Miss Perfect | Nancy Wheeler

Girl problems

The morning rolls around and you feel numb from the waist down. That hike took all your energy yesterday, all you wish for is a long day in bed. Dustin however has other plans and is banging on your door urging you to get up. "Five more minutes" you whine.

"No we have to show this to Steve mow!" He calls. Goddammit. Why did he have to make such a good impression on my brother?

"Can't I meet you at the mall later? I'm sooooo tired" you beg.

"You said you'd always stick with me" this kid always has to use my words against me.

"Fucking fine give me twenty minutes and I'll drive you" with a groan you roll out of bed. It was too late to call Nancy last night and she was probably already at work now. You felt guilty but she was busy and so were you, thats just how life is sometimes.

After getting ready Dustin drags you into the car without even letting you have breakfast. Luckily for you Steve works at an ice-cream store. Following your bossy little brother you enter scoops ahoy and see a pretty girl at the counter. "Is he here?" Dustin asks immediately.

"Is who here?" Her raspy voice takes you by surprise.

"Henderson!" Steve bursts into view "he's back he's back!" They continue to do a goofy elongated handshake.

The girl leans over the counter and mocks him "how many children are you friends with?" You snort loudly and she smirks at you.

Steve sets you and Dustin up with some free ice cream as Dustin rambles on about his new girlfriend. All the girl talk has you thinking about Nancy. You hadn't talked in a few days and you were growing anxious.

You can't stand to think about it anymore and get up to leave "whoa whoa were are you going?" Dustin scoffs.

"I said I'd drive you here okay? I didn't say I'd be staying" you bite your lip feeling bad "look I'm really tired and feel like shit, I'll keep my walkie on me at all times and you let me know if you need me"

He rolls his eyes but agrees. You say bye to Steve and tell him to look after your brother, as you leave you cast a glance over your shoulder at the tall girl again to find her eyes also glancing your direction.

As soon as you get home you try to call Nancy. No answer. Duh she's at work what am I thinking. You sigh and launch yourself down on the bed. You rub your temples thinking about how she seemed tense the last time you spoke. Is everything at work going okay? You wanted to help her, to talk to her. Feeling defeated you fall asleep letting the residue exhaustion take over.

You sleep the whole day away and wake up after sunset. You try calling Nancy again hoping by now she's home. Her mom answers the phone "hello?"

"Mrs Wheeler is Nancy back yet?"

"No Jonathan hasn't dropped her off yet, she's probably running late"

"Oh" you feel utterly lost.

Before she can say anything else you hang up and stare out the window. You feel numb, summer was supposed to be happy. Rain batters the glass creating a soothing rhythm. You pull out some paints and decide to take your frustration out in art form. You don't even leave your room to get food as you paint until your hands ache. Checking your clock you see its 2 AM. Looking down at your work you see two feminine bodies reaching out towards eachother, their heads erupting into smoke. Symbolic.

You pack everything away and sneak into the bathroom to wash your hands without waking anyone. Tiptoeing back to bed you close your eyes and force yourself to sleep again.

Morning comes once more and you decide to try calling Nancy again. "Y/N?" She asks sounding groggy.

"Yes its me hi baby" you coo into the speaker. "I missed you"

"I miss you too" she admits with a sigh.

"How's work?"

"Actually... I got us fired"

You wince "what?"

"I forced Jonathan to check out a lead on a story with me and things went south" she explains "Mrs Driscol claimed there were rabid rats eating the fertilizer in her basement" you listen intently. "Long story short we think it was her, we found her after she'd consumed a bunch of it last night"

"Jesus" you gasp picturing the old woman guzzling soil.

"Yeah we called an ambulance and had her rushed to the hospital, Jonathan took me home but I don't think hes super happy with me right now"

"Well you didn't know!" You defend her "want me to come over?"

"Are you sure-"

"Yes, see you soon" you hang up before she can object. You dash to get ready putting on a silky summer dress and your pearl earrings from christmas.

"Y/N" Nancy calls as you pull up outside her house.

Her eyes are red as if she'd been crying "oh honey" you say wrapping her in a hug. You go up to her room and she tells you all about the sexism she faced at her workplace. You rub her back as she talks soothingly.

"Jonathan doesn't get it" she sighs spilling a few more tears.

"I know baby I know" you cradle her "its not your fault"

Nancy leans into you "what if it is?"

"No. Don't blame yourself for being stomped down by those shitheads" you stroke her cheek and make her look at you "if you believe in a story you finish it"

With a new found courage Nancy smiles at you "we will" she kisses you softly.

You drive her to the hospital and walk into the reception hand in hand "we're here to see Mrs Driscol" Nancy informs the receptionist.

"Relatives only"

"We are relatives, I'm her... granddaughter" Nancy plasters on a fake smile.

With a sigh the receptionist gives you both name tags and her room number. Inside the dingey hospital room the old woman lays there connected to machines and wires. As Nancy looks over at her medical notes attached to the clipboard on the end of the bed you hear the beeping of the machines grow more frequent.

Her heart rate monitor shows her pulse rising and rising. "Christ" you curse and point at the screen watching the number of heartbeats climb and climb.