| |
Tessa felt good. Like, really good.
She’d seen a new doctor that morning, and in just one session, the new treatment had sapped away all her negative energy, turned misery into acceptance, and a nightmare into a dream. And afterward, she slept deeply and soundlessly as a baby swaddled in her sheets, comfort and warmth like she’d never felt before hugging her body closely.
When she awoke, it was already late afternoon. She stretched her arms out to the ceiling, her shoulder popping as she did. Her mouth was dry, tongue thick and numb as she pressed it against her teeth. She picked the crusties from the corners of her eyes and hopped out of bed. Without changing out of her pajamas or even putting slippers on her feet, she headed to the bathroom. There, she urinated for what seemed like an hour, then went to the sink and turned on the cold water. Craning her neck, she stuck her mouth under the faucet and drank long and deep the cold liquid. When she’d had her fill, she smiled into the faux glass mirror above the sink, wet hair plastered to her face and water dripping from her cheeks and chin.
Her body was light as air as she glided over the floor, out into the hall, and toward the adult rec room. On her way, she spotted Nurse Francine heading in the opposite direction and stopped to say hello.
“Why, hello to you, too, Tessa,” the nurse said, smiling wide. “And don’t you look lovely today?”
Tessa giggled. “Thank you!” Elated by the compliment, she nearly skipped to the rec room.
That late in the afternoon, it was mostly empty. The bridge club dealt out another game, and Tessa pulled up a chair to watch. But not understanding how the game was scored, she soon lost interest. She headed over to the bookshelf and grabbed what appeared to be a brand new crossword puzzle book, sans dick pics. Score!
She snatched up a few brightly colored crayons and headed with the book over to the small plastic table, where she pulled up a chair. Flipping to the first puzzle, an easy one, she began to complete it. The answers came to her lightning fast, her intense focus and clarity no longer hampered by her old prescriptions. In fact, the doctor had said she wouldn’t need them anymore. And that was just wonderful!
She completed the first puzzle and was a quarter way through the second, pondering a six-letter verb to make someone or something more lively, when someone spoke behind her. She jumped, and the crayon flew from her hand. But the briefest flash of annoyance was dead and gone before she could even catch her breath. She just felt too good to let such a little thing bother her.
“Where have you been all day? I’ve been looking all over for you.”
A boy about her age with red hair circled the table then sat across from her. He was kind of cute and looked sort of familiar. She frowned, trying to remember, then shrugged, deciding she must have just seen him around the hospital.
She smiled and teased, “Not much for manners, just sitting down there uninvited.”
The boy gave her a quizzical look, an eyebrow raised and eyes unblinking, as if she were the weird one.
She scoffed. “What?”
“Are you okay?”
Tessa chuckled. “Who wants to know?”
“Tessa?” The boy leaned forward. “What’s going on? I woke up, and you were gone. I’ve been worried all day that something might have happened to you.”
Icy fingers tickled Tessa’s spine, and she glanced about nervously. The Bandage Man watched them from a chair in the corner. She met his scowl with one of her own then stuck her tongue out at him. Her gaze returned to the stranger in front of her, who she’d just about been ready to dismiss as a confused patient. But the fact that he knew her name caused her pause.
She thought back to last night, trying to remember what she’d done. “I... I went to bed early last night.”
The boy leaned forward and whispered. “You spent the night with me. Don’t you remember that?”
“I...” The words vanished from her mind. She ground her teeth and began to fidget. Her nose crinkled. “Is this some weird trick to get me into bed? I think you should go away now, or I’ll call Jeb over there.” She pointed over to the orderly the kids called the Missing Link on account of the size of his head. Kids can be so mean.
“Tessa.” The boy reached out and grabbed her hands.
“Don’t touch me!” She tore her hands free and exploded to her feet. Cute or not, whoever this boy thought he was, he had no right to put his hands on her.
Jeb looked over and snorted. He made no move to come to her aid, but the Bandage Man was on his feet. He stormed over, his scowl contorting into an outright snarl. Tessa didn’t know who she should fear more—the man or the boy.
Though the Bandage Man was wiry, he grabbed the boy’s shoulder, pinning him to his seat despite his squirming. The boy winced and tried to break the grip, swatting at the man’s hand with no success.
“Listen to me.” The Bandage Man leaned over and growled low into the boy’s ear, but Tessa could still hear him clearly. His voice was scratchy and gravelly as if his vocal cords had been treated with sandpaper. “Leave here now. Stay away from the girl, or you’ll be next.” He yanked the boy up and pushed him toward the door.
“Tessa,” the boy whined. “It’s me, Jimmy. Don’t you remember me?”
Tessa shook her head, her eyes downcast. She refocused on the crossword puzzle as if it might make the boy and the Bandage Man go away. She’d been having such a good day. If she could only get back to her puzzle—
“Go,” the Bandage Man said, loud enough for all to hear. He gave Jimmy another push toward the door.
Jimmy clenched his fists and puffed out his chest, meeting the Bandage Man’s stare. Tessa thought he might take a swing at the man, but after a tense few seconds, he skulked out of the room with his tail between his legs. The Bandage Man nodded at Jeb, who nodded back then yawned as if the whole scene had been a bore to him. The older patient returned to his seat.
Whether he continued to stare at Tessa, she didn’t know. After only a few minutes, she lost herself in her puzzle again, the feelings of tranquility soon returning.
“Two little Indians fooling with a gun,” she muttered softly. “One shot the other and then there was one.”