Lana smirked, knew it was true, but every fiber of her soul wanted to corner Kim alone in a room for a few minutes, preferably, with the use of all her limbs this time. Jail would have to suffice for her, and that calmed her a bit. Kayden reached over with his good arm and grabbed her hand. She looked into his beautiful eyes and forced a weak smile.
Although he was in good spirits, there was something under the lid of his eyes that looked off. Fear maybe? She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she caught glimpses of it when he didn’trealize she was watching. The clicking of Paula’s heels turned her attention to the stairs, and she was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck. Her oversized shades were covering most of her face, and she smiled at them when she hit the landing.
“You ready?” she chirped.
Lana nodded, but she wasn’t ready. Not ready for the drive into Shelby, or the embarrassing stirrups. She stood from the couch and grabbed both her crutches, raising a brow at Kayden. Nurse Almaria Thompson would be Kayden’s caretaker for the day, and she was scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes. After the care she took with her at the hospital, Lana recommended the nurse to Maureen, and she happily accepted the job. She leaned over and gave him a sultry kiss, although her bruised lip stung.
“I love you. I’ll be back in a bit,” she said.
He pulled her closer and kissed her again.
“I’ll be fine,” he beamed up at Paula, “Be careful with my family, big sister.”
“Of course,” she replied, then strolled down the hallway towards the door with Lana.
Once it closed, Kayden roared and grabbed his leg. The truth was, it hurt like a mother, and trying to stand on it was the most idiotic thing he’d done that morning. The pain sent shockwaves through his hip, and he held back every bit of that pain to not alarm Lana any more than she already was.
He pushed his wheelchair to the coffee table and retrieved the bottle of oxycodone. He struggled with the top, but finally popped it off and chucked two into his mouth. He swallowed, then took another long breath and welcomed the drowsiness that would soon follow.
LYINGON THE paper-covered examination table with her legs in stirrups, Lana couldn’t help the nervous wiggling of her good leg. It caused her thin blanket to ride up her thigh, though, and expose more of herself to the doctor than she wished. Dr. Lisa Bellevue placed her arm on Lana’s foot and gave a gentle smile.
“Try to be calm, OK.” She smiled through teeth so white they looked tinted light blue.
Lana let out a slow breath as Dr. Bellevue removed the long sonogram tool and readied it for an intravaginal exam. They had tried over the stomach a few minutes earlier, but couldn’t find the embryo, and that scared the shit out of her.
“I just need you to take a breath as I insert, and be very still for me,” she coached.
Lana looked over at Paula, who had taken off her shades, revealing puffy eyes. She held onto her best friend’s hand as the long-lubed metal tool was slipped inside her. It didn’t hurt so much as it was uncomfortable, and she squeezed Paula’s hand when the doctor started moving it around.
“It’s gonna be fine,” Paula assured, stroking Lana’s hair with her free hand and ignoring the hulk-like grip she had on the other.
“Alrighty, there we go,” Dr. Bellevue said, as she looked up at the small monitor above Lana’s head.
Lana looked at the monitor but couldn’t tell what she was seeing. As if on cue, the doctor spoke.
“Now it’s still early—but there is your baby,” she announced, grinning ear to ear.
Lana looked at her, then at the monitor again, then at Paula.
“Where?” Lana asked as the doctor turned the pole around her nether region.
“Right there,” Dr. Bellevue replied, then hit a button on a keyboard to freeze the frame.
Lana could only see what looked like black and gray swirls and couldn’t make any sense of it.
“Oh, I see,” she lied, “is everything OK then?”
“So far, so good. I’ll print a few pictures for you.”
Lana nodded as she tapped the keyboard and printed out the small images. Dr. Bellevue pulled the pole out, and it really hurt that time.
“Alright, we have a little blood, but it’s nothing to be alarmed about. It happens often with this type of exam ok” she explained.
Lana’s heart rate increased, and she looked up at Paula.
“It’s OK, it’s normal,” she reassured, but Paula had no idea if the doctor was lying or not.
The reserved and professional woman didn’t seem alarmed in the least, so she didn’t worry and didn’t want Lana to.
