CHAPTER 6

"Morning" Tess said, as soon as she spotted Dani walking towards the kitchen. She'd been up since 6am and had gotten dressed for her checkup today then she decided to make breakfast by 7am, hopefully before Dani  woke up but she just had to walk in right in the middle of it.

"Hey, you're up" Dani said and Tess nodded. Dani was looking bad. Her hair was all over the place and her eyes were puffy and red.

"Ooooh, and you're making breakfast. Don't mind me, I'm just here for a cup a coffee"

" Alright, no breakfast for you then. I'm sure you can get some doughnuts on our way to the hospital."

" Absolutely not. Of course I'm having breakfast. What are you making?".

" Um, slices of bread, hot dogs, scrambled eggs and baked beans, all with a glass of milk. Nutritious, huh" Tess asked and Dani nodded as the coffee maker worked its magic.

When the green light popped up, she poured herself a mug and sipped quietly. She placed the cup in the dishwasher as soon as she was done then went up to her bathroom for a shower.

She came back down within minutes, already dressed, and had her breakfast alone. Tess had had hers while she was upon her room.

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"Theresa Johnson", the nurse at the reception called out. Danielle and Theresa had gotten to the hospital minutes ago and had been waiting their turn. Tess got up and walked towards the room that the nurse pointed at.

As she got to the door, she said a silent prayer then walked in.

There was a bed at the center of the room with gadgets and machines around it. The room was brightly lit and the doctor sat on a stool next to the bed, smiles and all.

He looked young and unlike all the other doctors Tess had seen, he had no glasses on. He got up as soon as he saw her.

"Miss Johnson?" He asked, scribbling something on a notepad he was holding.

"That would be me" Tess replied, walking further into the room.

"Alright. You may take a seat at the edge of the bed" he said and she did just that. He adjusted some  things on the gadgets and pushed some buttons as he said, " So... I'm Doctor Reed or you can just call me Jace. How are you feeling right now? Any pains whatsoever?"

" Not really. I still have a headache, though and the pains between my thighs but asides that, nothing much" she replied and he immediately scribbled what she'd said on his notepad.

With that, he began the checkup and it lasted about 45 minutes. "I'll call you into my office in about 15 minutes for the results, alright?" He said, as they both walked out of the room.

"Yeah, see you then" she said and went back to the waiting room while he went into his office.

As Tess walked into the waiting room, Dani looked up from the magazine she was reading and her face lit up.

"Hey, how'd it go?" She asked Tess.

"It went well. Jace said he'd call me into his office in 15 minutes time for the results but he said he didn't think there was anything wrong with me. "

" Jace?" Dani asked.

" Yeah, that's his name. The doctor." Tess replied and Dani eyed her suspiciously. Then said, " Alright. Well, have a seat by me till the results."

Tess did as Dani said then took a magazine to while away the time, though her mind was elsewhere.

12 minutes later, the nurse called out, "Theresa Johnson, the doctor will see you in his office now"

Tess and Dani got up from their seats at the same time and started towards the door when Tess stopped abruptly.

"Why d'you stop?", Dani asked.

"Nothing. It's just....it isn't really necessary for you to come with."

" Yeah, I know that but I want to come with because, like I'd said before, you're my responsibility so let's go. Don't worry, no matter what, I promise, I won't judge you" said Dani, a little bit hurt that Tess had told her not to come in with her.

Tess looked skeptical at first before finally giving in. "Let's go" she said.

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Jace was sitting behind his desk when they both walked in, going through some files. His face had an unreadable expression as soon as he saw Tess and they took their seats in front of the desk. Then, suddenly, he had a frown set on his beautiful face. He tried covering it up with a fake smile but failed miserably.

"I actually thought you were here alone, Miss Johnson" he said.

"No, my friend here had actually been in the waiting room", Tess said, gesturing towards Dani.

" Ok, and your friend is..." Jace asked, directing the question towards Dani. "Dani. Danielle Roe", she replied.

"Alright, Dani. Now for the results. Your checkup showed me that the rape didn't affect you in anyway" he said and the young lady beamed.

" That's great news.", Dani said and Tess nodded.

"But, I'd like to ask you a personal question Miss Johnson" he said, then paused.

He rolled his eyes towards Dani then back at her.

" Ohh" Tess began, completely understanding his body language. "Oh, sure you can definitely ask me the question".

Jace took a deep breath then closed his eyes. This was one of the difficult things doctors faced and he totally hates it. He went ahead with it anyway.

"Have you... Have you ever had an abortion before?" He finally asked and the office became completely silent.

Tess looked lost and both Dani and Jace stared at her like they could get the answer just by looking at her. Seconds passed before Tess was finally brought back to earth.

"Why do you want to know, Jace?" She asked, putting on a fierce look. She'd hoped she completely covered this secret up. She couldn't believe it would be revealed so soon.

Jace looked  taken aback by her response but he still looked confident which infuriated Tess. He'd hoped she would give him a straight reply. It would have made this piece of information extremely easy to deliver.

"Well, because— ", he paused and pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed.

"Because what?" Dani asked, extremely anxious to know what this young man had to say that seemed so difficult.

"Because, Danielle, Theresa's womb has been destroyed .", Jace finally said and it seemed as if the whole world came to a standstill.

Tess was stunned and she looked it as she stared into space. She couldn't believe it.

The pharmacist who had given her the drugs for her abortion had told her that it was completely safe. What had gone wrong? A destroyed womb? Her whole life was upside down as she stayed still, right there on the chair, staring at nothing.

"What d'you mean destroyed", Dani asked Jace. She was utterly confused as she looked back and forth between Jace and Tess.

Then, finally, her eyes rested on Tess as she asked, " How did this happen?", but got no reply from her.

There was silence for some seconds as Jace also stared at Tess.

" Tess? ", Dani whispered. "I'll tell you, Dani.", Jace began when Tess still didn't give a reply.

" Tess took pills that damaged her womb. Those pills were made naturally for abortion but they weren't made to be taken all at once. Tess had obviously taken all the pills at once and this had destroyed her womb." Jace ended and Dani tried to process what he'd just said.

"Tess?" Dani whispered for the second time in that office but Tess was still zoned.

Then, Tess got up abruptly.

"I'll be at the the car, Dani. Thanks a lot, Jace." she said. And with that, she left the office and slammed the door. Dani flinched then ran a hand through her hair. She was bewildered. Jace just looked dazed.

Dani slowly got up, her purse and phone in hand, and said, " Thanks for everything, doctor. We'll be on our way now."

She was about leaving when he said, " You're welcome but I'm gonna have to advice you to make her keep coming here for a checkup. We don't know what else the pills might have damaged."

Dani nodded, then left. She paid the bills to the nurse at the reception and went straight to her car.

When she got there, Tess had her back against the car and her eyes closed, tears covering her face. Dani began walking towards her then stopped.

A thought crossed her mind. She had actually been thinking Fred was responsible for her womb being destroyed but right then, she thought about it again and realized that she'd been wrong. There was no way Fred had anything to do with this and that made her breathe a sigh of relief but she still wanted to know what had made Tess abort a child.

She continued her walk to the car.

Tessa's eyes snapped open as soon as she got there like she sensed her presence. They stared at each for a long time then, Dani was about speaking when Tess interrupted her, saying, " Please. Dani, please. Let's just go home."

Dani didn't argue. If Tess really wanted to tell her about the abortion, she would so there was no need to push it. Besides, she didn't want to push Tessa. She opened the doors to the car and they both got in.

Few minutes into the drive, Dani's mind was fully concentrated on the road and Tess was still lost in her own world.

Then, out of the blue, Tess began staring at Dani.

" You think I'm a bad person, don't you?", She began. Dani glanced at her.

" What? No, why would you think that? I already promised that I won't judge you, no matter what.", Dani replied, all her attention still focused on the road. Tess let out a small laugh.

" People change", she simply said.

" Would you believe that I actually regret that abortion?"

" Then, why d'you do it? ", Dani asked.

" I'll tell you "