Signed & Sealed

{T h r e e}

      After sleeping off the effects the medicine, my body felt slightly groggy in a sense that recharged my mindset. I knew that Benjamin was not here to stop me from getting out of bed finally. Not only did I have to pee like a Russian racehorse as the expression goes, but I could go and see Noah. Of course, that would mean detaching from the IV drip and heart monitor, but with the bathroom break, that should buy me some time. Opening my eyes to find the room grew much darker than I last remember, the television was no longer turned on, and the overhead lights were off. When I took the first move to lift myself into a sitting position, I groaned with discomfort until I felt the pulse against my temples. It throbbed with a slight sting that pressurized the weight of my head.

Tossing aside the woven cotton blanket that had drawn over my green hospital gown, I noticed the soft cast against my leg. It wasn't one of those white mache ones that hardened for weeks on end, but instead, it was a metal brace that shifted on either side of my leg to keep it straight. I could work with this when it comes time to move, and that time is now. There is no way I could wait another few minutes to go to the bathroom. When I pulled on the sling, I seemed to have a bit of trouble getting loose, but eventually, I found my way and lowered my leg so that I could place my feet on the floor.

The perks of being a registered nurse meant that I knew the proper technique to unhooking myself from the monitors and cords attached to different parts of my body. With ease, I disconnected the IV port from the fluid drip and wrapped the plastic wire against the pole hook. When I tugged against the plastic chest suctions that gave my heart rate, they made a popping sound until they came free. Finally, I tried to stand, but at first, I did not make progress. Instead of rising to my feet graciously, my bottom met the edge of the bed. I could have avoided this had I gotten acquainted with my bearings.

After a few attempts of standing alone, I found the closest thing to grab onto and limped my way towards the bathroom. It was a struggle when there was nothing to grab ahold of, but I managed without grace. Thankfully I didn't find the need to call anyone for assistance since I could do this alone. Closing the bathroom door and checking that both doors locked on the conjoined bathroom entrances, I sighed and glanced in the mirror. With a gasp at my appearance, I felt as if I had seen a ghost. My hair was wild and tangled into a birds nest, and my eyes were dark with circles like I died. Where my skin used to hold color, it now paled. Everything about the image of my reflection did nothing to ease my mental state.

Bruises scattered my head and neck, and as I trailed my eyes lower, I found more littering my arms and legs. Shaking my thoughts, I used the bathroom quickly, then flushed and washed my hands. Here came the hard part, getting back into the room, and then out of the room towards Noah. Just as I moved to go around the bed straight out of the bathroom, I felt a cold presence in the room. Hospitals kept the temperatures low, but for some reason, I knew that the chill in the air had nothing to do with the air conditioning unit. "Are you going to see your brother now, Ms. Theodore?" A deep sultry voice spoke in the otherwise silent room, but somehow it felt familiar.

"Excuse me, but who the hell are you?" I gasped, and my body went rigid and remained motionless in position. My hands clutched the end of the bed frame to hold myself still, and the second he began speaking again, I felt his words reverberating in the air around myself. "I am the keeper of hell, and I asked you a question," his tone sounded teasing, and it confused me. Something about his voice rang warning bells mentally, and the familiarity hit me like a freight train.

I spun too quick to point a heated glare in his direction, and my balance fell off, allowing my brace to slip against the slick tile floor. Instead of falling on my tale or my face, I felt a hard grip wrap around my waist to keep my stance straight. "Look doll; I know that you have questions, but I don't believe you could handle the answers at this moment. Let us go pay your baby brother a visit, and then we can discuss our little-deal." He insisted and flashed a sporty grin. The man who appeared out of nowhere at the moment I begged for my exchange for Noah.