Obscurity

Chapter 46: Help

Sierra

She doesn't respond to my questions. Alma won't even pull the blanket from over her head. I stand there debating my next move. I don't think pushing or pressing her will do any good. I try to think of who she'd talk to. She spends a lot of time sitting with Nick. Maybe he can help. I head for the hallway to try to locate him. Just as I reach the hall, I see him and Spencer passing by on their way to their room. I shoot a glance down the hallway toward the nurses station. I'm looking to see if there's any staff in sight. All clear.

"Nick, come here for a minute, will ya?" I say as he and Spencer stop walking. They're both looking over my shoulder into our room, undoubtedly wondering why Alma is in our room crying. She isn't quiet about her feelings. I can only hope she doesn't get the attention of the staff. Their worry or concern won't help this situation. Usually, I can get her to talk to me, but today she isn't interested in talking.

"What's up." He says. A mask of confusion across his face.

"She's upset, and I can't get her to talk to me. I don't know what's wrong." I admit.

"She just left Chris's office." Spencer offers as he shoots a look down the hallway much in the same way I just did to check for staff. He doesn't see any and goes into our room. Nick follows behind and I rush past them both to stop Spencer.

"Spencer, she doesn't like you very much. At least, that's the impression I've got from her since you arrived here. Maybe we should let Nick talk to her." I say as I hold my hands up in front of them to stop him from entering any farther into the room. Alma's sobs are calming, quieting a bit now.

"Nonsense." He says as he tries to push past me.

"I mean it, Spencer. Leave her alone." I say, protective of my friend.

"I'll try to talk to her." Nick says passing by Spencer and I.

"Come on, let's go get coffee." I say to Spencer, leading him out of the room. He reluctantly follows me, and we head for the day room.

"What do you think Chris said to her in there?" Spencer nods toward Chris's office as we pass by it.

I shrug, "I don't know but she's practically despondent."

"Is she always like that after she talks with him?" he seems genuinely curious.

"They used to get along. Until the day she stood up to him over something." I explain.

"What happened then?"

"He dragged her to Secondary, and she's never been the same." I say as I grab a Styrofoam cup from the small stack on the table in the day room. Spencer grabs a cup too and pours coffee into both of our cups. There's no cream or sugar, but I consider it lucky we even have a coffee maker now. We never had one before and its a welcome change. I take a sip of the hot black coffee. It's on the bitter side, but it's not too bad. A couple of tablespoons of sugar would do wonders.

"What's Secondary?" He inquires as we take a seat at the far back table of the day room. The one by the windows that Alma and I prefer.

"Let me ask you something? Do you like this unit we're on right now?"

He nods. "It's not the Ritz, but it's okay."

"Okay, well then... take everything you have here and erase it. Coffee. Freedom, to an extent, to move about the unit without any problems. Take everything away, everything you know about this unit, and that's Secondary." I try to explain but it seems like he's still confused.

"So, essentially it's like Solitary confinement?"

"No. Solitary is an entirely different beast." I take in a deep breath to prepare to explain further."Secondary is where they keep the worst of the worst. Lifers. They have no contact with other patients. It's like Solitary in that sense but it's much worse. You have no freedom of movement. The only places you move between are your room and the therapy rooms. The therapy rooms aren't like ours over here. There are no art supplies, no Groups. It's dark and drab. There's even an electroshock therapy room."

His eyes widen in disbelief at the last addition to the description. "They still do that?" He asks, puzzled.

I nod.

"Do you think they did that to Alma?" He asks, a slight irritation to his voice.

"I don't know what happened over there. She never told me. I can only imagine the worst. I hated being over there. Chris uses it as a punishment for some of us." I explain as I take another drink of my cooling coffee.

He's clutching his cup so tight, I begin to worry he'll smash it at any given moment. He realizes I'm watching his hand and loosens his grip on his cup. He takes a sip and stares out the window behind me. I look up past him and see Chris exiting the nurses station. He's headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms. I jump up and knock my chair over in the process, providing an unintentional distraction for Chris. He stops walking and looks at me questioning me with his eyes.

Shit. I've got to think of something fast. I quickly look down at the floor.

"Ants! Damn it, Chris! This place is a fucking pig sty. I wish you people would get your shit together. Look at all these ants crawling everywhere. I can't take this place much longer. A fucking disgrace." I shout as I walk away from the table, leaving Spencer sitting there surveying the floor to see what I'm shouting about. Chris walks briskly over to the table I was sitting at as I pass him making my way towards the bedrooms.

I leave him and Spencer searching for my distraction and I race down the hallway. I cough loudly and repeatedly to try to get Nick's attention as I approach mine and Alma's room. He doesn't hear me. I'd hoped to get him out of our room before Chris realized I was distracting him but it doesn't seem like it's going to work. I race into the room and find him sitting on my bed watching Alma sleep.

"Chris is coming this way. You better get moving." I inform him, and he gets up and heads for the door. When he reaches it, he peeks down the hallway and lets out a barely audible "Fuck." He leans nonchalantly against the door jamb and crosses his arms. I guess there's no use in running out of the room if Chris is going to see him either way. Well-played Nick.

"That's a write-up, Nick." Chris says as he reaches our room. He stands there in the hallway with his clipboard. He's writing something on it as he shakes his head.

"A write-up?" Nick plays dumb.

"Yeah. No males in the female rooms." He says as he continues to write.

"Well, technically speaking, I'm not actually inside their room, am I?" Nick tries the smart-ass card.

Chris doesn't respond. A third voice joins in on the back and forth. Spencer has reached mine and Alma's doorway and has chimed in.

"Chris, can I have a word with you?" He politely interrupts.

"Not right now, Spencer. I'm busy." Chris says. He's blowing off Spencer because writing someone up is much more important Chris. You'd think a staff member with the seniority Chris has would be attentive to ALL of his patients.

"With all due respect, Chris, I need to speak with you urgently." Spencer, again tries to divert Chris's attention away from Nick.

This seems to unnerve Chris. He glares at Spencer, who is at least a foot taller than him. It's funny to see Chris flashing his signature scowl at someone so much bigger than he is. I watch the exchange with excitement coursing through me. I'd love for Spencer to knock Chris on his ass, but I know he won't. Wishful thinking is still fun, though.

"Ants, Sierra? Really original." Chris glares at me. He's onto me. I giggle.

Chris hisses something at Spencer. I can't quite make it out. Spencer grins at Chris. I assume Spencer has achieved whatever goal he had in mind because Chris turns and walks with Spencer down the hallway towards his office. Chris glances back at Nick leaning in our doorway and points at him to get out of our room. I laugh. What in the hell just happened here? I can't help but wonder if Spencer knows what he's just done. You don't challenge Chris, in front of people, without Chris losing his shit and flexing his muscle later on. I shake my head and retreat into my room and climb on my bed. I slink down under the covers and lay there watching Alma sleep.