Held (Gone #2) (4 page)

"That sounds like it could take a while."

Eve nodded. "It gives us enough time to drill you so you know the rules by heart. Are you ready?"

"I guess so."

"You are." Eve smiled. "Do you speak to a brother without being spoken to?"

"Do you mean a man?"

"Any male puritan. Even a child. We do not speak unless spoken to, child. It is the holy way of righteousness. The world looks down on such things, but truly, it is an honor. We are the blessed ones, learning to live in pure submission."

Macy took a deep breath. It was no wonder Chester liked this place.

"When do we go to our daily meetings to learn from the holy visions?" asked Eve.

"Every night."

"Correct."

"Now list for me as many sins as you can recall."

This was going to be one long afternoon.

Unexpecting

Zoey sat in a nondescript waiting room next to her mom. Her mom had her laptop out, working from there. She never passed up an opportunity to get in extra work. Zoey was still exhausted, even though she had slept well over twelve hours.

A nurse opened the door next to the registration desk. "Zoey Carter."

Valerie looked at her. "Want me to go with you?"

"No." Zoey stood up and followed the nurse. She refused to look at the scale, not wanting to know what she weighed. When they got to the exam room, she mindlessly answered basic questions as the nurse typed the answers into a laptop.

The nurse stood and went to the door. "The doctor will be right in. Do you have any questions?"

"Nope." Zoey leaned her head against the wall next to her. She looked at the paper-covered table, wanting to crawl on it and fall asleep. Maybe she would if the doctor took a long time.

Zoey's eyes grew heavier as she waited. Five minutes turned into ten, which turned into fifteen. Finally she couldn't take it any longer, and she closed her eyes. The door opened and Zoey fought her eyes, struggling to open them.

"Zoey Carter?" asked a young, pretty lady in a doctor's coat.

"Yeah."

"I'm Doctor Hernandez. It's nice to meet you. So, you're here for a checkup?"

"I guess."

The doctor sat down and read from the laptop. "You've been overtired lately? Has there been any stress in your life?"

Zoey laughed bitterly.

Dr. Hernandez raised an eyebrow. "I take that as a yes?"

"You've heard of Macy Mercer, right?"

"The missing girl. Why?"

"My best friend."

A look of sudden understanding washed over her face. "That would certainly explain fatigue. Have you spoken with anyone about how you're feeling?"

"Just my boyfriend."

"No counselors?"

She shook her head. "Just my boyfriend," she repeated.

"You should really consider it."

"That's what my mom says."

"Well, you should listen to her. Anyway, I'll give you a full checkup and make sure that nothing else is going on. Sound good?"

Zoey nodded and then went through another tiring round of questions. Then the doctor looked in her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, followed by listening to her heart and lungs.

"Everything looks good. One question I have to ask, given your age. I have here that your last menstrual cycle was six weeks ago. Is there any chance you're pregnant?"

Zoey's heart nearly stopped. She stared at the doctor, unable to speak. Was that why she was so tired? Did being pregnant make people tired? Didn't they only throw up in the beginning? It wasn't possible—she couldn't be pregnant.

"Did you hear me, Zoey? Is there a chance you could be pregnant? You mentioned that you have a boyfriend."

She twisted her hands together, unable to find her voice. They hadn't used protection the first few times. The first time had just happened so unexpectedly, and then the next times following were all over the same weekend when she had been staying at the Mercer's house.

"Zoey?"

"Maybe," she whispered. She couldn't be. She just couldn't.

Dr. Hernandez didn't even flinch. She just nodded as though they were talking about the weather. "We have two options. You can either take a blood test and wait for the results or you can urinate in a cup, and then we'll know in several minutes."

"I…I don't know."

She opened a cupboard and pulled out a little cup and then pointed to one of the two doors. "That door leads to a bathroom. Fill this about halfway and then bring back here. A nurse will run the test real quick." She handed Zoey the cup.

"Doesn't the test have to be first thing in the morning or something?" Zoey looked back and forth between the cup and the doctor.

"No. Tests today are sensitive, so it can be any time of the day."

"You're not going to tell my mom, are you?"

"Not unless you want me to."

"No." Zoey grabbed the cup.

She went into the bathroom. Everything felt unreal, but on the bright side, she wasn't tired anymore. The fear got rid of that. How could she be taking a pregnancy test? She was only fifteen—and Alex, he was only thirteen. Sure, he would be fourteen soon, but still.

Her pulse was on fire as she stared at the cup. She barely managed to fill the cup without making a mess. She nearly dropped it into the toilet bowl twice. If she couldn't even pee into a cup, how would she handle a baby?

By the time she made it back to the exam room, her stomach was twisted so tight she could barely breathe. A nurse stood in the room, and she held out a little tray. "Set the cup here, please. Then have a seat."

Zoey placed the cup on the tray, and then sat down. She shook and her mind spun out of control. How could this be happening? Why had they been so stupid? If she would have known they were going to do it, she would have bought protection earlier. She thought for sure they were okay. It was only that one weekend they didn't use any.

Where was that nurse? Or the doctor? Were they trying to teach her a lesson?

Unable to sit still another moment, Zoey got up and paced the small room. What was taking them so long? How long did it take to run a simple test? Didn't they just dip in a stick and get the answer? Were they sitting back there gossiping about her?

Gossip. That's what would happen at school if anyone found out. She wrung her hands together. No. That wasn't going to happen. The test was going to be negative, so she wouldn't have to worry about what people would say.

The door opened behind her. Zoey turned around and tried to read the doctor's face. She couldn't tell either way. Dr. Hernandez had the perfect poker face.

"Why don't we have a seat, Zoey." It wasn't a question.

Zoey sat down, still trying to read her face.

She made eye contact with Zoey. With no emotion she said, "The results were positive."

"What on earth does that mean?" Zoey demanded.

Dr. Hernandez reached over and put her hand on Zoey's. "You're pregnant. The line was quite dark, indicating the probability of a strong early pregnancy."

Everything disappeared around Zoey as she stared into the doctor's dark brown eyes. Her mouth wouldn't budge.

"Do you know what you want to do?" asked the doctor.

Zoey shook her head as tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision.

"There are two options. You can terminate or proceed with the pregnancy. It's your choice, and of course we don't have to tell your parents."

"You'd have to find my dad to tell him—which you're more than welcome to." Anger burned in the pit of her stomach. "That's exactly what he deserves. He's never been here for me and look what happened."

The doctor patted her hand. "Let's focus. You don't have to make a decision today, but if you're undecided, I'll need to send you with some prenatal vitamins. They should help you to feel better, too. The baby is going to continue to take a lot from your body and you really need the vitamins."

"I'll take them."

Dr. Hernandez turned to the laptop and typed for a few moments before she turned back to Zoey. "I'll also send you with some contraceptives."

"It's not like I'm going to get pregnant."

She cracked a smile. "No, but you don't want to get any diseases."

"We're each other's firsts."

"That's what they all say, dear."

Zoey narrowed her eyes. "I've known him forever. He's telling the truth."

"Still, I'm going to give you some. Use them."

Whatever. If she was already pregnant, what was the point? "Fine."

"I'll also get some pamphlets to answer your questions. You'll have some later even if you can't think of any now. There are also some websites listed, you can find more answers there. When you have questions, go to those websites. Don't search online or ask your friends."

"Okay."

"Also, you can call our office anytime, but I'll have the front desk schedule you to come back in four weeks. In the meantime, I'd like you to speak with a counselor. They wouldn't tell your parents anything, either. I can get you a pamphlet for that too. Do you need anything else?"

Zoey's head spun…or was that room? "No."

The doctor typed more into the laptop and then told her a nurse would be in shortly.

Zoey nodded. She couldn't make sense of anything, much less the fact that she was pregnant. The weight of its reality was hitting hard. "How come I haven't thrown up?"

"Not everyone does," said a different voice.

She looked up to see a nurse. Dr. Hernandez was nowhere to be seen. When had they switched places? "Where's the doctor?"

"Oh, she's just talking with your parents."

"Just my mom. My mom!" Zoey stood up. "What's she telling her? I thought she wasn't—"

"She's telling her what she can. Everything except the pregnancy, since you don't want her mentioning that."

"What's there to tell?"

"That you're taking new vitamins and she would like you to see a counselor."

Zoey swore. "I don't want to see a counselor."

The nurse handed her some sample vitamins packs. "These should get you through until your next appointment. You really should decide what to do as soon as possible though. A counselor can help you with that."

She put the vitamins in her backpack. Then she was handed a stack of papers that she probably wouldn't even look at. The nurse spoke, but Zoey couldn't focus.

Home

Chester came inside with the prophets after what Macy guessed to be an hour and a half of Eve drilling the rules into her head.

Jonah looked at Eve. "The truck and its contents have been purified."

"And the child has a full understanding of the community rules."

"We're all set. Let's show our newest vessels to their home."

Eve rose and Macy followed. They all walked outside and Eve pointed to the truck. "You may travel with your dad."

Macy went into the truck with Chester, and the others climbed into a van—white, of course. Chester started the truck and they followed the van for several miles until they reached a paved parking lot in the middle of nowhere.

After parking, Jonah and company got out of the van and opened the back doors. They pulled out a cart and dragged it to the truck.

Chester looked at her. "You stay in here until we have everything loaded."

"Okay." At least she didn't have to do any heavy lifting. Chester had packed most of their two rooms into the back of the truck.

He got out and Macy could hear the back of the truck open. She bounced up and down in the seat as they removed things from the back. Before long, the back of the truck slammed shut. Chester opened her door and moved aside so she could get out. She slid out without a word.

Jonah looked at her. "We men will pull the cart while you and Eve push from the back. Once we're inside the community, we will have a horse pull it the rest of the way to your home."

Since Jonah hadn't given her permission to speak, Macy went to the back of the cart without replying. The wood was rough and full of splinters. She tried to find a place to push that wouldn't tear her hands apart, but there were no smooth spots. The cart was heavy, and with all of them moving it, Macy still broke out into a sweat before they had even made it a few feet.

It felt like hours, but she really had no idea how long it took to get it to the gate. She wiped her brow when they were done, gasping for air. Her muscles burned.

Eve turned to her. "Before we go in, you and your dad are going to have to wear head coverings."

"Head coverings?"

"You'll need to wear them until tonight's meeting. We'll have your unveiling ceremony to welcome you into the community. Then you will become official members. After that will be the wedding, followed by a time of celebration."