Beads of sweat broke out along my hairline. Suddenly my entire body felt hot and prickly. “What? I’m pregnant?” I was trying to wrap my head around the news.
“No, honey, you’re not.” The doctor’s hands dropped into her lap.
“But, you just said—”
“The trauma of the cyst rupturing caused you to miscarry. You’re feeling sore because of the ruptured cyst and the fact that we had to do a D&C. We had to take swift action because right after you came in you blacked out because of the pain. The situation turned out to be high risk.”
With my head still a bit fuzzy I didn’t quite comprehend what the doctor was saying. I am pregnant? I was pregnant? Ruptured cyst? Trauma, miscarry, D&C? What?
“But I was on the pill. How could I get pregnant?”
“Contraceptives aren’t always foolproof, but being on the pill is the least of your worries right now. With a ruptured cyst there’s a chance of infection, which can be more than serious if it’s not treated correctly. On top of that, your body aborted a fetus and a D&C had to be performed to remove leftover tissue. You should heal up nicely, but that will take some time.”
The seriousness of my situation began to sink in. “How long do I need to stay here?”
“Maybe another day or two. I want you to take the rest of the week off of work and school to rest.”
Oh, shit! Work and school! Do they know where I’m at? I tried to listen to the rest of what she was saying, explaining the situation with the cyst and the miscarriage, what a D&C entails, and finally what I could expect to feel in the days to come. The doctor told me that I should be able to get pregnant in the future, but she sternly stressed when the time was right. I just stared at her.
“I’ll let your friend back in so you can talk to him,” Dr. Mulland said as she went to the door and opened it. Turning back she added, “I’ll check on you later today and before you’re discharged. The nurse will have a few prescriptions you’ll need to have filled right away.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Will you tell Nate to give me some time before he comes back in?’’ I forced a smile and she nodded before she left the room.
Now that I was alone with my thoughts, I began to realize what Dr. Mulland had just told me—I had been pregnant! Just as that sunk in, an image of Jensen came before me and a familiar sting rose up in my nose, letting me know that tears would soon be coming. Without fail they started coming slowly, dripping down my cheek. Soon I was sobbing into my pillow and wishing that I could bury my head deeper into it to muffle my cries. When I could cry no more and my tears finally stopped, all that was left was an occasional sniffle or two. Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and assuming it was Nate I invited him in.
“Hey, why are you crying?” Nate asked right away, sitting down in the chair next to the bed and taking my hand. “What did the doctor say?”
“I was pregnant, Nate. I miscarried.” Slowly I moved my hand to my face and wiped any remaining tears away.
“What?! Holy shit. That’s too bad. I’m sorry, Mia, really I am.”
“Yeah, I know … thanks. The doctor said that I had a big cyst that ruptured. I guess it caused too much trauma to the baby and it aborted itself.” A fresh set of tears started all over again.
Apologizing again for my loss, Nate reached over and wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb like a concerned parent would. It was quiet for a time before either one of us spoke.
“Wouldn’t you have felt the cyst if it was that big?” Nate wondered out loud.
“I guess. Maybe I did and just thought it was something else. Stress … a pulled muscle … a full stomach … something.” I shook my head and it was quiet again for a few minutes until I was the one to finally break it.
“Why aren’t you at school?” I asked.
“And leave you here having fun all by yourself?” Nate gave me one of his playful smiles. “Actually, I’ve been here since yesterday. I feel responsible since I’m the one who brought you here. Of course Aria sure wasn’t happy about that.”
Alarmed at the mention of Aria’s name, I tried to sit up but the pain smacked me back down. “Wait, what? Aria knows I’m here?” Any hope of keeping this secret was now gone.
“So does Kris and Alicia,” Nate nonchalantly informed me. “And I also know that Alicia told Jensen. He called this morning and made me promise to have you call him the minute you woke up.” Nate looked at me for a response.
“Great, good news travels fast,” I grumbled. Fucking friend hotline.
“You’d better call him, you know. Jensen was pretty serious when he said that if he didn’t hear from you soon he’d be on a plane.”
“What? No!” I yelled.
Nate put his hand on my arm. “Relax, just call him.”
“And say what, Nate? I can’t tell him about this,” I whispered harshly, putting my hand to my stomach.
“Why not? It was his kid, wasn’t it?” Nate eyed me questioningly.
I was about to answer angrily that yes, it most certainly was, when the shrill ring of the telephone broke the silence. Taking in a sharp breath, I stared at the little red light on the phone as it lit up. Nate reached over and answered it, but not before giving me a look that told me I’d better be ready to deal. Saying hello into the receiver, I saw Nate take a deep breath before looking at me once again.
“Hey, Jensen,” he said. “She’s—”
A streak of alarm rushed through me and I held up my hand, shaking my head fiercely to let him know I did not want to speak to Jensen right then.
“Ah, Jensen, Mia’s asleep right now.” Nate listened for a few seconds, telling Jensen that he wasn’t sure when I’d be awake and that me being in the hospital wasn’t serious enough for him to come home. Evidently Jensen asked him what the matter with me was because Nate told him that the doctor hadn’t been in to give any explanations. He then did his best to answer Jensen’s questions without giving anything crucial away, and was more than happy to tell Jensen he’d have me call him as soon as I woke up. “Damn, Mia. Your boy is not happy and I totally just lied for you. You owe me big time,” Nate said, figuratively as he hung up the phone.
“Do you think he can wait an hour? I need time to think.”
“A half-hour at the most, unless you want him hopping the next plane. He’s literally freaking out and sounded like he was throwing clothes in a bag.”
I sighed and was resigned to the fact that Nate was right. I needed to call Jensen back. “What did you tell people about why I’m in here?” I asked.
“I didn’t.” Nate shook his head back and forth. “I really didn’t know why you were in here, and as far as they’re concerned I still don’t. Although I did call school and work to tell them you’re in here and won’t be able to go back until next week. Your doctor mentioned that the last time she was in here and I offered to call them.”
After thanking Nate again for all he had done, I asked if I could have some privacy to call Jensen. My friend looked a little like he was being put out. He kindly handed me the phone before waving and heading out the door. When Nate was gone I slowly dialed Jensen’s dorm, and after two rings he answered.
“Mia?” Jensen sounded more than just worried.
“Hi there,” I murmured.
“What’s going on?” he quickly asked. “Why are you in the hospital? I’m about to fly up there!”
“No, no. Stay where you’re at, I’m fine. It’s nothing but a case of food poisoning and subsequent dehydration,” I lied. Figuring that another lie couldn’t hurt, I said,