AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I swallow hard, not sure what to do or say.
“So,” she sighs, and brings a pair of medical scissors to the edge of the bandage. “How long have you known Alexander?” With every cut, more of the scar shows. It’s not a surprise when the layers fall back and I see it fully, but it doesn’t make it easier to watch.
My fingers touched my skin moments before in my dream, and every detail looks the same. The white lines swirl around my skin, a permanent mark of allegiance. I look away, disgusted by the sight.
“Not long,” I respond. Alexander bribed her, and I watch her closely, wondering with what.
“Must be sweet on you,” she chides. “He’s not one to take to women anymore.”
I shrug, hoping this tube down my nostril gets taken out next.
“You don’t have a story, sweet thing?” she asks. Her tone mocks me, but she’s not unkind, just bored. She moves back and forth from the cabinets, trash, and my bed, taking out tubes and ripping stickers from my skin. “Everyone’s got a story in here.”
When she removes the last piece of equipment, I sit up and try to swing my legs over the side of the bed. It’s more of a jumble of limbs that I drag and let fall, but I’m not discouraged. They’re weak but not unusable. Her arms clasp around my elbows and she helps me up on shaking legs, encouraging me to walk. After a few minutes, I know I’ll be walking on my own by this afternoon.
“What’s your name?” I ask her.
“See now, that’s part of my story,” she smiles. We make it to a wheelchair, and I get into the seat, letting out a sigh of relief that I didn’t fall on the way and hurt myself again.
“You have my name already,” I deadpan.
With a wave of her hand, the door of my room opens, and she’s pushing the wheelchair down an empty hallway.
“I’m just another loyal member of the AOE,” she mocks. She might as well have told me her dog died with the tone of her voice. It’s morose, and the gloom in her words shines through.
“Me too,” I say. “That’s my story.”
She leans down, her words tickling my ear from behind. “I helped you out for Alexander,” she whispers. “And you can’t even tell me how you know him?”
My hands clutch the bars of the wheelchair until my knuckles go white. “We just met,” I bite out.
She cackles behind me. “Not sure why I care, sweetheart. Just trying to get through the day. But I am the one driving.”
“What did he give you?” I ask.
“Hope,” she says. It’s an unexpected answer, and I loosen my grip on the bars, wrapping them around my middle.
She slows to a crawl, and then the movement stops. “Is that what he gave you?”
I sigh, knowing I do owe her a debt and another friend down here is always a good thing.
“We met last month, maybe. I’m a little hazy on time. He arrested me because I… snuck down here,” I offer.
“Is that right?” she asks.
“That’s the story,” I say. It’s the best I can give her, but it’s some bit of gossip she may not have known before.
“So, no past there? Hm. You must be lucky.” The wheels move again, squeaking down the hallway to a destination I didn’t bother asking about.
“I knew Alexander long enough for him to give me some advice,” I smirk.
She walks faster, turning left at the end of the halls.
“And what’s that?” she asks.
“Not to trust anyone,” I say. “Not you. Not even him.”
We reach glass doors, and the inside looks more like a hair salon than a hospital. There are women sitting under hair dryers, and someone relaxes in a robe putting lotion on her legs.
