Run

Chapter Nine

So the video's a bit strange, but the song is awesome - and fits with this chapter.

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We'll have to place you on paid administrative leave.

Why didn't you come to me?

There was obviously something wrong with her. You saw it. You did nothing.

Not true. I'd tried. She was so embarrassed, those first few times I'd brought her to the counselor. I didn't want to make it worse.

Did you ever feel you were in danger?

No. Not from her. From everyone else. From everyone else after I'd fucked up.

Someone's elbow connected with my side, and I jolted, a broken spring in the seat digging into my ass. The reception area was more crowded than I'd thought it would be, though I shouldn't have been surprised. Even in the heart of Red Country, people would still want birth control. A clinic willing to dole it out and provide other much needed family planning services would be popular. I wondered if my appointment would fall by the wayside and they'd end up squeezing me in whenever they could.

I shifted around, trying to find a more comfortable spot in the chair and failing. I hadn't had a check-up since before I'd left Bend, and I felt I owed it to myself - and Trevor - to make sure I was disease-free and that my IUD hadn't suddenly dislodged itself and was floating around in my uterus.

The image was so horrifying and disgusting I shuddered, squeezing my eyes shut and thought of pleasant things. Pretty things. Rainbows and flowers and fucking unicorns.

"McKenna Davis?"

I opened my eyes. A scrub-clad nurse stood at the entrance to the brightly-lit hallway, the one I assumed led to the exam rooms. I stood, picking my way across the floor, trying to avoid stepping on tiny hands and LEGO parts.

The exam room was small. The slanted, padded table took up most of the space, and the nurse ripped off a sheet of paper and laid it over the table. She pointed to a chair in the corner, a worn hospital gown neatly folded on the seat. "Go ahead and undress. Doctor will be in."

As I substituted my clothes for the gown, I wondered how long I'd be waiting and wished I'd remembered to bring a book. It hadn't escaped my notice the nurse didn't say "shortly". Just "in". I hopped up on the table and stared at the wall. What was Trevor doing right now? Likely working, sweat darkening his shirt, sheening his skin, lean muscle stretching and flexing. The mental image made my blood warm with want, and I squirmed, the paper crinkling under my butt.

There was a knock at the door, and it swung open, the nurse hustling in. "Got a minute, so I'm going to go ahead and draw your blood."

My least favorite part of the exam. I nodded, swallowing hard. The needle stung going in. Blood filled the vial with ease. So dark. So red. It looked clean, in a strange way. Untainted. She taped the cotton ball down and took the vials with her, leaving me alone with thoughts of Trevor and Deirdra and home crowding my brain.

The doctor showed up sometime later - maybe fifteen minutes, maybe thirty. He was quick and efficient, speeding through the necessary questions. When was your IUD inserted. Date of your last period. Thump the chest, spread your legs, endure the pinch and intrusion and try not to feel embarrassed. Fifteen minutes later I was dressed and ready to navigate the waiting room.

My phone vibrated as I was paying, and I managed to catch the call before it went to voicemail. "Hey, you." I wound through the waiting room and out the front door, trading the noise for the relative quiet of the parking lot.