Painted Lady {h.s}

fine line

{"You've got my devotion
But man, I can hate you sometimes"}

★ LORELAI ★

August 3rd
1997

"Thank you," I mutter, stepping out of the bright yellow cab.

My nerves are eating me whole as I approach the terrifyingly large glass doors to the hospital. A couple people in scrubs litter the outside area, some carting around patients in wheelchairs. I hate hospitals. There's always an eerie and tense atmosphere, one you can never shake. I could be going in for a routine check up, and I'd still be shitting my pants. Don't even get me started on the smell. It's almost like they tried to cover up the smell of death with twelve gallons of bleach.

I hate it.

And I hate that Harry has done something to make me come here.

So now, not only am I freaked out by the crying strangers and gloomy clouds over everyone's heads, I am one of those nervous loved ones.

I walk through the large lobby, feeling completely lost. My feet carry me to the large circular desk in the middle, a couple people in white coats tapping along on the large computers.

"Uh- H-Hi," I stammer, clearing my throat obnoxiously.

"Hi! Welcome in, how can I help you?" The woman behind the desk greets me with a cheery voice.

"I got a call from a woman named Mary, I'm here for a patient under the name of Harry Styles."

"Oh, yes! Let me just check what room he's in and you'll be on your way!" She speaks way too enthusiastically for a hospital, in my opinion at least. "He's in room 8D, so that's just a few floors up and down to your right."

8D, like our loft number.

Now that's scary.

"Thank you," I mutter quietly, slowly backing away from the counter.

I walk towards the elevators, watching the signs on the walls that point me in the correct direction. I press the small button to call the elevator, waiting not so patiently for it to arrive. The doors fly open and a few people step off before I squeeze my way in. On the wall there's a list of all the rooms and their correct floors. Once I locate the correct one, I press the third floor button and wait for the doors to close again. The elevator moves quickly, surprising me when we arrive.

I walk through the open doors and turn to the right like the woman at the desk said. I pay attention to all of the signs on the doors, my nerves growing with every step I take. There's one open door that I can peer into as I pass. Inside there's a family all surrounding a man on the bed. They all have smiles on their faces, which calms my nerves a bit, knowing at least something is going right in this place.

8A

8B

8C

8D

I stand in front of his closed door, my body feeling frozen in its spot. I can't bring myself to grab the door handle and open the door, my heart beating loudly in my ears. I'm not sure what I'll be walking into, but my mind loves to come up with the worst case scenario.

Suddenly the door in front of me flies open, coming face to face with a shorter woman. Her face of shock quickly drops, a warm smile appearing.

"Oh!" She laughs breathily, "Hello there, come on in!" She motions for me to walk in, and I notice her name tag.

Mary.

I drag my feet through the door, keeping my head low and preserving my ever growing emotions.