Monday, 4:44 P.M. EST
“Quiet time!” a nurse calls out. We were finishing up the half-hearted crafts they forced us to do after a guest speaker had talked our ears off for an hour.
Thank God, I think to myself. If I have to peel any more hot glue threads from my fingers, I might lose it. I wasn’t even using hot glue!
I stand in line waiting for the staff to pat us down, and notice the nurse boy from earlier standing with another guy. When I make it to the front, he motions for me to raise my arms.
“You ready for another break, princess?” he asks lowly as he leans in to search me.
He barely even grazes my body; he’s just going through the motions as he talks to me. Still, he spins me around to buy some time as he waits for my response.
“I- I guess so?” I quietly say after a moment.
He nods and stands up, telling me to lower my arms. I walk past him, assuming he’ll meet me in my room like last time.
As soon as I get to my room, I grab the book I’ve been reading. I know these breaks are Dane’s way of giving me time to do those drugs, but that’s not happening. And since there’s nothing else to do up there? Reading it is.
At least it’ll get me away from Ren for a while.
The nurse boy picks me up, leading me out to the front desk where we crouch out of sight from the cameras, and make our way out to the stairwell.
“I see you brought entertainment this time...” the nurse boy says as we head toward the heavy roof door.
I nod my head in response. I don’t really expect him to say anything else considering his blow out earlier when I apparently asked him for more than his pay rate. But after a few moments, he clears his throat to continue though.
“Well, that sucks…” he says, almost under his breath. “I was going to say, I had some free time if you wanted company…?”
We make it to the roof, swinging open the heavy door before I turn to him.
“Company?” I ask with a sarcastic laugh. “I smoked the joint already if that’s why you’re asking.”
The nurse boy laughs too, only his comes out a little more nervous than I’m sure he’d intended. He steps out onto the roof, letting the door click shut behind him.
“No- no, I uh... I just figured we could talk or something?” he suggests. “You seemed disappointed with your break arrangements earlier, so I just figured-“
He trails off when he notices me laughing at him. “Isn’t this a me thing?” I ask condescendingly. “You’re only my babysitter in there, remember?”
The nurse boy blushes, shoving his hands into the pockets of his scrubs before letting out a small sigh.
“Okay... so I guess I’ll just be back to get you in an hour and a half,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.
He goes to turn toward the door, his demeanor slightly disappointed though I’m sure he doesn’t mean to portray that.
I grasp my book in my hands, letting out a resigned sigh as I contemplate my options. The book is okay, but let’s face it- I’ve only been forcing myself to read it as a means of distraction when I’m supposed to sleep, but can’t.
“Wait! Nurse boy!” I call out, just as he’s about to swing open the door.
He turns around with a look of surprise on his face.
“C’mon... I guess we can talk.” I tell him.

YOU ARE READING
Jenalyn: From the Inside (#3) [Complete]
General FictionAfter running away to Pennsylvania and getting into trouble again, Jenalyn finds herself in a mental rehabilitation center. She's trying to straighten out her mind so that she can give her baby girl a shot at living a better life than she had. Jena...