Run Away for a Day

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So I wrote this as a submission to get published in a lit mag... and I decided to post on here because why not?

Excuse the mistakes

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Everything was white.

The walls were white, my bed sheets were white, the medical machines were white, and my skin was so white it was almost translucent. I could trace my fingers along the purple and blue labyrinth of thin veins with ease. It was disgusting and fascinating at the same time.

My food lay on its tray on the table at the end of my bed, completely untouched. I was tired of the rubbery, bland food that the hospital served, and I was having a silent protest that would probably go unnoticed by the hospital staff.

The television mounted on the wall was on and playing one of the many crime shows, but I wasn’t really watching or listening. It was probably an episode I’d already seen, and there were only so many time you could watch Detective Stabler beat someone up without wanting to bang your head against the wall.

I squirmed in my bed until I found a comfortable position, and then I pulled the white blanket up to my chin and let out a deep groan. Despite sleep being my main activity during my stays at the hospital, I still felt my eyes start to droop.

Suddenly, the door to my hospital room swung open, and my eyes snapped open to see Ben hurrying into the room. I sat up, wincing at the sudden, quick movement, but before I could say anything to him, Ben placed a bundle of clothes in my hands. “Get dressed, Anna,” he commanded gently.

“What?” I asked, holding up a pair of sweatpants I knew to be his.

“I’m kidnapping you,” Ben stated simply, “You’ve been in this room for the two weeks, doing nothing, and I don’t want you to go insane.”

 “Ben,” I said sadly, and I dropped the sweatpants into my lap, “You know I can’t leave.”

I wanted desperately to let the kidnapping happen, since I was already feeling stir crazy. However, I couldn’t leave the hospital and treatment. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because there were a few people whose opinions stood in the way of that.

“Actually,” Ben replied, the corners of his lips curling up into a triumphant smile, “I already talked to your doctor, and he said that the fresh air might do you some good.”

I thought for a moment before asking, “What about my mom? Did you talk to her?”

Ben hesitated, and he looked around the room before glancing out of the window on the wall with the door to my room. It was obvious that the answer to my question was a solid ‘no’.

“Is she here?” he asked, and I chuckled before shaking my head.

“No, she’s actually at work today,” I stated, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Okay,” Ben replied with a slow nod, “How late is she working?”

“Five,” I said, and Ben grinned.

“That gives us just enough time to do what I want to do,” Ben said happily, “I can have you back here before five, and your mom never has to know what we did.”

I had only a moment of hesitation before agreeing. “Fine,” I said, grabbing the bundle of clothes, “You can kidnap me, but turn around so that I can change.”