“Miss Mariano, please take your seat so that we may commence.”
“Commence?” I demand. “Commence what?”
“Your appointment. I’m here to discuss your contraceptive requirements and do a thorough health exam, nothing more.”
I gape at him, hardly able to believe what I’m hearing. “What?” I rush out. “I’m not about to discuss contraception with you. These assholes are keeping me hostage. They kidnapped me right out of my apartment. Please, are you hearing me? I need help. I need your fucking help. You have to get me out of here. I swear, I’ll do anything. Please. The things they make me do ... Fuck. I can’t do this anymore. They’re going to kill me. Do you have any idea what these guys are capable of? The things they’ve already done ...”
Tears fill my eyes as the doctor just glances back at me with pity. “Please, Miss Mariano. Take your seat. We don’t need to make this any harder than it already needs to be. Believe me, if I could help you, I would. I’m about protecting and preserving lives, not destroying them, but right now, I’m more about protecting my family from these assholes. So, today, we’re going to discuss your contraceptive needs and then we’re going to give you a thorough health exam. Is that clear?”
That small ray of hope dies within me, and I realize that no matter how much I beg, no matter what I say or do, nothing is going to change his mind, and nor should it. Not when his family is at stake.
“Alright,” he goes on compassionately. “Have you been on contraception before?”
“What does it matter?” I question, tears welling in my eyes. “I’m going to be dead soon. So what if they knock me up? It’s not like I’ll last long enough to see through a full term pregnancy.”
The doctor leans forward, his eyes searching mine. “The point is that if you somehow survive all of this, you don’t want to come out of it with one of their evil spawns inside of you. Protecting yourself is the least you can do. Besides, if you were pregnant, what do you think would happen? Do you have the means to care for a child, the financial support, or how about the father? Will he be in the child’s life? I don’t see these assholes playing nice when it comes to custody arrangements, nor do I see them releasing you while carrying their child.”
“Okay,” I rush out, cutting him off before he can paint any more of a clearer picture. “I get your point. Just … do whatever. I don’t care.”
The doctor nods and moves back into his chair. “Are they using any form of protection when they … touch you?”
I clench my jaw and glance away, unsure why I feel so ashamed of the moment I shared with Marcus, even more so because this guy automatically assumes that he had forced himself on me. So why the hell am I not doing my part in letting him know that it was consensual? But then, I guess it’s really none of his business. It’s not like he has any intention of actually helping me out of this.
“No,” I finally tell him. “I’ve only been with one of them, but there was no condom.”
“Aftercare?”
I shake my head.
“Right, I’m assuming that I don’t need to warn you about the risks of practicing safe sex?”
“Are you kidding me right now?” I demand, staring at him in irritation. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking about here? These are the DeAngelis brothers. They slit throats for sport. Do you really think they’re the kind of guys to stop and put on a rubber first?”
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Miss Mariano. Do you foolishly assume that you are the first woman in this situation whom I’ve had to care for? The last girl those brothers got pregnant didn’t fare well with their father.”
I stare at him in horror. “Their father killed a pregnant girl?”
The doctor shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know, that is just my assumption, but what I do know is that she only got through three months of her pregnancy before the appointments stopped. So, please, just answer my questions so we can get you protected. Do you require any information about practicing safe sex?”
I let out a heavy sigh and shake my head. “No. I know what I need to know, but my … living conditions make cleanliness almost impossible. Practicing safe sex isn’t something that I have the ability to do. I just have to cross my fingers and hope that they don’t give me anything.”
“Okay, I understand,” the doctor says before pausing and truly considering my situation before grabbing his bag and rifling around. He pulls out a bunch of boxes, glances over their labels before finally placing a small box on the edge of the table. “Have you heard of a birth control implant?” he questions.