Jaded (WTF? Series Book 1) by Andrea Smith Read Free Book Online

that when you give him the news."
    Give him the news?
    I'm silent. My mind is blank. Dr. Maxwell picks up on my distress. "Jade, have you been sexually active...outside of your current relationship?"
    I shoot him a look.
    "I'm not trying to pry; I'm merely trying to help you sort this out."
    "How far along am I?"
    "Nine to ten weeks. We'll have a more definitive estimation once we do your first ultrasound at your next appointment; that is...uh...if you plan to continue with the pregnancy."
    "Yes."
    "Yes--you plan to continue with the pregnancy?"
    "No. Yes, I was sexually active outside of my current relationship, but only once, and we used condoms."
    I feel my face flush with the confession to the non-judgy doctor--at least he's supposed to be, I think.
    "Well, condoms are only 85% effective, so of course the odds are more likely that this sexual partner is responsible for the pregnancy but, again, that also is contingent upon the number of times you engaged in sex using condoms. That percentage is skewed because of people that never use anything other than condoms and unreported factors. Again, knowing if your current partner ever completed his post-surgery sperm count analysis is the key, Jade."
    Holy shit.
    "I understand," I reply meekly. "I need time to think about this, Doctor Maxwell, to fully absorb this news and to figure things out."
    "Of course," he says, standing up, and heading towards the door. "You may get dressed now. Why don't you schedule an appointment for two weeks out just to be on the safe side, if you need to cancel for some reason, well, you always have that option."
    "I will," I say, blinking back tears.
    "Good luck," he replies, right before the door closes behind him.
    I'm in a stupor.
    A shocked stupor.
    I manage to get my clothes back on, not realizing until much later that I have buttoned my blouse up all wrong. Later, after I've made a follow-up appointment for two weeks out as the doctor instructed. After I've started my car up in the frigid, late February weather, backing out of the parking space, and being oblivious to the fact that Doctor Maxwell is watching me from behind the blinds of his office window.
    Because if I had been aware, I would've buttoned my blouse up properly; I might have reconsidered making that follow up appointment, and I may have even noticed the doctor staring through the cracks in his blinds making sure that I was out of the building before he picked up the phone on his desk to make a call.
    (Previously The End)

Message from the author.
     
    Okay, now that you've come to the conclusion of this novella, I need to know how you feel about it - don't hold back, please! I want it right from the gut.
    Do any of you feel like saying, "What the fuck?"
    Do any of you feel like posting a review and titling it, "What the fuck did I just read?"
    Do any of you feel like tossing your e-readers?
    Do any of you feel that this was a prequel?
    If you've answered "yes" to the first three of the questions listed above, then I have succeeded in what I set out to do with this story!               (If you answered "yes" to the fourth question relative to a "prequel"-- no, this was not intended to be that.
    This novella was supposed to be a complete story. It was supposed to leave the reader with questions, and provoke their own theories as to just exactly what went down over that Christmas holiday vacation with the various characters.
    Now for those of you that did not have any questions, but simply read it, liked it or didn't like it, but understood that it was a "mind-fuck" kind of story then I succeeded there as well. Because that's what I wanted it to be, you see.
    And for those who either thought, murmured, or shouted, "What the Fuck?" Ergo the WTF? Series label I've given it!
    However, having said the above I can certainly understand the need for closure .
    I guess I need it as well.
    When I originally wrote this story, I had absolutely no clue as to how I would've ended