Page 31 of A Little Secret
At least she’s okay. At least she’s safe. The reminder spurs me on and quiets my racing thoughts. One hurdle at a time. The chair legs scrape against the linoleum floor as I drag it closer to the bed. Her arms lie limply on the mattress. Her skin looks like silk. Feels like silk, too. I should know. I felt it firsthand this afternoon.
She needs to wake up. She needs to have a fucking ultrasound.
Gently, I drag my fingertip against the outside of her wrist and murmur, “Fin? Hey, Fin, wake up.”
Her eyelids flicker, and her dazed eyes blink slowly before focusing. When they land on me, relief fills them, and she lifts her hand, touching her temple. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I rasp.
“What happened?”
“You had a seizure.”
Her expression pinches, and she nods. “Makes sense.”
I smile at her easy acceptance. “How are you feeling?”
“Headache.” She swallows. “Dry mouth.”
I reach for a styrofoam cup one of the nurses delivered a little while ago and offer it to her. She takes it and steals a sip, her dry lips wrapping around the straw as silence fills the room.
“Thanks,” she whispers.
“The doctor wants to do an ultrasound.”
“A what?” She stares into her water, her brows stitched in confusion, and I can’t tell if it’s because she doesn’t know about the baby or if the aftereffects from the seizure are still messing with her memory. They say it’s normal. To be disoriented. To feel like your brain and your thoughts are as shaken as your body.
“The baby’s fine, but they want to do an ultrasound to make sure.”
Her eyes cut to me, and whatever fog of confusion had been present vanishes. Panic. That’s what replaces it. Sheer. Fucking. Panic.
“Did you know?” I ask.
“Griff…”
“Doesheknow?” I push.
Her bottom lip wobbles, and she pulls it into her mouth, shaking her head. Honestly, I’m surprised. Not that Drew’s in the dark, but that she’s on the verge of tears.
I get it. Having a baby is a pretty big deal and shit, but Fin? The girl’s an anchor. Well, unless frogs are involved. And I can’t help but want to protect her from the impending tornado headed her way. Especially when I’m given a glimpse of the girl behind the impenetrable walls. The girl who’s scared. The girl who’s lying in a hospital bed, her skin practically matching the white sheets lying across her lap and an IV hooked into the inside of her elbow. The girl who isn’t quite as put together as she’d like the world to believe.
And a fucking kid? Yeah, I’d say it’s a doozy.
“Knock, knock.” The sound grates on me as my attention snaps to the doorway. There’s a woman in dark purple scrubs with light brown hair and a kind smile. “I’m Allie,” she adds. “I’ll be performing the ultrasound.”
“H-hi,” Finley offers.
“Do you have any idea when your last period was?” Allie asks as she steps into the room, dragging an ultrasound machine with her and, apparently, getting right down to business.
Finley shakes her head again. “I’m, uh, I’m not super consistent on the period front thanks to my medication, so…”
“Got it.” The ultrasound tech gives her a reassuring smile. “No worries at all. We might need to do the ultrasound vaginally, depending on how early you are. Is that okay with you?”
“Uh…I mean, who wouldn’t want a vaginal ultrasound?” She forces an awkward smile. “Sounds like quite the experience to me.”
Allie laughs. “You’re gonna be a fun patient. I can tell.” Fiddling with the machine, she adds, “We’ll start with the external ultrasound and see what we get. Sound good?”
“Sure, why not?”