5. Frankie

Chapter 5

Frankie

“ I don’t know why you’re making me come here.”

“Francesca Odette Miloni, you have been puking for two days straight!” Toni scolds me as we walk into the hospital. “You’re getting checked out whether you like it or not. The emergency room is open twenty-four hours for things like this.”

“But couldn’t we wait until the morning when I could try and see my primary physician?”

This two-a.m. trip to the hospital is going to cost me a fortune. I just started my new job last week, which means I don’t have health insurance yet. I finally was about to get my finances back in order from being fired from my last job and then kicked out of our apartment by my mother, now whatever this is is going to push me back over the cliff.

Eight weeks ago, all that messy shit led me to move in with Toni. She welcomed me with open arms, letting me crash in her spare bedroom, and now has appointed herself my caregiver. I tried to throw up quietly, but that woman has super-sonic hearing.

“You probably got some bug from your new job and are super dehydrated from all your visits to the porcelain throne. You need an IV or something to help get you better.” Toni points me to a chair in the waiting area. “Sit there and I’ll check you in.”

“Congratulations, Ms. Miloni. You’re pregnant.”

“I’m what now?” I balk at the doctor looking at me with a huge grin on her face.

“Pregnant,” she repeats. “My guess is about six or seven weeks.”

“Holy shit, Frankie!” Toni exclaims from the chair she’s been camped out in for the last two hours. “You know what that means?”

“No,” I argue, shaking my head in denial. “I have an IUD. I can’t?—"

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Toni cuts in again. “I mean you’re having a baby with him!”

No. Nope. Not possible. This can’t be real.

“How about we get you an ultrasound?” the doctor starts talking, seemingly unconcerned with my freak out. She sticks her head out the door for a few seconds, says something I can’t hear, then is back with us. “The technician can do it right here in the exam room. That way we can see what’s going on with your IUD. Sometimes they shift, or even fall out, and you wouldn’t know until your next physical. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but it happens,” she finishes with a shrug.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Toni replies. Apparently, she’s my voice of reason now too.

Knock knock. The door opens, a cart rolls in first, followed by the dark-haired woman who haunts my dreams.

“No,” I exclaim and start to cry. “Anyone but her.”

Toni is instantly on her feet and at my side, my hand clutched in hers. “Not who? What’s going on?”

“Her.” I point at who I’m now assuming is the ultrasound technician. “It’s her. His woman. The one I saw at the bar. ”

“Oh.” The pieces start coming together for Toni. “She’s why you?—"

“Wait a minute,” The shocked woman holds up her hands like she’s surrendering to a firing squad. “I did what?”

“I saw you flirting with him!” I cry out, the tears falling faster. I try to wipe them away, but they just won’t stop.

“You're Frankie,” the technician says with a gasp.

“Yes,” I reply with a nod. “Who are you?”

“My name is Kiera. How far along are you?”

“The doctor said maybe seven weeks.” I guess my mouth has decided it’s okay to answer her, even though my brain and heart are in excruciating pain.

“I know this is going to sound strange, and I'm definitely overstepping,” she steps closer, stopping at the end of the bed, “but I need to ask you a question.”

“What?” There’s my attitude.

“Is Declan your baby's father?”

“HA!” Toni squawks, then slaps her own hand over her mouth.

The technician, Kiera, looks back at me. “Declan. My brother. Is he the father?”

“Your brother?” I whisper, shocked and confused. “But I saw him kiss you.”

“Your brother kissed you?” The doctor pipes in. She’s been so quiet, and the gears in my brain have been spinning a million revolutions per minute, I realize she’s still in the room.

“Wait a minute. My brother has never kissed me. Maybe on the cheek when we hug.” She tucks her hair behind her ear, then looks around the room like it holds all the answers. She freezes and spins back toward me. “Shit. Did you come to the bar the night after?”

“Yes.” I nod and fold my arms in a huff. “And I saw you in his arms.”

“And you thought I was his girlfriend.”

“Yea.”

“Oh honey. I always hug him. I’d just startled him, which he hates by the way, and hugged him to say hello. It’s just what we do.” Kiera half sits, half leans on the bed at my side and touches my leg under the blanket. “Just after that hug he told me about his woman he'd met the night before. He was in a bit of an uproar because when he tried to call you, all he got was a recording that your phone was disconnected, but he seemed besotted with you.”

“I didn’t realize my phone had been shut off until I woke up the next morning.” I start to explain, hoping she believes me. “My mom is a bit of a bitch and had kicked me out the week before, and her shutting off my phone was just icing on the shit cake of my week.”

“So you didn’t give him a bogus number on purpose?” she asks. “Because that’s what he thinks.”

“She would never do that,” Toni speaks up in my defense. “This whole situation sounds like a huge misunderstanding.”

“Well, do you want me to call him?” Kiera asks with a shrug.

“Can you please? I would owe you forever.”

Pulling her phone from her pocket, she laughs as she starts dialing. With the phone to her ear she whispers, “Name your first born after me and we’ll be even.”