“If you did that to me, I’d feel like I’m in a damn sauna or somethin’, Wren.You’re really gonna make me suffer like that?”Tristan asks me as I adjust the pillow under his injured leg so he looks more comfortable.
“No, I wouldn’t do that to you.I promise,” I tell them as Zach resumes looking through all the drawers.
“What the hell is this?”he asks, causing Tristan and I to turn in his direction.
I start laughing my ass off because Zach has no clue he’s holding a speculum right now.He’s going to be so disgusted.
“You really don’t wanna know what that is, Zach.I promise you that,” I tell him as he moves the speculum closer to his face for a closer look and I start laughing even harder.Tristan just looks at me as if I’m crazy when I’m not.He’s about to lose his mind.
“Why don’t I wanna know what it is?I’ve never seen anythin’ like this before,” he asks me, turning an innocent look in my direction.
“That’s a speculum, Zach.It’s used when doctors have to perform a pelvic exam on a woman.It’s inserted somewhere to help them,” I say as delicately as I possibly can.
Zach hesitates for a few seconds before releasing the item.His face is a mask of complete horror and disgust as we all watch the speculum drop from his hand.It lands hard back into the drawer he pulled it out of and I hear it break.The sound is so loud in the silent room and I jump slightly because I wasn’t expecting it to be that noisy.
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?”he questions, running to the sink and turning on the hot water.He doesn’t even use the cold as he shoves his hands in the steady stream.
Tristan and I start laughing so hard tears are falling while Zach bitches and moans about disgusting shit he picks up in the name of humor.Zach literally washes his hands fifteen times before moving on to his face.He’s gagging at this point and I worry he’s about to be sick in the sink.
“You okay over there, Zach?”Tristan asks him as I look up to find him looking for something to clean his mouth with.
“No, I’m not, Tristan.This is not funny at all.Why the hell didn’t you tell me to drop that shit as soon as you saw it, Wren?”he questions me in mock anger.
“I didn’t know you were gonna give it such a thorough exam, Zach.If you weren’t going through all the shit in here, you never would have touched it to begin with.You boys are impossible,” I say in fake exasperation because I could never be mad at either one of them.
“I’m never gonna do that shit again,” Zach mumbles, finally shutting off the water and drying himself off before taking a seat next to me.
The three of us talk while we wait for someone to come get Tristan for his next test.Mrs.Smythe knows we’re here and is on her way.She was asleep when I called so I know it will take a while for her to show up.That’s okay because Zach and I have Tristan.We always take care of one another.
Tristan and I used to tease him all the time about touching it and putting it close to his face.Zach would always rush off to take a shower the second we reminded him of the incident.Those two made each day special and we always shared a million laughs.Even Mrs.Smythe found the situation funny and we’d find her randomly laughing when she was alone.It sent all of us into a fit of giggles.Zach wasn’t impressed, but he didn’t bitch about it either.He simply became the butt of the joke and let us have our fun.If it had bothered him, we never would have brought it up again.
The three of us always loved to make Mrs.Smythe laugh.Especially on the days she was struggling.Something would remind her of a time with her husband and it would ruin the day for her.We all understood it and did our best to be extra helpful those days.That’s when the boys would pull pranks on one another and do everything they could think of to make her laugh and pull out of her grief.Those two were sent to her for that reason alone I believe.Those were the times we really got to see a side of Zach no one else did.The playful, loving side.To everyone else, he was an asshole with no emotion or feelings.I’m thankful I got to witness that side of him.Zach was also the one who would give the best hugs and be there when the world was falling down around you.I really miss those two boys every single day and I hope they’re living their best life.
Pulling from the thoughts of my foster brothers, I hear a knock on the door before it opens to reveal a doctor and nurse walking in my room.
“Good morning.I’m Dr.Tucker and I’ve been taking care of you since you arrived yesterday.How are you feeling today?”he asks me as the nurse steps up to take my vitals again.
“I feel like I lost against a boxer.Do I have a lot of injuries?”I ask him, trying not to move as the blood pressure cuff squeezes my arm.
“All of your injuries are superficial.Cuts and bruises on the back of your body.The bruising will take the longest to heal.We cleaned all of your wounds and made sure none of them needed stitches.There’s extensive bruising on your back and upper thighs.Your lungs are also irritated from the smoke inhalation.We’re going to keep a close eye on that to ensure it doesn’t turn into pneumonia.There’s one more thing we discovered when we were examining you yesterday.Did you know you’re pregnant?About two months if I had to guess based on your levels,” the doctor asks me and I can’t answer him right away because that’s the last thing I expected to hear.
“Um, are you sure I’m pregnant?”I question the doctor as I look up at him.
“Yes.We can perform an ultrasound to ensure nothing happened to the baby yesterday.I can schedule it for a few hours from now,” Dr.Tucker says with a gentle smile on his face.
“Please,” I say, getting lost in my head because I don’t know where to find the father of the baby.I definitely know who it is considering that was the one and only time I’ve ever had sex.“Can you tell me where the chain I was given ended up?Is it here with me?”
“It is.We put it in the drawer on the stand next to you,” Dr.Tucker answers me.
The doctor examines me before the nurse and him leave me alone once again.As soon as the door shuts behind them, tears are falling from my eyes.I never really allowed myself to think about having a family of my own the last few years.It’s been all I can do to get through each day in one piece.Now, I’m adding a baby to the mix.Fear consumes me because I’m all alone and my son or daughter won’t have a dad.Judge obviously won’t want anything to do with this baby, the way he left the second we were done tells me all I need to know about him and the situation.
“I promise you I’ll love you more than enough for a mommy and daddy, Little One.I’ll protect you, support you, and raise you the best I can.You won’t ever question if I want you because it’s not even a question.I just found out and I have no clue how I’m going to make this work, but I’ll figure it out,” I say to my stomach as I rest my hands on it over top of the blankets covering me.“It’s definitely time to leave Briar Glen behind so I can find a better life than the one I’ve been existing in.”
I lay back and stare at the ceiling of my hospital room.A list starts to form in my mind of everything I have to do in the next few weeks.The most important one is securing a new apartment somewhere once I leave Briar Glen behind.Then I have to find a job that doesn’t pay shit.I’ll have to find a doctor, start buying things a little at a time for the baby, and make sure I always have enough food to ensure my baby grows properly.I’m so used to not eating and I’ve already done that more than a few times when I didn’t know I was pregnant.Now, everything is different and I have to make the necessary changes in my life.