Tasha bolted upright, gasping for breath as pain shot through her abdomen and left no nerve free of the fire that consumed her mind.. She almost screamed out of fright and pain, when two arms forcefully held her pinned the scratchy and stiff sheets. She struggled for a moment before she felt a prick and the sensation of chilled liquid seeping into her veins.
“Shh, honey just rest. Sleep a little bit longer. Just rest. Shh” The nurse said quietly as the grip on her decreased and became lighter and lighter, until the white room faded to black.
She was roughly shoved back and forth, waking her up carelessly. A sharp nail attached to a bony finger prodded her side. Tasha winced and sleepily tried to open eyes.
“Look at, lazy and pudgy.” A woman’s voice, her mom’s she corrected piped up. “Letting herself become trapped and attacked in her own shoddy apartment. Pitiful excuse of a daughter we raised.” A scoff from Tasha’s other side alerted her to her father’s presence.
“At least her brother is competent.” A gruff and cynical presence added. She shivered and finally opened her eyes, blinking away the blurred colors into clear images of her parents. They had scowls marring their faces and the wrinkles had gotten deeper since her last encounter with them, last Easter. Her father immediately noticed her eyes were staring dully at them.“You oaf, you were stabbed three times in the chest. What do you think you were doing getting that hurt? It was a big day for your brother and you ruined it.” He strode out her mother glared at Tasha and followed suit.
Two hours later a nurse came in and checked her IV and bandages, and was about to leave when the bed bound girl called out,
"Wait ma’am, please can you tell me when can I go home?"
"In another week or so." The nurse said walking out of the room and returning Tasha to her isolation
It felt like longer than the eight days that actually passed, but before she knew it, Tasha was back at work. She never realized how much she missed working at the bakery, even the harder tasks. Though her boss had told her that she was on counter duty until the stitches were removed. Even so, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she felt better just by being out of that hospital bed and off all those pain medications. Smile on her face she tied the apron around her neck and inhaled the tantalizing scent of freshly made bread and cinnamon that floated in the air, permeating everything that entered the shop. In a moment of giddiness she couldn’t help but laugh loudly as she fixed a few things here and there, before flipping the open sign.
After serving a mother and daughter, Tasha waved them off with a smile and sighed in content before she noted the time, leaving her spot to take her well deserved lunch break. She took out her plain sandwich and juice and ate at the table merrily watching the people who passed by and those who entered and anyone that she caught sight of, creating ludicrous stories about them, and what they were saying or doing. Tasha laughed as she crumpled her trash and returned to the register. Giving a closed eyed smile as she turned to her first customer after lunch.
YOU ARE READING
Scales Between Pages
General FictionA college student named Tasha has one secret She has kept since her childhood. She can fall into books. However, she can't control it. What happens when she falls into a hefty textbook on ancient mythology?
