Bared: A King's Hart Novel Book 3 (BWWM)

XXII: While We are Waiting

Nuri.

I shifted my weight on the examination table, trying desperately to get comfortable, and heard the distinct sound of tearing underneath me. Rolling my eyes, I gave up altogether and folded my hands in my lap. My nerves were shot to hell and I was driving myself crazy thinking about Nathanial.

By the time they brought him to the Savoie emergency room, he'd lost a lot of blood. Emma's knife sliced clean through his side and punctured his stomach. Last I heard, he was taken up for emergency surgery.

Despite my adamant protests, Ambrose demanded I let the people here at the hospital thoroughly check me out. Emma had been taking into custody and her son, Nathanial Jr., was currently in some DCF agent's office. Ambrose told me to prepare myself for when the local authorities came to get a statement from me.

What would I even say? Do I tell them, that I went into my boyfriend's dead ex-wife's home to talk designs but ended up fighting for my life? And what about the cameras? Did Ambrose have time to remove the cameras I placed? If they ask me about the cameras do I tell them?

On a heavy sigh, I dropped my heads into my hands and willed the tears away. I couldn't break down now. I needed to hold on to hope just a little longer. Things were tense now and my tears were not going to help matters any. I pushed the devastating images of Nathanial's still body out of my mind and chased after the memories of his smiling, laughing face.

It didn't take long for my thoughts to race again, and I sat up resigning myself to deal with things one moment at a time. So there I sat in a very frustrating hospital gown on an uncomfortable examination table in a room with many windows. Earlier they drew my blood, did some X-rays and left me here in this cold, sterile room.

This was the craziest day of my life. . . and it wasn't even over yet. Outside the room, I saw Maggie talking to a distraught Ambrose. One hand was at his chest while the other hand stroked his cheek. Whatever she was saying seemed to pour strength into his weakness and he nodded as he listened intently. He finally rested his head on her shoulder and I looked on as Maggie soothed him.

An older white couple came up beside them and. . .

I couldn't see anything else as a tall male figure walked into my room and pulled the privacy curtains in on each other.

"Ms. Hart," the man said my name and walked up to me with my chart in hand. He didn't look at me and focused on scribbling something down. He wore a lab coat over a nice button up shirt and dress pants.

"Yes." I assumed he was the doctor and sighed in relief.

"I've got good news. We got the results for your blood work and everything is normal considering the circumstances."

Relieved, I quickly stepped down from the examination table and went for my flats.

"I am concerned about your iron," he said. "It is a bit low."

"I've always been a bit anemic," I said stepping into my flats and waving him off. "Usually I just step up my green food consumption and I'm alright."

"Well that might've worked before, but it has the potential to cause some complications later on in your pregnancy."

I stilled. "Say what now?"

"Untreated iron deficiency anemia during your pregnancy increases your risk for having a premature baby and - - ,"

"Nn- no- -no," I said holding my hand up so he'd stop talking., "You must be mistaken, I am not pregnant."

He looked down curiously at my chart and I crossed my arms over my pounding chest. Every square inch of my body began to itch and I dragged a shaky hand through my hair.

I watched as his brows furrowed before he hummed to himself. "You're Nuri Hart, right?"

"Right."

He asked my date of birth, allergies and last four of my social and I rattled them off to him.

"By my findings here, you indeed are pregnant. The hCG hormone levels in your blood and urine are elevated. According to your last menstrual cycle, you are approximately five weeks pregnant."

I took a step back only to bump hard into the examination table. I quickly took a seat. "I. . . I'm preg- - I'm pregnant?" I immediately stood only to sit down again. "I'm pregnant." I stood up one last time and shifted my feet and sat right back down again.

"Yes. Congratulations," the doctor said in passing. "I have written a prescription for some multivitamin and iron supplements. The nurses up in the front will give you a list of excellent OBGYNs in the area. This is clearly a surprise to you, but most blessings are."

Huh?

I wasn't sure I believed what he was saying to me and was convinced that he was speaking a foreign language just now. As he came to listen to my heart and lungs I wracked my brain for evidence to refute his theory.

We wore condoms! No, no- - not every time we didn't, my conscience kicked in to remind me.

The doctor said some more things I was sure was important about my pregnancy, but I didn't hear a word of what he was saying and only nodded flatly. He took his leave of me and I was left alone again in the silence.

It wasn't completely silent because I still registered the steady ticking of the wall clock.

As the seconds ticked away, I acknowledged the state of me. Somewhere not too far away, an innocent, fatherless boy is away from his mother and it was partly my fault. Nathanial is fighting for his life right now. . . also my fault. . . and I'm. . . I'm pregnant.

My mom is going to kill me!

I stared at my folded hands in my lap and decided that all I wanted to do was cry.

. . . so I cried 

       . . . and cried 

                . . . and cried.