Easier to Lie

Chapter 23

"Reggie! I need you now!" Panic filled Leah's voice. She had been out on the balcony all morning, drinking coffee and flipping through the college catalog.

Hearing how scared she sounded, I rushed out to her. The episode of The Middle I was watching wasn't too important.

She was doubled over and holding her stomach. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I was fine and then I got crazy bad cramps. It hurts to move. I don't think I can get up."

Since we weren't heading back to Sedona until tomorrow, Adam picked up an extra shift. Eric had gone out to get us breakfast. It was up to me to help Leah. It was her turn to need me.

Slowly and as carefully as possible, I held onto her arm and lifted her from the chair. She cried out in pain, struggled to remain standing. Once she was two or three steps away from the chair, I saw the puddle of blood. My first thought was to scream or panic, but I didn't want to worry her any more than she was already.

This was the worst possible time for the elevator to not work. She could barely make it down the stairs. We stopped often, and she had to hold on to the railing for balance. I caught her when she stumbled. This couldn't be happening.

The urgent care center was closer than the hospital. I had been there a few times over the years, mostly for strep throat. Being a carrier for the virus, I was sick four times a year. My tonsils were removed over Christmas break last year, and I hadn't been sick since then. The receptionist knew my face and she sadly smiled as I walked up to the desk.

"Sick again, Sweetie?" She asked when she handed over the routine paperwork.

"No, not this time. Leah is having lots of pain and there was blood when I helped her stand. How long is the wait? I'm worried about her."

She made a call then seconds later the doctor was helping me get Leah to a room. He asked her questions that she struggled to answer. Before she sat on the bed she was instructed to change into the gown.

A female doctor entered the room and had a tray of instruments that only girls were familiar with. She asked me to leave but Leah wanted me to stay.

"Have you been pregnant before?" She asked as she pushed down on Leah's abdomen.

"No. Never," she looked at me, she was terrified. I held her hand and tried to keep myself steady. I had to be strong for her. I couldn't let her know that I was also scared.

"You've had a miscarriage, Kiddo," she rolled her chair back and removed her gloves, "we're going to run a few tests. The nurse will be in shortly. You can get dressed."

The ultrasound took the longest. The nurse took several pictures, then we had to wait on the doctor again.

"A miscarriage? How do I explain this to Adam?"

"I don't know. I wish I did," the doctor walked in, she smiled but it wasn't a happy smile. This was bad. Very bad.

"Alright, Ms. Leah," she rolled her chair over closer to us. The ultrasound pictures were in her hand. She pointed to something in the photograph. "What you have is a condition known as Endometriosis. That means the appearance of endometrial tissue has grown outside of the uterus. This causes pelvic pain, infertility, painful intercourse, things like that, okay? There is surgery we do for severe cases, but yours isn't severe yet. I'm going to prescribe you a pain killer and change your birth control to one with higher doses of the hormones. Any questions?"

"You said infertility. Does that mean I can never have kids?"

"It's not a definite no, but it will be tougher for you to conceive. You're young, so we can revisit the baby conversation when you're older."