Obscurity

Chapter 32: Wink

Sierra

I barely notice Alma when she walks up and sits with me. My goodness! He's even hot from behind. His thick neck and clean haircut are so sexy.

I glance over at Alma and wiggle my eyebrows up and down.

She rolls her eyes. I notice she's fidgeting with her hands. She doesn't seem to care that the hottest guy in the world is sitting two tables away in front of us.

"What'd Cindy want?" I ask her, never taking my eyes off the back of new guy's head. His shoulders are strong, and I just can't get enough of staring at him. I like the way his t-shirt clings to his frame.

"Seemed like she was fishing for me to tell her about Chris." Alma shrugs.

"Did you?"

"Nope. I'm not sure I can trust her. The last thing I need is for Chris to read some report where I told someone about what he's been doing." Alma explains in a hushed tone.

"I wouldn't worry about Cindy. I don't think she'd let Chris in on anything you said." I reassure her.

"I don't know, Sierra. They're coworkers."

"I get what you're saying, but I don't think they're friends."

"I know. But I think I'm just going to focus on talking to my doctor and getting the hell out of here." Alma says as she stares at her hands.

The food service brings our trays in on his squeaky cart. I used to think he was hot but he's not nearly as good looking as the new guy. I largely ignore food boy when he sets our trays down on our table. I used to exchange suggestive looks with the food guy but not today. I won't be licking my lips the way I usually do and eying him. I'm too preoccupied with staring at the new guy.

Alma starts rearranging her food items on her tray and I set about digging into my own. I shoot a look over at Alma's tray and notice her hands are shaking.

"When's the last time you ate?" I ask her, thinking maybe her sugar is low or something.

"Last night."

"You're shaking." I point out.

"Oh. I guess I am." She observes.

"Did they put you on meds yet?" I ask as I open my milk.

She shakes her head.

"I don't think I need meds, Sierra."

"Your doctor may think differently." I counter.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She stops eating and stares at me.

"It means that after the episode you had yesterday, if you don't start talking to someone, anyone, about Chris, they're going think you're crazy like the rest of us." I inform her.

"That hadn't really occurred to me." Alma says as she resumes eating.

"Yeah. Well. While you're in here, you have to be one step ahead of the staff. Stay on your toes. I'd suggest talking to Cindy about Chris."

"I'd just rather not rock the boat." She says picking at her eggs. She stares at her plate, a sad look in her eyes.

"The boat has already been rocked. Do you really think Chris is done fucking with you?" I ask, my voice low.

She shrugs.

"I figure if I keep my head down during his shifts, it'll all blow over."

"You'd figure. But you're wrong. I've been here long enough to know you are in his sights. He's not even close to being done with whatever this is he's pulling." I quickly explain between bites of my bacon.

She drops her fork and stares ahead toward the nurses station. She sighs and shakes her head.

"How long has he been like this?" Alma asks, her eyes look glazed over.

"I don't know. He seems to take interest in certain patients more than others. There's been a couple of different girls come through here that he's seemed to target. Treated them like shit."

"What happened to them?"

I shrug. "Maybe they got released? I know one of them went to Secondary, and I never saw her again." I speculate.

She opens her juice and takes a pull from it.

"I don't ever want to go back over there." She says, her gaze a million miles away.

"I'm of the same camp. It's horrible."

"Yeah, I get the impression I don't know the half of what goes on over there and I don't want to know. I just want to get the hell out of here and get home to my cat, who may or may not be dead from starvation by now." Tears begin to pool in Alma's eyes.

I reach over and pat her back.

"Cats are crazy smart creatures. I'm sure she's fine." I try to comfort her even though she's probably right. She's been here for over four days now and that poor cat probably doesn't stand a chance alone. And who knows how much longer Alma will be here.

I glance over to the nurses station and see Dr. Summers is on the floor. My doctor is here too. Dr. Fry is not so bad. She gets me. I'm so glad I don't have Dr. Summers anymore, he's a douche. I hope Alma gets her release soon but I'm skeptical about the outcome of her meeting with her doctor.

It's been my experience that the more you protest and want out of here, the longer they seem to keep you. Granted, I have issues, and that's no secret. I'm still on the fence with what Alma is here for. I'm not sure she's even as fucked up as the rest of us. But who knows?

I polish off my eggs and replace the cover on the now-empty main dish on my tray. I reach back and stretch, letting out a yawn.

Nick looks over at me with narrow eyes. What's his problem? He's probably not happy I'm sitting with Alma. He hates me. I chuckle to myself. He probably thinks I'm a terrible influence on her. I smile at him. He shakes his head and goes back to his food.

The new guy hasn't moved an inch. I can see he's eating, though. He's probably just taking it all in. I wonder if it's his first time here. He hasn't turned around in his chair or expressed any interest in anyone sitting here in the day room. I get the impression he either doesn't care, or he could possibly be an antisocial. I'll have to wait and see.

Alma crosses her arms on the table in front of her after she pushes her tray forward. She rests her head on her arms and closes her eyes. She seems depressed. I would be too if I were her. She's in quite the predicament.

Dr. Fry exits the nurses station and stands in the hall across from the day room. She surveys the room and finds me and waves me over.

"Looks like I'm up." I tell Alma as I stand to follow my doctor to my meeting. Alma nods and lays her head back down. She looks so drained. Maybe after her own meeting she'll perk up. I hope she gets her wish, to go home. But at the same time I hope she doesn't. I'll miss her when she leaves.

I swing my hips a little more than usual as I walk past new guy's table and I hope he checks my ass out as I fall into step beside my doctor. As I turn to walk towards the West Hall, I glance back to see if he noticed me when I went by. He looks right at me and winks. I smirk as I direct my attention back to my doctor.

"So how's your day going?" She asks.

"It just got better..." I say as she leads me into the activity room.