53/Danielle
My heart literally stopped beating. There was no way in hell she said what I thought she said. “Excuse me?”
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Brooks.”
“You’ve got my results confused with someone else’s because there is no way I’m HIV positive.”
“I’d really like to start you on a medication regimen right away. When can you come in?”
“Did I stutter? I said I am not HIV positive!”
“I can understand your frustration.”
Oh, so now she wanted to patronize me. “No, you can’t understand.” My voice rose. “There is some kind of mistake.”
Yeah, that’s it.
A mistake.
“You got my lab confused with someone else’s.”
Yep.
It happens all the time.
“No. It was your specimen. We’ve already retested it, but we’d be more than happy to do it again. If you would like to come back in—”
“Damn right I will, because I just got tested last year and my results were fine. As soon as I get my results back, I’m suing y’all mothafuckas.”
I punched End before she had a chance to respond.
This wasn’t happening.
I was breathing so hard I thought I might pass out.
This can’t be happening.
In fact, I know it isn’t.
My daughter would be coming home tomorrow with my granddaughter, and we were finally going to start rebuilding our relationship.
I had a granddaughter to help raise.
A future.
Plans.
This was not happening.
I walked into the living room and started blowing up balloons. To hell with sleep. Mama and Daddy were picking Portia up tomorrow, and I needed to go over and decorate the house for their homecoming.
I reached for the scissors, but my hand was shaking so badly I couldn’t even cut the streamers. The scissors slipped from my fingers and hit the floor. I stared at them for a moment. Then I dropped to my knees.
The tears came so fast I couldn’t stop them.
“Why?” I screamed. The sound echoed through the empty house. “Dammit, why?”
Fresh tears streamed down my face.
“I know I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but I never expected to be punished like this!”
The words hung in the air. And for the first time since the phone call, the reality of what she had said started to sink in.
My problems were only beginning. Because now I had to figure out who infected me.
And if he didn’t already know...
I had to save his life too.