Rundown (Curveball Book 2) (16 page)

“
Good
morning, Breanne.  I’m Dr. Stevens.”  She extends her
hand in greeting, smiling brightly.  

Dr.
Stevens is tall and slender, with black hair, hot pink glasses and
multiple ear piercings, and appears to be about my age.  Compared
to Dr. Miller’s old-fashioned formalities and image, her kind
demeanor immediately has me relaxing and I wonder if maybe I should
make a permanent change in physicians.

“
Nice
to meet you,” I reply, shaking her hand.

“
You
as well,” she says, taking a seat on the stool.  “Alright, I
reviewed your chart and looked at the nurses notes.  I see
you’re here for your annual exam.  Other than wanting to be
sure that your IUD is still intact, do you have any concerns?”

“
No,
that was really it.”  

My
phone rings and from where it rests on top of my clothes in the chair
next to the exam table, I can tell it’s not a not a number I
recognize.  Random people, mainly the media, have been calling
me ever since I became associated with Drew.  Now that he’s
publicly announced our relationship and the press knows I was the
only passenger aboard Innovation Airways that didn’t contribute to
similar charities, the calls are coming more often.  My new
philosophy is to send everything to voicemail.

“
You
need to get that?” Dr. Stevens asks.

“
No.
 I’m ready to get this over with.”

“
Ok,”
she snickers. “Why don’t you lie back and we can get started.
 I’ll start with the breast exam, so if you could slide your
arms out of the gown and place your right arm above your head, I can
begin.”

I
lie back on the crunchy paper covering the table and do my best to
get comfortable.  As she does her thing, she reminds me of the
importance of doing monthly breast examination myself, and I promise
I’ll be better about it.  She finishes up and takes a seat at
the end of the table.  

“
Slide
all the way to the edge and try to relax your knees.”

Christ,
I hate this.  Despite having three children, the process still
leaves me squirming.  
Men have it so easy
.

“
This
may be a little cold, just try to relax.”  

She
pokes and prods while I do my best not to jump out of my skin.

“
Have
you felt any discomfort recently?”

“
Um,
no?”  I don’t mean for it to come out as a question, but the
way she asked has me thinking that I should have been in pain.

“
Alright,
you can relax for now,” she tells me, rolling her chair until she’s
near my side.  

For
now?  

“
Your
IUD’s become slightly dislodged and I can’t be sure it’s
effective.  As you’ve had it for about three years, I’d like
to remove it now and once we’re done here I’ll order you a new
one if that’s still your preferred method of birth control.  They
typically take a few weeks to come in, so if you’re sexually active
you’ll need to use alternative protection in the meantime.”

I
nod, trying to process this.  “Is it going to hurt?”

“
Hurt’s
a relative term,” she laughs, rolling her chair back into place.
 “You’ll feel minor discomfort, but it’s way easier than
giving birth.  Are you ready?”

“
Mmm
hmm,” I hum.  

“
On
the count of three I want you to cough, ok?  One, two, three!”

Cough.

“
You’re
all set,” she says, removing her gloves and throwing them in the
trash.  “You can sit up now.”  She grabs her iPad and
stylus, writing notes in my chart.  “Why don’t you get
dressed and I’ll meet you at the desk.”

“
Umm,
one more thing.  Should I be concerned if I’ve had unprotected
sex recently?”

Dr.
Stevens hides her surprise well, though I sense it.  Does she
read tabloids and know
who
I’ve been having sex with?  Come
to think of it, it’s probably his fault the IUD dislodged in the
first place.  “Let’s do a quick pregnancy test to be sure.”

Thirty
minutes later I walk out to my car a little uncomfortable and a whole
lot relieved.  I shut the car door and send Drew a text.  I
don’t want to wake him up but I’m hoping to at least make him
smile.

Breanne:
You’ll be happy to know that my appointment this morning went well…

And
that Dr. Miller was busy today so I had a new doctor…

And
said doctor was a woman…

Just
so we’re clear, you continue to be the only pervert who’s had his
hands in my cookie jar.

Around
10am I arrive at a Stephanie’s on Newbury Street, finding that
Vivian is already there and has gotten us a table.  I’ve been
avoiding getting together with her in the aftermath of the crash
because I know she’s going to drill me for all the details—details
that I can’t share with her.  True to form, she doesn’t
disappoint my expectations, peppering me with questions before I have
a chance to take my coat off.

“
I’m
so glad to see you, darling.  I’ve been worried sick about
you.  How are you? Where have you been hiding?  Are you
doing alright since you’ve been back?”

“
Which
question should I address first?” I muse, accepting her embrace
before quickly settling into my chair.

“
Sorry,
it’s just been too long, and I’ve been concerned.  I want to
know everything,” she says, and then leans forward to whisper, “and
you can start with that hunk you were rescued with.”

“
He
is a hunk isn’t he?” I reply, the corners of my mouth pulling up
so high that my cheeks hurt.  Vivian’s green eyes sparkle with
delight at my admission and despite our connection being because of
Mark, I’m not uncomfortable talking with her about Drew.

“
He
certainly is.  From what I’ve read he’s quite the ladies
man, though rumor had it that he was very taken with you.  Is
that true?”

“
Actually,
we’re together if that’s what you’re asking.”

“
I
knew that story was all lies,” she declares.  “It must have
been an old picture they repurposed.”

“
Oh.”
 She must be referring to the picture of Drew and the woman from
the bar following our fight.  “That was from a few weeks ago.
 We had a misunderstanding and I broke things off.  Everything’s
fine now.”

“
Misunderstanding?”

“
He
told me he loved me, and I wasn’t ready to hear it.  I never
thought I’d move on from Mark.  I honestly had no interest in
doing that, but…I have.  I love him too, Vivian.  Drew
is…words can’t describe how he makes me feel.”

“
Wow.
 I didn’t expect you to say that, though I’m happy for you.”
 Her face scrunches up and I can’t figure out if she’s
appalled that I’ve moved on or can’t picture my relationship with
Drew.  Maybe it’s both.  Drew is nothing like Mark and
she had a very close relationship with him.

“
Thank
you.”

“
So
how’s the investigation going?  Do they have any leads?”

“
None
that I’m aware of.  They haven’t really given Drew and I any
updates other than what’s in the paper, so you pretty much know
what I know at this point.”

Her
eyebrow raises and her smirk is calling bullshit.

“
Vivian,
I’m really not supposed to talk about it while the investigation is
open.”

“
Oh
come on, you already gave tons of information away with that video
you made.  That was genius by the way.”

“
Thanks,
but I really can’t discuss this.  Please let it go.”

“
Ok,
ok.  I’m done pestering you.”  Vivian holds her hands
up in surrender.  “I meant to ask you if you liked the framed
picture I brought you a few weeks back.”

I
drop my gaze and take a sip from my water.  Vivian had stopped
by the morning Drew and I resolved our issues and I was still in
purging mode.  I’m not sure that I have the heart to tell her
that the family picture she framed has earned a spot in one of the
many boxes and is now tucked away in the basement.

“
Of
course.  It’s beautiful.”  

“
Where
did you put it?  It would perfect on the table with all the
other frames in the living room.”

Damn
it.  
Now I have no choice but to fess up.

“
Please
don’t take this the wrong way,” I reply, tenting my hands on the
table.  “I’ve spent a lot of time over these past few weeks
going through Mark’s things and putting them away.  I couldn’t
do it anymore.  Looking at his clothes, and the office.  I
needed a clean slate.  It was a lovely gesture, but I put it
with the rest of Mark’s things.”

Vivian
tosses her long, red hair over her shoulder.  “I wish I knew,
Breanne.  I had that frame specially made for you.  Just
replace the picture.”  She leans forward, folding her arms in
front of her.  “I expect to see it displayed the next time I
stop by.”

“
Ok.”

“
You
can replace it with a photo of you and Mr. Big League.  By the
way, why didn’t you bring Drew with you today?  I would love
to meet him.”

“
He’s
actually in California.”

Vivian’s
face contorts in what I think is confusion.

“
What’s
wrong?” I ask.

“
Nothing.
 It’s nothing.”  Suddenly she’s the one looking
uncomfortable.  Vivian is not the type to fidget and yet she’s
spinning the ‘VIV’ charm on her bracelet to the point where I
think it might break.

“
Tell
me Vivian.  What is it?”

“
Well,
it’s just you said that the picture was an old one, but...”

“
The
one of him and the woman at a bar in the city.”

“
No.
 The one of him and two women outside a bar that’s in today’s
paper.”

“
I’m
not sure what you’re talking about.”  

Vivian
purses her lips and looks away before she takes a sip of her drink.
 Assuming she’s not going to willingly give me more
information, and growing increasingly anxious, I pull out my phone
and type Drew’s name into the search engine.  

I
never should have gotten out of bed.

Tiny
fissures spread through my heart.  I’m fully aware that I’m
gawking, open-mouthed at my phone, yet it’s as if I’m frozen.  I
feel Vivian’s stare as I read an online article about Drew’s bad
boy ways that includes a picture of him, drunk and draped over two
women outside a nightclub in San Francisco.  He appears to be so
wasted that he can’t even hold his head up.  I enlarge the
photo, and though it’s blurry, I can make out red lipstick marks on
his neck.