3 am (l.h.)

0.3

Audrey

4:30 am. T-minus 7.5 hours till I'm out of this place. I don't know what to do here. My only choice, really, is to sit and wait till I'm let out, but it gets so boring.

I try to sleep again, but the kid continues whining, heart monitors from other rooms are too loud, and my back hurts from this stupid bed. I get up and walk around a little, pacing back and forth, counting my steps. 1, 2, 3, 4, turn around, 1, 2, 3, 4, turn around. I keep my eyes to the floor, watching each step intently. My feet are covered by the same blue, hospital-provided socks that I've been wearing for two days. The bottom of them have white rubber squiggles to keep me from slipping. I hear a cough come from the doorway, and I look up to see Luke smiling widely. "Did you miss me so much that you started nervously pacing?"

I roll my eyes at him and sit back down on my bed. He follows and sits on the edge, right next to me. "Hey, bestie," he says brightly.

"Hey, Super Optimism," I say, mimicking his overly-enthusiastic tone and facial expression, but quickly return my face back to its normal apathetic self.

We sit in silence for a minute, which I prefer to actual conversation. I try to ignore the hospital sounds and just listen to the rhythmic sound of Luke drumming his fingers on my bed. He doesn't seem to like comfortable silence. "Did you know that 1 in 5 of the world's doctors are Russian?"

I try not to smile. "Why do you know that?"

He grins at me, visibly proud that he got me to talk. "Oh, I'm full of useless knowledge." He pauses for a minute, then says, "Two thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey."

I let a small laugh escape my lips. "Interesting."

"It's really shameful that so many people are unaware of useless trivia answers." We laugh a little and fall back into silence. He doesn't seem to mind that much this time, now that he got me to talk. My eyes keep fluttering closed I sink into the bed, suddenly seeming much more equipped to sleep now. I feel my blanket being pulled up to cover me and a hand on my forehead for a second before I feel Luke get up and go back to his bed.

I doze off every now and then, only to be woken every time by that kid whining. By the 4th or 5th time I'm woken up, I bolt up and sigh loudly. Luke looks over to me and raises his eyebrows. "What's up?"

"That goddamn kid is driving me up the fucking wall," I say through gritted teeth.

Luke laughs. "C'mon, cut him some slack. He's, like, five."

"I'm gonna kill him, no joke," I groan.

He shushes me. "Audrey, his mom is gonna hear you."

I let out a frustrated noise and lean back onto the bed. Luke gets up and sits next to me again. "Go to sleep."

"I can't. That kid's too loud."

"Just close your eyes. Please."

I sigh and do as he says. I lay like that for a second, and I start to hear humming. Not monotonous, but rhythmic and soothing. It gains volume and soon begins to turn into words.

This is gospel for the fallen ones

Locked away in permanent slumber

Assembling their philosophies

From pieces of broken memories

A smile tugs at my lips. I love this song.

Oh, this is the beat of my heart, this is the beat of my heart

Oh, this is the beat of my heart, this is the beat of my heart

The gnashing teeth and criminal tongues conspire against the odds

But they haven't seen the best of us yet

I roll on my side and I feel his hand run up and down my back.

If you love me let me go