Seven Years Of Rain Stopped The Day I Signed The Consent Chapter 02

Seven Years Of Rain Stopped The Day I Signed The Consent Chapter 02

The next morning, I picked up my bag and left for my follow-up appointment.

Chloe stood beside the car, clutching her little storm kit to her chest and looking at me with timid eyes.

“Evelyn, could I sit in the passenger seat? I get carsick.”

Adrian opened the door for her.

“You sit up front. She doesn’t get carsick.”

I stood there without moving.

I had woken up from the pain twice during the night, and there had been blood on the sheets.

Still, I said nothing. I opened the back door and got in.

The car had barely pulled away when Chloe pulled out her phone and started whining sweetly.

“Adrian, look. My average heart rate last night was still ninety-eight. You have to come in with me later and let the doctor take a good look.”

Adrian glanced at it.

“Okay.”

Then he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“You’re a grown woman. Go check yourself in at cardiology.”

“I’m not going to cardiology.”

I looked out at the scenery sliding past the window.

“I’m going to OB-GYN.”

Adrian’s fingers paused on the steering wheel, and he slammed on the brakes.

“What?”

Chloe covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh.

“What’s wrong with OB-GYN? Evelyn’s probably just having some period issues. That must be why she’s been so emotional these past two days.”

“Some women’s problems are hard to talk about, Adrian. Don’t ask so bluntly.”

Adrian accepted that explanation.

“Then hurry up and get checked. Stop bringing your mood home every day.”

The hospital lobby was packed.

When the elevator doors opened, Adrian instinctively guided Chloe in first.

A sharp, dragging pain suddenly pulled through my lower abdomen, and my steps slowed.

By the time I moved forward, the doors were already closing.

Adrian held down the open button, his brows slightly furrowed.

“You’re walking too slowly. Take the next one. It’s too crowded.”

The doors slid shut in front of me.

I stood there, watching the numbers climb floor by floor. I watched the numbers climb, then turned away without a second thought and headed for the stairs.

Inside the OB-GYN exam room, the doctor flipped through my chart with a deep frown.

“You had a D&C yesterday after heavy bleeding, and today you’re already walking around like you don’t care whether you live or die? Go home and stay in bed. Absolute bed rest.”

“Doctor,” I interrupted, “I have to take a flight tonight. Four hours.”

The doctor set her pen down sharply and stared at me.

“Are you out of your mind? Changes in cabin pressure and turbulence could make you bleed again. In a serious case, you could go into shock.”

“Where are you going that matters more than your life?”

After a pause, I said, “To take back the life I was supposed to have.”

The doctor looked at me for a long moment, then sighed and prescribed painkillers and medication to control the bleeding.

“It’s your life. Take the medicine with you. If anything feels wrong after you land, call an ambulance immediately.”

After I picked up the medication, a photo from Chloe popped up on my phone.

In the picture, Adrian stood outside the cardiology department, holding two cups from a boba shop.

One was a hot half-sweet milk tea. The other was an iced strawberry drink.

Chloe loved iced drinks, but Adrian never let her have them.

To coax her, he always bought two.

The caption read, [Evelyn, are you done yet? Adrian bought me boba. Want some? Oh, right, with your OB-GYN thing, you probably can’t have anything cold, can you?]

I remembered the first time I had bad cramps seven years ago. I had been in so much pain that I curled up in the hallway.

I begged Adrian to bring me something hot for the cramps.

He said it was too much trouble and told me to order delivery.

That day, I crouched in the hallway in pain for half an hour.

After that, I stopped asking.

I pushed the medicine boxes to the bottom of my bag. When I reached the cardiology department, Chloe was chatting with a nurse.

“He’s my brother. We’re not related by blood, but we’re closer than real siblings.”

“Adrian, I’m going home first,” I said as I walked over.

Adrian glanced at me.

“What did the doctor say?”

“She told me to rest.”

“Then take an Uber home. I have to stay with Chloe while she gets fitted for a Holter monitor. It’ll take a while.”

When I reached the hospital entrance, it had started raining again.

The ride-hailing app showed forty-eight people ahead of me.

After I stood in the wind and rain for twenty minutes, my phone rang.

It was Adrian.

I watched the screen and let it ring until the call ended.

Right after that, Chloe sent me a voice message.

“Evelyn, don’t be mad at Adrian. He only called because you didn’t pick up, and he wanted to ask if you got home safely. He really does care about you.”

I held down the voice button.

“Tell him I’m not dead.”