A Star in the Dark

Chapter 6 May 15 11:47 pm

Steph woke up to hear a crashing sound about 2 doors down. She tried to get up out of bed, and she managed a stumble across the floor towards the door. Holding onto the door frame for support, she peered out into the hallway only to see a nurse who'd dropped a glass bowl that was now shattered. The pieces were sliding violently across the pristine white tile. Steph really wanted to help the poor nurse, who looked helplessly lost, like a little puppy. But walking in its own was a difficult task to accomplish, let alone bending down to pick up the small fragments of glass.

Just as she was about to go back to bed, a piece of glass met her foot. When she bent down to pick it up, she could see her reflection. But it didn't look like it did before the wedding. It was different, distorted. This was not the same girl that got her mother flowers every Valentine's Day. This was not the same girl that had lay a lone white rose on her best friends' and father's graves. This girl had dark eyes, and a mouth twisted into a crooked smirk. Steph immediately dropped the piece of glass, and it shattered into even more tiny pieces.

She clambered towards the bed, not wanting to get caught, but God, she just wanted this to end! This was a vicious mind torture, she could almost feel her illness taking over her brain again. Of course, mental illnesses don't just disappear, but she was foolish enough to think so. She couldn't think like this, no, she couldn't let it happen again. when she met Erika and Brandon, that was her cure. She'd gotten friends, they'd made her happy.

So why did she feel like this now? This...feeling. Slipping, but still holding on by a single thread. This thread couldn't break. When it did, Erika and Brandon will be there, hands outstretched, reaching to save her. All of these thoughts ricocheted in Stephanie's mind while she tried to sleep. She impatiently counted sheep and listened to music, but sleep did not come until the morning.
•••••••••••••••
May 16 - 1:13 pm
When she finally woke up, it was past lunch. Stephanie easily slid into the wheel chair that was parked beside her bed and grabbed $5 out of her pants that her mom brought her. Making her way down the hallway and to the right, she found the duet of vending machines, one with drinks and the other with snacks, alongside a change machine. While she waited for the machine to dispense her quarters, she peered around curiously to see if she was alone. The only person she saw was Mark, the janitor of floor 12. She obviously didn't know him too well, but he graduated from her school a few years ago. He did his job well, but for some reason when you tried to talk to him he was an ass-hat. Super snarky, and seriously rude. He might as well be a baby before his nap.

Steph pushed these thoughts away because she heard the jingling of the last quarters falling into the catcher. After counting out all 20, she used 8 to get a cherry coke and a bag of potato chips. Stuffing the rest of the quarters in a sweatshirt pocket, she took her snacks and started to wheel back towards her room. When she entered and set her snacks down, she saw a printed note that read "PLEASE REPORT TO ROOM 37b ON FLOOR 6".

Leaving her snacks where they lay, she stood up and slid into the first pair of sweatpants she saw. The only thing was that they were these cat sweatpants and they had cats literally covering every inch of the soft fabric. Steph normally would've taken them off, but that would require tons of energy that she didn't have nor wanted to waste, so she finished slipping off the hospital gown and grabbed a plain grey T-shirt off the stack of clothes. She pulled it over her head. She took off the awful slippers provided by the hospital and put on her grey keds with no-show socks. When she looked in the small mirror in the bathroom, she had to do a double take to make sure it was her.

There were dark, sulky bags under her eyes. Her hair was a knotted mess, and her clothes hung off her petite frame. She was already skinny enough, weighing only 98 pounds, but being in the hospital seemed to cut her weight in half. Sure enough, when she stepped on the scale, she'd lost a couple of pounds. Slouching from the bathroom, she pulled her unkempt hair into a messy bun. The travelling around in the the tiny room had exhausted her, so she plopped herself down in the wheelchair. But she took a moment to think about it. If i'm trying to get better, why would I baby myself?

She confidently stood, quickly trying to balance herself by grabbing onto the bed rail. The only thing no one was telling her is what happened to her ankle. If she'd broken it, she wouldn't be in this position right now; she'd not only have a cast, but she would've already had been to the police department. Maybe a hairline fracture? She might've had a blood clot or torn a muscle, which could've been a reason for them to surgically do something.

It was only tonight and tomorrow for physical therapy, so she didn't worry too much. She sat on the bed, taking her shoe off and pulling the brace over her ankle. After replacing and re-tying the shoe, she stood and strode towards the door, trying to keep the limp to a minimum. Steph walked out into the hallway and into the elevator. Pressing the '6' button, she hummed in the silent elevator while awaiting her destination to arrive, only one other person had came and gone from the elevator. Finally reaching the 6th floor after 2 unappreciated stops, she let a little giggle escape her lips. There stood Brandon, tall, blonde, and as brooding as ever. Not in a bad way, but he always had this evil look in his dark, stormy grey eyes. But now his eyes were lit up, and he pulled her into a hug that not only crushed her bones, but because he also stood a fair foot taller than her, her feet left the ground.

He gently put her back down, minding her ankle. Steph had to compose herself; a quick chat with him couldn't be that bad, I'll be fine, she told herself. "Hey Kat!!! How are you?!" You could almost hear the love and care in his voice-and it also showed on his face. Maybe this conversation wouldn't have to last as long. "Erm-I was just heading to physical therapy so I have to go now. Maybe we could catch up later?" And with that she ducked away. As much as she didn't want to hurt his feelings, she had to leave before something awkward happened.