Alice lay on her stomach, scrolling through her phone. They had said she should go home but then they changed their minds.
Didn’t they say that they were sending me home in two hours? What time was that?
Maybe they realized no one was coming to help her; they let her stay another night. Her staples needed monitoring on top of her needing help with a ride.
She kept staring at the picture she had taken that night. She couldn’t wait until she was home to print it out and examine it further for clues. She must have slept for quite a while, long enough for the phone to charge.
Thank you to whoever charged it.
But what was it that had hurt her? Attacked her?
Was it hunting her?
Would it come to the hospital?
Her phone buzzed, scaring her. She snapped her neck as she jerked up, and more pain flooded through her. She lay back down, the phone in her hand. It was a text from Quincy, one of her longtime buddies.
I can’t believe they were going to send you home. You’re a mess.
I’m in agony, she typed back.
Should I call?
No, gonna go back to sleep soon.
Do you remember me visiting you earlier?
Alice thought back. The hospital was so noisy. Bright lights and constant nattering. People talking down every corridor. Every conversation the same.
People coming and going from her room. Sudden wafts of alcohol and hand sanitizer. Poking, prodding, the clicking of pens, and the rustling of paper.
Who used paper anymore?
If Quincy had visited her, she didn’t remember specifics.
No.
A shard of memory rose up. Someone had come in who wasn’t a nurse. At least, not in hospital gear. Someone stood by her bed. Someone watching her. Hopefully, it hadn’t been her attacker.
I think I remember.
Nice! Well, I did visit, and if you need anything, let me know.
Wouldn’t Quincy have said her name?
These drugs are nuts. They make me so confused.
That’s what they’re for; if you’re confused, you don’t know how much all those staples hurt.
Oh, I know! Alice tapped several emojis to indicate how shitty she felt.
You need to rest. Go sleep it off.
I will.
Also, I’m sorry I have to work so much this week and can’t take care of you.
It’s okay. Better to be here for a while for the good drugs! Haha.
Haha, indeed! Good night.
‘Night.
Alice stared at the phone for a bit. She’d been awake for about half an hour and spent the whole time answering texts and scrolling through the news. It was exhausting.
She looked up at her IV. It was nearly full. It must have been changed when she was sleeping. She looked over at the machines blinging and beeping from all the wires sticking out of her.
There hadn’t been wires before. She didn’t think so. She thought there had only been the painkiller IV but nothing else. They said she could go home.
Had something happened? Was she dying?
She peered over at the monitors.
At least her vitals looked okay, or so she thought. She actually didn’t know but she figured if the lines were staying rather steady, then that must mean things were going well.
She was so tired of lying on her stomach. Her boobs hurt. Her neck hurt. The wires and sticky pads were annoying. It seemed the nurses had brought various pillows to help while she slept, but she was sick of it all. She pushed her phone aside.
She fussed and punched at the pillows under her, grimacing with pain as her staples shifted.
She sighed heavily, laying her head down on the pillow, staring over at the glowing green lights of the monitors.
How long was it going to take for her to not want to scream in pain every time she moved?
When would she be well enough to work again?
She wondered if she should call work… oh right, Quincy already did. Man, these drugs were good. It was nice to not have to go into work for a while. There was no way she could sling beer all stitched together like a Frankenstein monster.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The rhythm of the monitors reflecting her own rhythms back to her was hypnotic. It was kind of cool how the inside was reflected on the outside through all the wires and the tubes. Well, the tube was for the painkillers, no doubt. There was nothing actually wrong with her besides her wounds.
Nothing but the winding weaving paths in your brain jumping up and down like flickering flames at a bonfire. What is the new thought waiting to be birthed? What is the next if the darkness wins? But the darkness is necessary for the light. She wore black to reflect back the judgment of others. With no color, there can be no ally.
The hallways seemed to be quieter than they had been. The lights seemed dimmer. There was less hustling and bustling. Not so much nattering in the hallways. It was getting late. Maybe visiting hours were over.
She lifted her head to turn away from all the blinking machines and towards the side of the room with the curtain partition and whatever mysteries lay on the other side.
The curtain wafted.
The sun must have set because the brilliant light that had been intruding on her sleep all day was now gone.
The curtain wafted again.
If she blew really hard, could she make the curtain waft harder?
She sucked in her air and blew.
It made no difference.
I wonder if anyone is in the bed behind the curtain?
The curtain wafted again.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” Alice asked.
“No, no one is there,” a voice said from behind her. Alice jumped.
It was a nurse carrying a can of ginger ale and a straw.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s okay. It’s just kind of creepy how the curtain is drawn like that, but there’s no indication if anyone is actually there.”
The nurse opened the ginger ale and slipped the paper bendy straw into the hole. She held it towards Alice’s mouth.
“Well, I guess they do that since people come and go so much. Especially these days with all the cutbacks.”
“Yeah. Boy, I can’t believe they want to send me home like this.”
“I’ll take a look when you’ve finished drinking, but it’s not unusual to send someone in your condition home if there are adults to watch you twenty-four seven. Frees up the bed.”
“I get it. But I have no one to help me so I’m staying. At least tonight. Maybe tomorrow…”
“Maybe…It’s a brand-new day, but in the meantime, drink this ginger ale and get some rest. How is your pain level.”
“It’s dull but boy, it’s there. I don’t know how I’ll cope when I’m outta here.”
“You’ll be better before you know it. I’ve seen people in worse shape than you heal right up quick. Then others, with barely anything wrong with them, just wither away and die. I believe a lot of it has to do with what’s in your head. What’s in your mind.”
“Will power. The will to live. The will to get better.”
“Yes. Although there are many cases where mind over matter is impossible, there are other unexplainable events that occur when one is stubborn and focused. I’ve seen it.”
“I guess it’s up to me to be stubborn and focused. That kind of sums me up anyway.” Alice said with a smirk.
The nurse held the can up again. Alice obediently sipped from it. When she had enough sips, she burped a bit.
“Sorry. Anyway, I think my biggest question is, how soon can I wear a corset again? How bad is it back there?”
Alice sipped again while the nurse thought about it.
“I guess if you put bandages and a modesty panel where your corset meets your scars, you might be okay after a couple of months. You really need to wait until everything is totally healed, the staples are out, there are no infections. You also don’t want to create more scar tissue than necessary.”
“I have giant slashes down my back. I think I’m always going to have those!”
“You can get some cosmetic surgery over the next few years. That should help calm it down. You also could get tattoos. I see you have a few already.”
“I was thinking about adding on. Well, one thing at a time. I have to get out of here first.”
“That you do.”
The nurse took the can away and set to work making Alice more comfortable. She peeled back some of the dressings. The wounds were deep and nasty, and the staples with the dressings made them look even worse.
“You’re doing well. So far, so good. But I’m going to recommend you’re here at least a week.”
“That bad, eh?”
The nurse nodded. “I’ll recommend a week, but who knows? Maybe you’ll be out in a day or two. Now get some rest.”
The nurse made some notes and clicked the IV pole settings. Alice felt more of the drugs coursing through her veins. She turned her head back towards the curtain. The nurse left.
The curtain wafted.