A Single Rose

Chapter 1:

They had both been feeling the weakness. The weakness that threatened to break them up, but they held on because they loved each other. Casey and Elena had been together for eight months before their relationship had begun to waver. But in the beginning of their senior year, at the age of seventeen, no one expects a relationship to last forever. But nevertheless, they held on.

In the ninth month, Elena contracted some kind of illness that caused her tongue to break out in Canker sores and her throat to ache. She went to see the doctor about it.

“It’s either mono or you could be pregnant,” said the doctor, writing on a green and white sheet.

“What?” she replied, stunned.

“Yes. Well, I’m going to take a swab of your throat to send off to the lab and I want you to go get a pregnancy test done right now,” he said preparing to take the swab.

Elena didn’t know what scared her more. Mono or pregnancy. Nevertheless, she was shocked at the prospect of either.

“I’ll call you if the swab test results are positive. It’ll probably be a few days,” the doctor said as she prepared to leave.

She nodded absently as she stepped out the door with the green and white paper in one hand. She walked slowly down the street, hoping that she wasn’t pregnant. She could handle a month long illness, but having a baby for the rest of her life was…for the rest of her life. She couldn’t help but wonder how Casey would react in either case.

As she approached the clinic where her test would be done she felt her body begin to quiver. She just about convinced herself that she would rather not know, but pushed herself to open the door.

Elena approached the counter where the secretary nurse sat typing into her computer. Elena waited patiently for the nurse to finish, feeling her body heat rise and her hands begin to sweat. The wait felt like several hours, but in reality it was only a few minutes.

Finally, the nurse looked up and smiled. “Hi there, how can I assist you?”

Elena couldn’t speak because her throat had closed off because of her tension. She unfolded the green and white paper she had been clutching in her hand and slid it across the counter.

The nurse smiled again and accepted the paper. She glanced at it, her eyes reading it over carefully. She began typing into the computer again as she read it. Again, the wait felt like several hours. The nurse reached to a compartment next to the computer and pulled out a plastic cup and a wet nap. “Here you go, Elena. There’s a bathroom right there. Just follow the instructions on the wall.” She smiled once more.

Elena grasped the cup and wet nap in her hand and glanced at the washroom the nurse had indicated. She took a deep breath and moved toward it. She was glad she was the only one, besides the nurse, who knew that she was urinating into a cup. She locked the door and followed the instructions on the wall. She was so nervous that she accidentally urinated on her hand. After a good hand scrub she opened the door and poked her head out.

The nurse was no longer at the desk, but had moved back into the laboratory. Upon seeing Elena step out she moved to take the cup from her. Elena was glad to rid of the cup of urine. “This shouldn’t take long, just have a seat,” she said indicating the chairs in front of the desk.

Elena shuffled timidly to sit in one of the red seats to wait for another few hours. Her hands began to sweat again and she found it hard to sit still. Her worry increased with each passing second. She heard nothing, although, she was aware of the presence of different voices and sounds. It felt like an eternity before the nurse actually called her name. “Elena.”

“Huh?” she responded shaking her head a bit. “Oh, yes?”

“The test was negative,” said the nurse.

Elena maintained her composure as she stood up. “Okay. Thank you.” She forced a smile and then stepped toward the door to leave the clinic. Once outside, she paused and felt a sudden burst of energy and she relieved. She wanted to run to Casey and tell him the good news. If only he wasn’t working. She would just have to wait to talk to him later.