The Awakening (13 page)

Boss slammed his hand on the table. “You have no fucking clue what is going on.”

“And why is that? Oh, because you won’t tell me.”

“You wouldn't understand.”

I met his gaze head on. “Try me.” I wasn't dumb because I lacked memories. So what, I was a rare creature that shouldn't exist. It didn't make me absent of mind, heart, or soul. I had a brain and feelings as much as any other person. I deserved respect as much as anyone. Why couldn't he see that?

Grunting, he picked up the rubber tube and tied it around the upper part of my arm. “Put your arm on the table.”

He gathered the syringe and ripped off its packaging. I refused to move my arm. Fuck him. When he saw my arm at my side, he squeezed the syringe in his hand, crushing it and sending plastic and the metal needle to the floor.

“Fuck!” He stormed to the counter and took another one from the drawer. He returned to my side with a new syringe and pointed the needle at my arm.

Looking into his dark eyes, I saw coldness and emptiness. I felt sad for him. Didn’t he know anything about kindness and being gentle? I thought he might since he surrounded himself with caring people. Now, I wondered if I was wrong.

I took a deep breath, keeping my arm at my side. I wasn’t a puppet for him to order around. All he had to do was ask for my permission.

He opened his mouth and curled his lip, revealing his two pointed teeth. “Will you please put your arm on the table?”

Holding a smile back, I lifted my arm and placed it on the cold steel.

Boss took the glass tube and slid it inside the plastic syringe. I thought of when he’d injected the blood into my neck.

“This shouldn’t hurt,” he said as he glided his finger over the puffy vein in my arm.

He met my gaze. I gave a single nod.

There was a small sting, and dark fluid spilled into the glass tube. I picked up the scent of blood in an instant. My mouth watered. Boss untied the rubber band around my arm and more fluid poured into the tube.

He removed the needle and pressed a cotton ball over my vein. “Hold this. Jonas.” He turned his head to the side as Jonas stepped closer. ”Will you escort her to the doctor?”

“All right,” Jonas replied softly. He looked at me. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” I planted my feet on the ground. “You don’t have to escort me. I’m not going to run away.”

Boss shook the tube of my blood between his fingers. “Stay then, Jonas. I will need your help.”

I smiled at Jonas and left.

I strolled down the hall and found the doctor in a small room two doors from the lab. He stood by the cabinet with his head tilted down toward the counter, reading something. An examination table covered in white paper occupied the middle of the room. Electrical equipment and a large monitor were sitting on shelves next to the table. The doctor turned to me as I stepped inside.

“Please come in. I placed a gown on the table for you. I’ll need you to change before we proceed.”

“What exactly are you going to do?”

He tucked his hands in the pockets of his long, white jacket as he came toward me. “I’m going to record your weight and height. Then I’m going to ask you to lie on the table. I’m going to use a small device to make sure all your organs are where they should be. I assure you, it won’t hurt at all.”

For a moment I hesitated, wondering what Boss would do if I refused the physical. Deciding to avoid another quarrel with him, I picked up the gown.

“I’ll check on your friends and come back in a few minutes.”

“Thank you.”

After the doctor left, I wondered how he could check on my organs with a small device. The old man said it wouldn't hurt and I believed him. Yet, my curiosity got the better of me. I scanned over the electrical equipment. What kind of tool did he plan to use?

I undressed and slipped on the gown, and set my clothes in a pile on the countertop. The robe gaped open in the middle and I wondered why I should even wear it. The damn thing didn’t want to stay closed. And if this guy planned to examine my organs, he would see me naked anyway. I started to ditch the thin cloth until I heard a soft knock at the door. Instinctively, I covered myself.

“May I come in now?” the doctor asked.

“Yes, I’m ready.”

The doctor came in with a smile. “Your friends are quite busy in the other room. Are they analyzing your blood?” He shut the door, leaving a small crack.

“Uh...” I paused, unsure what to tell him. “We’re planning a trip and they think I might have something contagious.” I couldn't think of a better story. I doubted it mattered what I told him anyway. Boss would probably manipulate his mind, so whatever I told him would suffice.

“Oh?” He stepped closer, looking apprehensive.

“You wanted to weigh me?” I asked before he decided to probe for more details.

“Yes, would you be so kind and step on this scale for me?” He pointed at the square scale lying on the floor.

The doctor had manners, unlike Boss. Ask and you shall receive.

I stepped on the scale, clasping the thin garment closed. One hundred thirty-two pounds. Not too bad, I thought.

“Okay. You can step down now.”

I stepped off the scale and waited for my next set of instructions.

The doctor went to the other side of the door. Along the doorway was a long thin ruler from floor to ceiling. “Would you step over here please?”

I obeyed.

“Can you lean your back against this wall for me?”

I spun around and obeyed him. The doctor looked above my head, reading the spot on the wall.

“Five feet six inches,” he said. “Come from a tall family?”

“Mm, I don't recall.”

“Go ahead and hop up on the table.”

Still holding my gown closed, I went to the examination table. The tissue paper crinkled underneath me and ripped. What was the point of it anyway?

“Have you ever had an ultrasound before?” He lowered himself onto the stool next to the monitor.

I laid my head back on the thin pillow. “No.”

He picked up a tube and displayed it to me. “I’m going to put some of this gel on you. It will feel cold at first. Then I’m going to take this instrument.” He lifted a device looking similar to a thin cell phone. ”And I’m going to gently rub it over the gel to scan your organs. We’ll be able to see the results on the monitor.”

Sounded simple enough. “You can see them on the monitor?”

“Sure can.” He touched a button near the screen and I heard a faint buzz of electricity.

A tap at the door captured our attention.

“Can I come in?” Jonas asked.

The doctor looked at me. “Is it okay?” I asked.

“As long as he doesn’t interfere, the choice is yours.”

“Come in,” I said eagerly.

Jonas came into the room and shut the door behind him.

“Did Boss send you to watch?” I figured he had.

He strode up to me with his eyes traveling up my bare legs. “No. I got tired of staring at dots and lines.”

“So you came for the peep show?”

“I wasn’t passing up a chance to see a naked woman.” A mischievous smile spread across his face.

I chuckled. At least he was honest.

He slipped his hand underneath mine and squeezed. “You'll be fine.”

My anxiety drifted away with his kind touch.

“Are we ready to begin?” the doc asked.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

The doctor removed the cap from the tube and set it aside. “Raise your left arm over head for me.”

I obeyed, lifting my arm and tugging my gown open a little. Jonas stood on my other side, holding onto my hand.

The doctor slid the top portion of my gown to the side, exposing my body. He squeezed a dollop of gel above my breast. The cold goo made me shiver and I squeezed Jonas’s hand.

“You weren’t lying doc,” I said.

He grinned.

I took a deep breath and tried to relax as the doctor prepared his equipment. Jonas's hand felt warm and comforting. His quietness made me wonder what he was thinking. I reached out with my senses. His heart drummed loudly, but I couldn't pick up his thoughts.

Doc pressed an instrument resembling a cell phone over me and watched the monitor. The screen was grainy and dark. As he glided the apparatus through the gel, a small movement appeared on the screen.

“There we go,” the doctor said.

“Is that her heart?” Jonas asked, staring at the monitor.

“Yes, it is.”

I stared at the monitor, trying to make out the size of my heart. The gray image on the black screen moved, but I couldn't determine the shape. A wave of relief swept through me, glad to have evidence of a normal heart.

The doctor squeezed more gel on me and rolled the device down the center of my torso.

I felt tiny twitches in my hand, coming from Jonas. Without looking at him, I sensed his quickened pulse. I breathed in and smelled the scent of lust. My exposed body had aroused him. If we had been alone, things would’ve heated up.

“So far, everything appears to be in the right place and working fine,” the doctor said. He rolled the device around my mid abdomen.

“Doctor, is that a scar below her navel?” Jonas asked.

The question captured my curiosity. I let go of his hand and sat up. A pink line ran down under my bellybutton. Guess I never noticed it before. “Huh.”

“It looks like a scar,” Jonas said, looking at me. “Do you know how you got it?”

“No,” I said.

“It’s a surgical scar,” the doctor said.

My heart jumped. “What?”

“Have you had any operations?” he asked.

“None I can remember, but I have a terrible memory.” Damn it.

He chuckled. “Honey, you don't get a bad memory until you reach my age.”

I smiled. If only he knew the truth, he'd understand my point of view.

“Lay back down. We’ll see if all your organs are still there,” the doctor said.

I swallowed hard as I rested my head back on the pillow. Jonas put his hand over mine. “Take it easy. It will be fine.”

The doctor applied more gel below my navel. I stared at the screen as he slid the scanner over me. The grainy images revealed odd shapes and snakelike tubes.

“Hmm,” the doctor said. “Interesting.”

“What?” Jonas and I asked at the same time.

My heart raced.

The doc pointed to the screen. “You see this pear shaped object here and this other one here?”

“What’s wrong with them?” I asked.

“Well, nothing is wrong with them. They’re your uteruses. You have two of them.”

“Two?” Jonas said. “I thought women were supposed to have one.”

“Most do. A small percentage of women have double uterus. They don’t know it until they get pregnant and have an ultrasound done.”

“So she could get pregnant in both uteruses?”

“Yes, it’s possible and it has happened before. The condition is not one you need to worry about.”

“You said the scar is a surgical one,” Jonas said.

“Yes, it is.”

“Could the extra uterus have been surgically implanted?” Jonas asked.

The doctor nodded as he moved the instrument over other organs. “It’s possible.” He kept his eyes on the screen. ”But doubtful. I don't know of any doctor who would add an extra uterus to a woman. The additional organ can reduce the chance of getting pregnant or shorten the term of the pregnancy.”

One word the doctor said bothered me, and it was
possible.
Sure, he followed up by saying doubtful, but the mere hint someone could've cut me open and gave me the extra uterus made me cringe internally.

“Almost done,” the doctor said as he slid the device in more goo.

I looked up at Jonas. He rubbed his forehead. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to inform Boss of the findings.”

In truth, I preferred Jonas telling Boss instead of me having to do it. “Go ahead.”

He left quietly.

Doc finished checking out all my organs. He said I appeared fine so I was free to travel wherever I wanted. Fine by his standards offered little comfort to me. I had a freaking extra uterus. He shut off the ultrasound machine, handed me paper towels, and left the room.

I cleaned the gel off my body, tossed the towels in the trash, and dressed. I should’ve been happy to know my goodies were working fine. The news was good. Right?

I went to the room at the end of the hall and found Jonas and Boss staring at the computer screen. The doctor leaned against the cabinet with his hands in his pockets. He had a distant look in his eyes. The printer next to the monitor hummed as it spit out papers.

“Find anything interesting with my DNA?” I asked.

Boss stood. “I did, and I have a theory. We’ll discuss it in the car.”

He strode toward the doctor, dug inside his pockets, and handed the doctor a wad of cash.

I turned to Jonas. “Did you tell him about my extra uterus?”

Jonas shrugged. “He thought it was interesting, but since it's fairly common in women, he didn't seem too concerned about it.”

“Let’s get going,” Boss said. He snatched the papers from the printer, stuffed them in a manila folder, and handed the folder to Jonas along with the car keys.

I stepped back and watched as Boss unplugged the wires from the computer. “What’s he doing?”

“Taking the hard drive. Come on,” Jonas said with a tilt of his head.

I followed him down the hall. “What about the doctor?”

“He won’t remember a thing,” Jonas replied as a muffled ring came from his pocket. He withdrew his phone and checked the display. “It’s Tabby.”

I pushed open the steel door and held it. Jonas ambled out with the phone to his ear. Boss came around the corner with the black computer under his arm.

“Hey. What’s going on?” Jonas asked, stopping on the sidewalk. Yellow lights flashed from the car and the doors clicked.

Boss strode past me. “Who is it?”

“Tabby,” I said.

“Hang on,” Jonas said into the phone.

Boss headed to the trunk while Jonas opened the driver’s side door. He settled in the front while I returned to the back seat. A thump from the rear jolted the car, then Boss dropped into the front passenger seat.

Jonas held the phone up. “Okay Tabby, I have you on speaker.”