Adult Education

25. You think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?

Clutching her hands hard together, Cassie stared frantically straight at the wall in front of her.

It felt like she had an ant farm crawling around in her body, one that refused to go away and one big enough to cause serious damage.

She took a second to gaze down at her wristwatch. How long would this take?

She shook her head in despair.

It felt like she had been in here forever.

Nervously she started to tap her fingers on the table next to her, her mind racing and her stomach rumbling loudly on her. How could she have been so careless? My god! It was unforgivable.

But then again, she might not be . . . Oh come on . . . seriously?

But it wasn't long ago that she had her period. She had it after the week in the cabin. She was absolutely certain of it. She was.

Reaching down in her handbag, she took out her calendar and started to browse through it.

One week, two weeks . . . she swallowed hard as she counted backwards, all the dates almost becoming a blur to her.

Coming to a stop at one particular side, showing the week she estimated it to be, her hand flew up to cover a gasp of despair.

She felt hot tears pool in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, and she felt her whole body start to shake when the consequences of all this became all but too clear to her.

It was around those two and a half weeks after she got home from the cabin, and after her period, those dreadful weeks when she had allowed Brad to, in lack of a better word, mount her.

If it was something, it had to be Brad's.

Cassie buried her face in her hands as a few tears strayed down her cheek despite her struggle to stop them. This was a living nightmare.

"Cassandra Mitchell?"

Cassie took a deep breath and looked up from the safe shelter of her hands.

"Yes, that's me." Her voice sounded fragile and broken.

The nurse gave her a small reassuring smile and a comforting glance as she motioned for Cassie to follow her.

"Dr. James will see you now."

As Cassie followed her down a corridor to the doctor's office, millions of thoughts went through her head, one more terrifying than the other.

Taking her seat in front of Dr. James' desk, she studied him shyly. He was a big man, and he was old enough to be her father. But he looked like he was a kind man, and that was good enough for Cassie.

She slowly relaxed in her seat.

He took off his glasses and looked up from his papers, his forehead wrinkled as in pondering.

"Mrs. Mitchell, " he paused and raised his brows to her, "I don't really know how to read the look on your face, so I will just say it, okay?"

"Okay," Cassie replied and braced herself. Relaxed? Are you kidding me?

He took a short peek down on his papers, and then he looked back up at her again.

"So, the test was positive. You are indeed pregnant."