Doctor-Patient Confidentiality: Chapter Ninety

A moment passes. And then another. I open my mouth but words refuse to leave it. Shock and disbelief trap my voice inside my larynx, and silence ensues on the other end of the phone as well.

When I can speak again, “W-what?” is all I can manage to say, my voice barely above a whisper, so low that I almost don’t hear myself say the word. The corners of my lips tilt downwards into a frown and my forehead scrunches itself into a million tiny furrows, all exhibiting the sheer shock and confusion I feel. I must have heard her wrong.

“I…I’m pregnant, Roni,” she repeats.

I guess I heard right the first time.

Fuck.

Her voice is much lower and slightly shaky this time, though. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard her sound so unsure.

Unsure and…scared.