“Is there any way we can go to a room?” I asked.
She furrowed her brows at me.
“Firstly, I recently lost my child, and sitting out here is salt in the wound. Secondly, apparently, my friend being a different color than I is an issue,” I snarkily said.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said.
I sat back down next to Quinnlyn. I may have felt hate toward Quinnlyn, but he didn’t deserve their hate. Mine was justified, and even then, I wouldn’t stoop that fucking low. My anger rose with every second we sat there. They stared at us like we were the abominations. If only they looked in the mirror and saw the actual abominations of the world.
“Zalayuh?” the nurse called.
We both stood up and followed her to the back. I initially wasn’t going to let Quinnlyn come back with me, but I also couldn’t leave him out there. We walked into a small room and sat in the chairs. The nurse took my vitals before she left the room.
“You didn’t need to do that,” Quinnlyn said.
“What was I supposed to do?” I asked.
“Nothing, just ignore them,” he said.
“Like you were about to do? When you stood up?” I asked.
“I had it… under control,” he muttered.
“Is this how it is everywhere?” I asked.
“Yes, more so back home. How many black or mixed kids were in your high school?” he asked.
“I guess not many.”
“Exactly. My parents endured this often. They taught me that being cool and calm was being the bigger person. Not to be the monster they already thought I was, but sometimes I get really pissed, especially around full moons,” he said.
“I’m sorry.”
“There you go apologizing again…” he said.
Neither of us said anything else. I wasn’t sure what to say. His experience wasn’t mine. Growing up, my family could say damn near any curse word except racial slurs. My dad’s sister was married to a black man after all, but they didn’t see us much after he left, and they never shared how people treated them. Dr. Arthur walked in fifteen minutes later.
“How are you, Miss Zalayuh?” he asked.
“I’ve been better,” I said.
“Yeah, I imagine. How is your bleeding?”
“Almost gone, little spotting here and there,” I said.
“That's good and normal. How about your breasts?” he asked.
“It was pretty bad, but it’s getting better each day,” I told him.
“How are your emotions?”
“Good,” I said.
“Hmm… may have heard you went off on someone in the waiting room,” he said.
“That wasn’t going off… that was putting gross people in their place,” I said.
“Quinnlyn, how are her emotions at home?” he asked, looking at Quinnlyn.
