Blood Lust

The doctor's office reminded me all too well of the life I had on the Island. It unsettled me.

When I swung the door open the bright lights almost burned my eyes. A not-so-silent hum from the florescent lights had made my head throb. I pressed my temples and gained no relief.

"Christine Marchand?" A petite nurse called out into the waiting room after I had just found a seat in the way back. I followed her back into an exam room. The exam room was no better than the waiting room.

Minutes later there was a light rap on the door, "Hello, I'm doctor Ruiz. Do you remember me?" Entered a older man with thick glasses.

"Ah, no. Sorry." I was sure I had never met that man in my life. His physical appearance had no qualities that stood out to me.

"Well I'm sure we'll have all the time in the world now." He flashed a grin and took a seat. He flipped out a folder and fingered through its' pages, "So it looks like some basic tests and a few shots to get you up to date are in order." He pulled his head out of the folder.

"What kind of tests?" I asked. I was caught off guard when he said 'tests'. On the Island we learned that a basic test was never just that.

"Just simple tests." He attempted to coax my trust, "...See how your iron levels are."

It made me feel queasy the way his smiled curled up a the edges. Everything about his smile turned my skin inside out.

Nonetheless I agreed and swallowed what feelings I had that had lumped together in my throat.

My mother pulled the car around to the front doors once I was done. "How'd it go?" Her voice was innocent. She had no idea the feeling I had just gotten from the doctor.

"It went fine, but I really don't remember that doctor." I said. She tilted her head in confusion, but quickly changed the topic.

My mother patted the seat, beckoning me to get in the car. "How about a little shopping?" Her voice asked, but her heart begged.

I got in the car and smiled, "A girl's day." Reassurance called out and a hand to hold made all the difference to my mother.

We had found a nice parking spot on the main street where all the shops had seeded themselves over the years. All of the familiar shops that I had grown up with were replaced by more modern ones. A small feeling of being left behind had stroked the back of my throat when I saw all the new window signs.

One thing I was familiar with was coffee. A strong scent had flooded my nose and drew me to it. Coffee and freshly baked goods lingered in the air right in front of a smaller shop. It looked like it was much older than the rest on the street.

Nostalgia was bitter sweet when I opened the heavy wooden door and the bell at the top of the door rang. "Good afternoon!" A man behind the bar had greeted us. I smiled and walked in.

The display case had several items. All were beautifully made and looked almost too good to tear apart. I pointed to a small danish and ordered a green tea.

"Coming right up!" The man said cheerfully as he placed the danish on a plate and served it up to me.

"Oh honey, its the nurse line for you." My mother handed off the phone to me.

"Hello, this is nurse Becca. Am I speaking to Christine?" I answered. "I'd just like to let you know that your test results are in. As we suspected, your iron is low, but that's normal. Your pregnancy test came back positive so congratulations. You'll need to come back in eight weeks for your first appointment..." The nurse continued to speak, but my ears plugged up as my head spun.

Did she say pregnant?

There was no way that was possible. I had only had sex with R that one time!

R...

My mind suddenly took a dark turn. Not only had I lost my friends, but I had lost R. Then to add on top I had just been told I was pregnant.

"Honey, I need to use the bathroom. Will you be alright?" My mother sounded worried. Her grip tightened on my shoulder.

"Yea of course mom. I'll be right here when you get back." I laughed lightly.

My mother quickly moved to the back of the coffee shop and left my mind to process what I had just been told.

"Good after-" The man behind the bar had cut his sentence off. I looked to see what had distracted him.

A person wearing full snowboarding gear came up to the door. The person fumbled with the door with bulky gloves on.

"Can I help you...Sir?" The man asked the strange. The snow suit prevented the person from making any coherent sentence.

The snow suit pulled out a chair at the table I was seated at. I looked around in confusion.

"Christi, it's me." That familiar voice had instantly caused my tense shoulders to drop.

"...Lee?!" I whispered. "What are you doing?!" I instantly understood the reason for the snow suit. The sun was still out.

"I've been following you and you're being watched!" Lee looked around as he spoke.

I looked towards the back of the shop where my mother had gone to use the restroom. "I figured out why." I looked Lee in the eyes, "I just found out I'm pregnant."