long scars marred your back.
Kevin hadn’t, and Chelsea often wondered if the scars from his rejection ran deeper than those of the surgeons who’d operated on her scoliosis.
Then again, Jared had also rejected her, without having seen the imperfections of her body. But she’d understood, even respected his determination to do the right thing as she’d been underage.
Hannah didn’t speak, but Chelsea could feel walls being thrown up. The young girl didn’t want to hear what needed to be said.
“At your age,” Chelsea continued, “abstinence is most often the wisest choice, but, regardless, sex is an important step in a relationship. Both parties should be ready for that step and should enjoy making that step when the time arrives.”
“He didn’t force me,” Hannah said pointedly.
“Perhaps you were ready for that step,” Chelsea continued gently, “but perhaps you weren’t and only went along with what your boyfriend wanted because you were afraid of losing him.”
Hannah’s lower lip disappeared into her mouth and the girl squirmed on the exam table, crinkling the protective paper covering the vinyl top.
“It’s my job to help you take care of your health. That means your mental and emotional health as well as your physical.”
“I’m not sick,” Hannah insisted. “I just want to go on the Pill so I won’t get pregnant.”
“Even if you go on the Pill, you still need to make your boyfriend wear a condom. The only way to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain or have your partner wear a condom.”
“Or to have sex with a virgin,” Hannah added with a touch of irritation. “I know all this already. We went over this stuff during health class when I was in junior high school.” She eyed Chelsea suspiciously. “You’re going to tell my mom, aren’t you?”
“No, but I recommend you tell her.”
“Me tell her? You have got to be kidding me.” The girl snorted, her expression dramatic. “I thought you said your job was to look out for my health, not to get me killed.”
“Your mom wouldn’t kill you.”
“Maybe not,” Hannah admitted. “But she wouldn’t let me see Brett anymore, and that’s worse than dying.”
Having fallen hard for Jared at only a year older than Hannah, Chelsea wouldn’t judge the girl. Neither would she point out that her entire life was ahead of her, whether Brett remained in her life or not.
“Whether or not you tell your mother is your choice. My job is to give you the best information I can so you can make wise health-care decisions. In this case, having an open discussion with your mother is what I believe to be best.”
Ha, like she’d ever had an open discussion with her own mother. These days, she and Iva only saw each other a couple of times a year. Thank God, as she didn’t think she could survive more. Only through Will did Chelsea find contact with her parents tolerable. Sometimes she wondered if they would even include her in family activities if not for her brother.
What right did she have to advise Hannah to tell her mother? What if Hannah’s mother made Iva look warm and cuddly?
“It’s your call,” she said softly. “But I want you to at least consider talking with her.”
“Sure.” Sarcasm never dripped as thickly as it did off Hannah’s flippant tongue.
Chelsea took a deep breath. She didn’t seem to be getting through to the teenager.
“OK, let’s move on. We’ll discuss the different birth-control options you have.”
Hannah’s gaze narrowed. “What kind of options?”
“Pill, patch, shot, cervical cap, intra-uterine device, all of which require a pelvic examination first.”
The girl cringed. “You have to see me down there?”
“To do the thin prep test that checks your cervical and vaginal cells, I have to physically examine you.”
The girl’s face fell. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“Have a pelvic exam?” Chelsea clarified, wanting to make sure she understood what Hannah was saying.
The girl nodded. “Just the thought embarrasses me and makes my skin feel hot and sweaty.”
“You have to have the test before I will write you any type of prescription birth control.”
Hannah let out a long sigh. “Why?”
“Some tumors grow at an accelerated rate when hormones are added.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “I don’t need hormones. I just want the Pill so I don’t get pregnant.”
“Many types of birth control are hormones, including the Pill.”
“Oh.” The girl sat quietly, digesting what Chelsea had told her.
“Another thing you should consider having is the HPV vaccine.”
The girl crossed her arms and gave Chelsea a smug look. “I’ve had all my vaccines.”
“That’s wonderful, and perhaps you have had HPV, too, but it isn’t a required vaccine so not everyone has. The vaccine is recommended for girls aged nine through twenty-six. HPV, or human papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States and causes most cases of cervical cancer.”
Hannah’s eyes became round. “There’s an STD that causes cancer?”
“Yes.” Chelsea was glad to see she’d caught the girl’s interest. “There are around fifty strands of the virus. The vaccine protects against the strands causing cervical cancer.”
“If this HDP is so common, why haven’t I ever heard of it?”
“HPV, and you probably have heard of the disease without knowing it. Genital warts are also caused by human papillomavirus,” she explained.
Hannah’s nose curled in disgust, and she nodded. “I do remember studying those during health class. Nasty business.”
“Let me give you some information to read.” Feeling pleased she’d made a connection with the girl, Chelsea stood. “I’ll come back in a few minutes, and you can decide what you’d like to do regarding your pelvic examination and the vaccine.”
She stepped into the hallway and didn’t see Betty anywhere. Scanning the nurses’ station, she wondered where brochures and handouts might be kept but didn’t see anywhere obvious.
“Problems?” a deep voice asked from behind her. A voice belonging to the man she’d had to force off her mind all morning. Her spirits lifted just at knowing he was near, that he still felt the connection between them and had sought an excuse to search her out, to share a conversation. Perhaps he was a man confident enough to overlook her imperfections and care for her just as she was. Hey, a girl could dream.
She turned, but her heart stalled.
Jared’s eyes would have formed glaciers on the sun. Ouch. Why was he looking at her like that? With something akin to…Chelsea sought the right word and could only come up with loathing.
But he couldn’t loathe her. All she’d done had been to ineptly flirt with him ten years ago. OK, she’d kissed him, too, but he’d kissed her back, so surely he didn’t blame that completely on her?
Jared had left the next day and, despite initially trying to contact him, she’d not seen him since.
Not knowing how she’d clung to his words, Will had updated her from time to time. Jared wasn’t married and, other than the longtime girlfriend she hadn’t known about when they’d first met, there hadn’t been anyone special