off the table

three

tw ⚠️

"Alright we're coming," I heard the police say from the other side, "We'll also have to get your daughter to the hospital to run some examinations to make sure she's alright."

"Okay," my mom said. I began to tremble. I hate hospitals so much, they scare me. She held me in her arms and a few minutes later, sirens were heard outside. She opened the door and soon returned with two police officers.

"Ms. Grande, I am Officer Norris, we will have to get you to the hospital for some examinations to make sure you're alright," one of the officers said and I lightly nodded.

"Ma'am, may I get more details about the case once we arrive at the hospital?" she asked my mom. "Sure."

I was then led into an ambulance outside, where a paramedic was waiting for me. My mom got in her own car and all three vehicles drove to the hospital. As soon as we arrived at the hospital, I was immediately taken into a room, while my mom was being asked questions by the police in the waiting room. I was then given a gown to change into and some wipes to remove my makeup. I changed into the gown and wiped off my makeup then a doctor and a nurse walked inside the room.

"Ms. Grande, I am Dr. Lewis," the doctor introduced herself, "This is Grace, we will help examine you for this case. First of all, we'll start examining you externally, is that okay with you?"

I lightly nodded, "Y-you can call me Ariana."

They carefully unwrapped the bandages from my arms and examined all the cuts I had from hurting myself.

"Ariana, this might be a sensitive question, but do you cut yourself?" Dr. Lewis asked and I lightly nodded.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"T-three months," I answered and she looked surprised. She and Grace, the nurse, then proceeded to examine my bruises. I had them everywhere, on my arms, legs, ribs and even on my face. They're just barely visible most of the time because they were covered with makeup. There were also some cuts here and there all over my body because of how hard he would hit me. They then performed an x-ray to make sure none of my bones are broken and treated all my cuts and bruises.

"Alright, we're done with your external exams. We will have to examine your genital to check for injuries, will you be okay with that?" Dr. Lewis asked. I lightly nodded.

"It's going to be a little uncomfortable," she warned before she began examining me down there.

"Ow," I said quietly. I was still in pain after he last raped me, which was two days ago. He's always really harsh.

"Does that hurt?" she asked and I nodded.

"May I know when was the last time you got raped?" she asked. "T-two days ago."

"That explains why it still hurts," she said, "there's a mild injury, it should heal within a week."

"Is there a chance that you were drugged?" she asked.

"Y-yeah, multiple times."

"Alright, I'll have to perform a drug test too," she said. I was then checked for my height, weight and blood pressure. It turned out that I was underweight for someone my height. I also had some blood work done and was then asked to pee in a cup. I went to the bathroom to pee in the cup and washed my hands when I was done. I gave the cup to the doctor and climbed back onto the bed. Dr. Lewis then left the room to get my blood and urine examined, leaving only me and the nurse in the room.

"Ariana, I know this isn't easy for you, but you have to stay strong, okay?" Grace lightly smiled, "All these pain are finally coming to an end. You know, you're an inspiration to so many people, including my daughter. She had a long battle with depression and you're the reason why she's still holding on."

"R-really?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "this is why I wanted to say thank you so much. You're the reason why I still have my daughter with me, you'll never understand how much that means to me."

"C-can I give you a hug?"

"Of course," she smiled and I embraced her into a hug. I then had a little chat with Grace before Dr. Lewis came back to the room a couple of minutes later.

"Ariana, your blood work stated that you are malnourished, you're low on most of the nutrition your body needs, including iron and vitamin D. This might be another sensitive question, but have you been struggling with an eating disorder?"

"Yeah," I answered quietly, feeling so ashamed of myself.

"When was the last time you had your period?" she asked.

"I-I don't know, I haven't kept track of it the past few months."

"I don't know whether you'll take this as a good news or a bad news, but your test results also showed that you're around eight weeks pregnant," she said and my heart dropped.

"W-what?" I asked in disbelief, "N-no, I want an abortion."

There's no way I'm having my rapist's child right now. I'm only 25, I'm not ready for a baby. I'm not even mentally stable.

"We detected some pregnancy hormones both in your blood and urine. Have you been experiencing nausea, vomiting, fatigue or other pregnancy symptoms?"

"Y-yeah," I answered, still in disbelief, "I-I thought they were because of my depression and anxiety."

"They can also contribute, but in this case, it's most likely caused by your pregnancy. We will have to perform an ultrasound to check on your baby, then we can discuss the steps you want to take next," she said, setting up the machines.

"Alright, please lift your gown," she said and I did as she instructed. "It's going to be a little cold."

She squirted the gel on my stomach and moved the wand around. A little blob popped up on the screen.

"I-is that my baby?" I asked and she nodded. I immediately fell in love. It's my tiny baby. They're really tiny and innocent. I immediately felt terrible for wanting to kill them. My poor little baby, their father is an abusive rapist. I changed my mind. I'm gonna keep this child, even if that means raising them alone as a single mother.

"How's my baby doing?" I asked.

"Your baby is a little too small for this age, most probably because you haven't been getting enough nutrition," she said. She then pressed on a button and a frown came to her face.

"I'm so sorry, there's no easy way to say this, but we couldn't pick up any heartbeat from your baby."