Half a month after her breakup with Severo Laris, Paula Rouco completely broke off contact with him.
Obviously, we have each other’s cell phone numbers, Facebook, but no one takes the initiative.
Paula Rouco has been in a very bad mood lately, with loss of appetite and the urge to vomit.
Susana gave her a braised chicken thigh and she only tried two bites before she didn’t want any more.
Susana thought her digestive function had deteriorated due to her bad mood and said in distress, “You don’t have to break your stomach for a Severo Laris, you’ll lose weight if you eat a few more grains of rice like this.”
Paula Rouco was not at first particularly thin, with slender arms and legs, a slim waist, but also a bit fleshy, and a baby face, just the right amount of fat and slimness for a good look.
But lately her appetite is so bad that she has lost a pound in half a month.
There was an afternoon physical education class and in the middle of it, Paula Rouco fainted.
She was taken to the school nurse and woke up with Analeigh by her side.
The school nurse asked seriously, “Girl, have you been on a diet lately?”
Paula Rouco shakes her head.
The school nurse didn’t believe her, gave her a dirty look and said, “You’re too skinny, you don’t need to diet and get thin, if you don’t eat right, your bowels will fall out. You’ve fainted, probably from low blood sugar caused by not eating right, but I can’t examine you from my side, I suggest you go to the hospital for a full examination.”
Analeigh was concerned, “Doctor, it shouldn’t be a big problem, should it?”
The school nurse said responsibly, “Sudden fainting is not a trivial matter, in case of shock it will be a problem, so you’d better go to the hospital for a checkup, it won’t cost much, you’re so young, you have to be responsible for your health.”
After helping Paula Rouco up, Analeigh said, “Paulita, why don’t I accompany you to the hospital for a check-up? You look very pale and you don’t look well.”
Paula Rouco was a little weak and said, “I don’t think I have eaten well, why don’t you help me back to my bedroom and rest, tomorrow I will call in sick and go to the hospital by myself.”
“Okay.”
…
Back at the hostel, Paula Rouco is lying in bed, unable to sleep, now with a little more energy after having some red bean porridge in the canteen, and bored with her phone.
When people are sick and not feeling well, they always unconsciously want to lean on someone.
She remembers the time she had a fever in the Imperial neighborhood and Severo Laris was by her side, taking her temperature, bringing her coffee and water, and making her rice with minced pork and pickled beans.
Even Paula Rouco herself began to despise herself for not being able to stop thinking about him even though he had said such hurtful things about her self-esteem and character.
Fearing that she might get through to him, she just turned off the phone, tossed it aside, pulled the blankets over herself and went to sleep.
…
The next afternoon, Paula Rouco called in sick to the hospital for a checkup.
First, blood glucose and blood tests were checked, and although some of the values were low, they were within the normal range or so.
A gastrointestinal unit was recorded for examination.
The male physician asked, “Why aren’t you feeling well, little girl?”
Paula Rouco came clean, “Yesterday I fainted during gym class and the school nurse told me it could be low blood sugar, so she sent me to the hospital for a checkup, here are the sugar and blood tests I just had done.”
The doctor scanned the area and frowned slightly, “Your sugar level isn’t high, but it’s not high enough to make you faint, do you have any physical symptoms?”
“I don’t have much of an appetite lately, I feel like throwing up when I see meat, I’m always snoozing in class, and I don’t have much energy.”
The doctor froze and shot a glance at Paula Rouco.
Paula Rouco thought she was suffering from some incurable disease and stammered, “Doctor…. am I all right?”.
“Little girl, do you have a boyfriend yet?”
“… de, had a previous sexual relationship. Doctor, what’s wrong with me?”
What does her being sick have to do with her having a boyfriend?
The world didn’t touch her and she didn’t think that way easily.
The doctor said, “You probably don’t have a gastrointestinal problem, and you don’t have any pain in your gut, do you?”
She shook her head, “I don’t have any pain, except the urge to vomit from time to time.”
“You may have checked into the wrong department, I tell you to go to the gynecology department.”
“Gynecology?”
Paula Rouco went to the gynecologist with some misgivings, they did some specific blood tests and the doctor did an ultrasound.
“Doctor, what’s wrong with me?”
The gynecologist looks at the date of birth on Paula Rouco’s chart, which shows that she has just turned eighteen.
“Girl, why don’t you protect yourself properly when you’re with your boyfriend, don’t you take safety measures?”
Paula Rouco was confused, safety measures?
“So, doctor, you’re saying I’m pregnant, pregnant?”
The doctor, who has always seen this kind of thing, spoke calmly, “Four weeks pregnant, I found out very early. She looks like a student from a nearby college town, doesn’t she? If you want to get rid of this baby, now is not too long, and an abortion won’t affect your body too much. After all, you’re young, so get well and you’ll be fine.”
Paula Rouco’s mind went blank and she heard nothing but what the lady doctor said about her four weeks of pregnancy and not another word.
Nervous and scared, she said, “But we have taken steps before, doctor, could it be a mistake?”.
The doctor sighed, knowing she was afraid to accept this reality.
“Girl, a moment ago I asked you to have a blood test to see your HCG value and an abdominal ultrasound, and both show that you are pregnant. Look at this color chart from the ultrasound, this little embryo that is not fully developed is the child you are carrying in your womb. With today’s means of examination, there is no way to be wrong.”
“But …”
“Also, even if you take the pill or use a safety T, there is no 100% total guarantee of contraception. For example, if a safety T breaks during use. Don’t get psychologically overwhelmed, kiddo, and don’t be afraid to tell your family, it’s best to talk to your family and boyfriend about these things to see what to do.”
…
Instead of leaving the hospital immediately, Paula Rouco sat by the stairs in the hospital’s secure hallway, clutching her test results.
No one is here and it’s quiet.
She hugged herself, too scared to cry, too scared to tell her father and Estrella what they would think of her if they knew.
Dad would have been furious and disappointed.
The doctor’s words echoed in her mind, telling her to talk it over with her family and her boyfriend.
But she and Severo Laris had already broken up, was she going to go back to him to take responsibility?
What would Severo Laris’ reaction and attitude be when he found out about this?
She dared not think anymore and buried her face in her knees, moaning.
She herself was still a child, and now she was unexpectedly pregnant, with a mixture of shock, fear, nervousness and despair.
As brave and willful as she was normally, she felt like the sky was falling at that moment.
“Severo, I’m so scared…”
What was she to do?