Irresistible Compulsions

||Chp. Twelve|| Keeping an eye out for ghosts

The thought of going back to work after a long weekend is enough to send anyone into a panic. Pair that with the fact that I know I have a week straight of night shift and that I was sun burnt and severely sleep deprived and you've got me - someone barely clinging onto sanity.

Yesterday went by pretty quick but it ended up being a nice day to round out the trip. In all honesty, I'm glad I went. Minus the little tiff between Adam and I, along with the brewing sexual tension between myself and a particular ex-con; I had a really nice time.

The guys weren't wrong, it definitely did everyone some good getting out bush and switching off for a while even though that made switching back on and facing the real world so much harder.

The familiar scent of hospital grade disinfectant mixed with the smell of bodily fluids and the poor attempt to mask them with cheap room spray hit me before the crisp clinical air had a chance to give me goosebumps.

Patients are able to control their individual air conditioners to their liking but the rest of the facility always sits at around 21 degrees celsius. It's good when you're running around sweating but is always a bit jarring to step into at first, especially at the start of a pm shift.

Room 11's buzzer is going off before I even get a chance to clock on. No doubt she's up and about, walking around aimlessly. Something quite common for patients with dementia.

"I only just got her back to bed." One of the evening nurses explains with a sigh, demotivation lining her voice.

I let out a sympathetic laugh, all too familiar with such occurrence from room 11. "Don't worry about it, I'll go check on her."

Three more buzzers go off in the time it takes me to make the short walk to her room. You'd assume pm shifts are quieter but in my experience it's pretty hit and miss, some nights you're lucky to have a handful of buzzers go off and other nights the residents decide to pop their top and are awake into the early hours of the morning, calling me into their room every other minute.

As expected Mrs Jones is in fact up and walking around. I walk in to find her standing over by her dresser, staring at photos of her children with a mixture of adoration and confusion. She's lucky to remember her son's name on a good day, the poor thing is never able to recall her grandchildren but you can tell by the spark in her eyes that somewhere deep down she's full of pride at the site of them. At least that's what I like to imagine when I watch her go throw her photo album; something she does quite often.

"What are you doing young lady?" I quiz, gently breaking the silence as to not startle her to no avail, she jumps slightly at the sound of my voice.

"Hello dear." She motions me over. "Come look at these photos of this beautiful family."

My heart clenches in my chest. It only ever confuses them more when you explain reality which can often lead to behavioural issues, especially at this time of night.

Gently placing my hand on her back, I look over the framed photos with her. "Aren't you tired?"

She shakes her head adamantly in response, mirroring a stubborn child.

"How about I make you some hot chocolate and you can sit in here and watch the tele then?"

"That's awfully kind of you dear." Without hesitation she makes her way over to the recliner and sinks into the cushions, pulling her dressing gown tighter. 

Switching on a gardening show I slip out of the room silently, pleased to find the other few buzzers have been answered and the ward has returned to silence.

Deciding I'm in a generous mood, I stop by the nurses station on my way to the dining area to grab a stack of paper work that the afternoon staff were too busy to get around to typing up into the facility system.

Despite the fact that I always regret it, I end up turning on a compilation of creepy pastas on youtube and pop an earphone in whilst typing away. It's never a good idea for me to listen to scary stories but it ends up being a horrible idea when you consider the fact I'm in a hospital setting at night, you know somewhere that people literally go to live out their final days.

At very least, it keeps me awake and alert on the quieter nights. Can't go falling asleep when you're busy keeping an eye out for ghosts while doing your paper work.