McKayla woke up feeling disoriented as if a headache was about to come on. Damn, I drank too much last night. I swear no more alcohol ever again, she thought. With her eyes close, she started the process of mustering the strength to get out of bed, but she felt something was not quite right. She felt the weight of something on her as if there was an arm wrapped around her waist. She quickly opens her eyes and gazed toward where she felt the weight.
There, on her, was a very pale arm wrapped around her. She internally laughed in her head; I must be dreaming. She closed her eyes and reopened them. She looked down to see if the arm was still there. Oh shit, this is not a dream. Her heart started to beat a little bit faster. She slowly turned her head to the right and sees a white man naked with the sheets covering his bottom half laid next to her. That's when she notices she too was naked.
Without thinking, McKayla screamed startling the man. They both scrambled out of bed, finding themselves on opposite sides. The man seemed shocked as he tries to piece together where he was, and his eyes fell on Mckayla body gawking at her. His eyes on her made her feel self-conscious, she grabbed the sheet from the bed and wrapped the sheet around her naked body, feeling vulnerable and exposed. Unlike her, he just stood there naked. Mckayla, embarrassed, avoided looking anywhere below his chest.
"What did we do?" Mckayla asked the man
The man shrugged, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to collect his thoughts. "I can't remember," he admitted.
"Neither can I," Mckayla replied, her voice tinged with a mix of relief and worry.
The man's gaze fell to the blood spot on the bed, and he quickly connected the dots. "Maybe nothing happened, considering you're on your period," he suggested, pointing to the evidence.
Mckayla face got hot. "I'm not on my period"
A sudden realization washed over the man. "Oh whoa there.... "
"It doesn't matter," Mckayla interrupted, trying to push aside the awkwardness of the situation. "It doesn't count if I can't remember it"
"I'm sorry..."
"Do you want me to request a Lyft?" she interrupted again.
"I can request it. Let me find my stuff and get dressed first." The man began searching for his belongings on the floor, pausing momentarily as if trying to recall his actions. "Drunk and all, we managed to wrap it up", he said proudly, for at least having the brain to use a condom.
Mckayla couldn't help but make a face. "Right," she replied sarcastically. "I should probably go to the student health clinic and get tested. Who knows what you might have given me?"
"Excuse me?"
"You are excused," Mckayla retorted, her frustration seeping through. She quickly pulled out her phone and asked Siri to set a reminder to ask for the morning-after pill. Determined to put this encounter behind her, she headed towards her walk-in closet to get dressed. When she returned to her bedroom, the man was almost done gathering his belongings and dressing himself. She noticed him opening his mouth, presumably to say something, but she didn't give him the chance. She wanted to leave as soon as possible and forget this ever happened.
"it's five minutes away". She saw that the man kept squeezing his forward. "you look like you could use some Tylenol and so do I" with that she left for the kitchen.
Two minutes later the man walked into the kitchen. She handed him a cup of water and a Tylenol bottle.
"Thanks".
While he gulped down the pill with water, she stared at him trying to assess what type of person he was.
"Like what you see?"
"Excuse me?" taken back by his statement.
"You are excused, "he said with a smirk. Right when he was about to ask for her name, his phone buzzed indicating that the Lyft driver was outside. Mckayla grabbed her bag and keys and headed toward the door with him on her tail. He looks like he wanted to say something to her, but she didn't give him the chance. After all, her main goal was to put all of this behind her and forget this happened.
She locked the door and got into her car waited for the Lyft car to drive off. She checked her phone and realized her best friend has been calling her all morning. She sent Jenelle a quick text to let her know she was fine before driving off to the student health clinic on campus.
"Next," called the lady at the front desk.
"I would like to get tested for STDs," Mckayla nervously admitted, scanning the waiting area to ensure her request wasn't overheard.
""Do you have an appointment? Please swipe your student card," the lady responded with a friendly smile.
"No, I don't have an appointment. Are you accepting walk-ins? How long is the wait?" Mckayla asked, her nerves getting the best of her.
"Not long. It's 8 am, and you're the first walk-in. Just have a seat, and the nurse will call you shortly," the lady assured her.
Mckayla swiped her student card and found a seat in the waiting room. There were only a few people present, which provided some relief. She couldn't help but think about how she could have called her own doctor for an appointment, but the embarrassment of explaining the situation to someone who knew her family all too well was too much to bear.
"Mckayla," one of the nurses called, breaking her train of thought. She stood up and followed the nurse into a room where her vitals were taken, and a few questions were asked. "Alright, the nurse practitioner will be in shortly to see you."
After a few minutes, a black nurse practitioner entered the room, introducing herself. Mckayla took a deep breath, preparing herself to share the embarrassing details of the previous night.
"I did something stupid last night. I got drunk and woke up naked with a stranger in my bed. We had drunk sex, and neither of us remembers what happened. I want an STD screening and the morning-after pill," Mckayla explained nervously, her voice filled with regret.
The nurse nodded empathetically. "Your situation sounds like an alcohol-induced blackout, where your brain loses the ability to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory. During a blackout, your cognitive function remains intact, and you can still engage with your environment, including having sex, but you won't remember any of it."
The nurse continued, "If you're struggling with substance abuse, I can provide you with some referrals to help you."
Mckayla quickly responded, "I'm not much of a drinker. I've never done anything like this before, and I never plan on doing it again."
"Okay, I understand. In terms of the STD testing, it's best to come back in three months. It can take one week to three months after exposure to get reliable test results. Since your sexual activity occurred less than 24 hours ago, there's no point in testing now. However, I can provide you with the morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy. We can also conduct a pap smear and a rape kit exam, given the circumstances of not remembering how the sexual encounter took place. Would that be okay with you?"
Mckayla was irritated that she won't know if this man gave her anything until 3 months from now. What can she do? Nothing. I can't do anything, she thought. "sounds good", she replied, her voice still trembling slightly.
"Within the next week or two, if you notice anything abnormal or have any concerns, please come back instead of waiting the full three months. Is that clear?" the nurse asked, her tone filled with concern.
Mckayla nodded, feeling a sense of reassurance from the nurse's words. "Yes, I understand."
"I also recommend considering the HPV vaccine if you haven't already received it. HPV is responsible for most cervical cancers. Would you like me to administer the vaccine today as well?"
Mckayla contemplated for a moment before responding, "Yes, please."
The nurse offered her a comforting smile. "I'm sure everything will be fine. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out."
By 9 am, Mckayla was done at the clinic. She got into her car and headed home, ready to take a shower and prepare for her 12:30 pm class. As she drove, she couldn't shake off the lingering feeling of regret.
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