DRAGO'S STORY

Drago's Relationship

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 2018

Time× 4:00 am

Natalie was tired.

She was tired and she had no clue why.

On the previous night, she went to bed on time, ate good, exercised, and kept her mind trained on positive things. Her days were as basic as they came but still, she was tired. She's been feeling like this for the past few days and it was starting to concern her a bit.

"Let's go Ms. Scott, keep up!" Viktor yelled, running in front of her. He turned around, his legs still bouncing as his running paused. "My grandfather runs faster than you and he's dead!" He shouted, trying to get her to catch up.

Natalie looked up from her crouching position only to glare at him. "Fuck your granddad." She cursed, which made Viktor chuckle. She bit her lips, feeling pain in her lower region.

He turned around fully and ran towards her. "It's four in the morning, your favorite time of the day to get in a good workout and you're slacking." He lowered himself to match her height. "You alright? You've been offbeat lately."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine." She replied, her hands on her knees keeping her up. "I'm just tired I guess." An unwanted groan made its way past her lips. "My fucking vagina hurts though. I think I'm about to be on my cycle again, which really sucks since I already had it this month."

Viktor frowned. Period talk always made him anxious because he always thought about the amount of blood that came from it. He tried his best to never act weird when the subject was brought up so it wouldn't make Nat feel uncomfortable. "Is that normal?" He asked. "To get it twice in one month?"

She nodded. "Yeah, some girls do. It's happened to me before. It's just that it's been a really long time since it last happened."

"You don't sound so sure."

A thought crossed her mind but she quickly rebuked it. She shook her head, trying to get it out of her mind. "I'm fine." She repeated. "I'm one hundred percent sure it's just cramps." That was a lie, she was only eighty percent sure. "It's normal and it'll pass."

Viktor shook his head. "You sure? Because even when you're on your cycle, you're still pretty active. This feels different."

Natalie scoffed. "Different? Nothing about this feels different. It's my body Viktor, I'm sure I can tell when there's something wrong with it or when there's something different going on."

He raised his hand in surrender. "Woah, I'm just putting it out there. I'm sorry if it offended you, I'm just a little worried. I've got the right to be."

Natalie nodded, standing up straight. "You're right, I'm sorry. I... I don't know what that was. I wasn't trying to snap at you or anything." She walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck to place a soft kiss on Viktor's cheek.

"Maybe you should go to the doctor. It could be something serious."

Natalie's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she moved away from him. He was being ridiculous right now. "Like what?" She questioned, annoyed. "I'm perfectly fine and healthy. Why is it that every time something sickly happens, a doctor is your first resort? We have herbs for a reason."

Viktor sighed. This would soon turn into an argument. He could feel it. "Listen, all I'm saying is that for a period of time, you were taking plan B back and forth. What if it's having some negative effects on you? We won't know until you visit a doctor. Not all doctors are out to get you."

She glared at him. "They were in our own country, what's to say they aren't down here too. I'm a black woman and it may not seem like it to you Viktor, but wherever I go, I'm always going to have a target on my back because of the color of my skin and that's a fact. You can walk in and out of a doctor's office and get the best care that you need, but it'll be different for me... just like how it was different for my mother."