Lev: a Shot Callers novel - Belle Aurora Page 0,63
boyfriend. There will be no love.” I turned to Nas. “There will be no love.”
Dr. Henley smiled. “I’ll have the results of you pap smear and STD test by Monday. I’ll have Jane call. Also, I’ll have you booked in for a follow up in five weeks. I expect you to keep a diary in that time of how often you’re spotting.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she must have seen it coming, because she raised a hand and cut me off. “It’s standard. I have to make sure the device has settled well.” She threw a fear tactic out there. “If it doesn’t settle well, it can become embedded in your uterus and you’ll have to get it cut out. Come to the checkup, Mina.”
Her fear tactic worked, damn her. I agreed to the appointment.
From the moment Nas and I left the clinic, I felt better than I had in a long time, and something told me things would only get better.
I should have listened to Dr. Henley, but being the badass I was, I didn’t.
Her advice not followed came back to haunt me as I almost doubled over from pain, a sharp stabbing sensation throbbing throughout my belly. I thought I was going to be ill from the pain alone.
Holding onto the railing of the stairs, I made my way down slowly, one stair at a time. I found Lev in the kitchen. The second he saw me, he dropped the newspaper he was reading and shot up out of his chair. “Mina, what’s wrong?”
I groaned, clutching my stomach. “I need painkillers. Ibuprofen.”
He helped me sit before searching through the medicine cabinet. “I only have acetaminophen,” he said as he brought it over with a glass of water.
I shook my head. “No. Ibuprofen. It needs to be anti-inflammatory.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked again, but I ignored him.
“Call Nas.” I grimaced as another cramp took hold, causing me to grit my teeth.
He did, and she arrived soon after holding a white box of tablets in her hands. She shook her head at me. “Didn’t listen to the doc, huh?”
“What doc?” asked Lev.
I moaned in agony, my forehead beginning to bead with sweat, doubling over. “Do you have the meds or not?”
She sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I got ‘em right here.” She placed the box down. I opened it with shaking hands and threw two into my mouth, swallowing them dry. Nas clicked her tongue at me. “Look at you? You didn’t listen, and now you’re useless. You’re not working tonight. Go to bed.”
But Lev was stuck on, “What doc?”
Nas took pity on me and lied to her brother. “It’s Mina’s time of the month. I took her to a clinic to see if they could do anything about the cramping.”
I was hoping he’d shy away like most men. I didn’t like lying to him. Instead, he knelt by my side and placed a hand on my knee. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“It’s embarrassing,” I croaked, massaging my temples in a slow, firm circular motion like my mom used to whenever I had a headache. It never felt the same after she’d gone. It only felt better when someone else did it to you.
He shook his head, frowning at me. “No, it isn’t. You’re a woman, Mina. You can’t help menstruating. It’s what women do.” Then he shocked me further. “Do you need me to go to the store for you?”
He was willing to go to the store and buy me feminine hygiene products like it was no big deal.
Lev Leokov was the definition of the word man. He’d earned it. He certainly acted like one. Not like those pussy boys who shied away from the word ‘period.’
The thing was, I had used the only pad I’d been given and I needed more, as the spotting had been quite heavy. I looked to Nas. “Do you have any pads?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, doll. I’m a tampon girl.”
Miserable, I turned to Lev and nodded. “I need pads.”
His eyes softened. “Okay.” If I didn’t know better, he seemed pleased that I let him be of some help to me. “Tell me what you need.”
I prattled off the single item I needed and Lev helped me to bed before leaving. He returned a half-hour later with the box of pads. He didn’t seem squeamish by the situation. Rather, knowing what I needed, he lay next to me, holding my hand until I fell asleep.