie goes on.
Then he spends the next five minutes explaining how it does work.
I spend the next five minutes staring at god knows what on the screen, my mind blank, my head spinning.
This is happening.
This is happening.
I’m having a baby.
We’re having a baby.
God.
24
The car ride home is silent, dead silent. Nobody said anything. I got sent away armed with pamphlets and instructions on what to do, but I can’t think, let alone read about, what vitamin I should be taking. The second we get back to the club, I walk to my room even though Beckett tells me I don’t have to stay in there.
Oh, now you feel sorry for me.
Don’t think so, champ.
I close the door in his face, and then I lay on the bed for what seems like hours, my mind swirling, my body numb.
Out of all the things in this world I would never have wished upon myself, it would be this. I can’t be a mother. I’m not fit to be a mother. I have lived on the streets, done some terrible things. I don’t have a loving family and a stable life. It’s certainly not something a baby should be exposed to. I’m currently a prisoner in a biker club while members of a cartel are getting ready to be gunned down because of me.
There is just no way I can have a baby.
A tear rolls down my cheek, then another.
I don’t sob.
I just lay there, feeling sorry for the choice I know I must make.
I can’t think.
The door opens after a few hours, and currently, I haven’t moved. I haven’t gotten up to pee or to eat the food brought in. I have just laid there, falling asleep and then opening my eyes, crying, and falling asleep again.
I turn my stiff neck in the direction of the door to see Beckett walking in. He’s drunk. One look at him tells me that. His eyes are glassy, his footing is off, and he’s got a beer in his hand. He walks in, closing the door behind him, and then he sits on the edge of the bed, staring down at me.