Contraindication

Twenty-Four | The Truth

"There is nothing either good or bad,
but thinking makes it so."
— William Shakespeare

Steve's office was clean and smelt like minty and toxic antiseptic. It was like he had it cleaned every 30 minutes or so— he was such a germaphobe.

Behind the giant glass desk there with a fantastic view of the middle of nowhere. I stared out the window as my mind fused everything around me.

Any moment now I'll pass out.

I at least want it to be on the carpet.

Steve sat down an coughed, to get my attention, "Evelyn? How are you feeling right now?"

I blinked, "Confused? I feel like my brain is trying to escape my skull." I held my head with my hands, as  I made my way to the brown plush office chair in-front of his desk. " I know it's the pills Steve... I had a feeling for a while. I just— I just didn't fully believe it at first since you always denied my theory."

Steve frowned as I was sure I hit the nail on the head. My pills were a topic that he kept avoiding... My ability... this thing my body does was a topic he never liked talking about.

"I kept on asking what my medication was for and you always told me not to worry about it. You'd shrug it off like it wasn't a big deal." I laughed as my toes went numb. "Well it is a big deal because things are happening. Things have been happening my entire life... things I cannot completely ignore."

He looked away, then let out an audible sigh. It was like my frantic voice was an endless reminder of everything he kept hidden from me. I never went out and looked for answers, but now that he promised to tell me everything, my motives changed— I wasn't going to leave here without understanding everything.

"So Steve tell me? Tell me why I need to take those stupid pills... tell me why I feel like pulling my brain out, piece by piece when those tiny pills are not in my system." I begged, "tell me the truth, and no excuses."

For a moment Steve looked like he was about to cry or kick me out of the room. But to my surprise he just rubbed his eyes, then opened the drawer by his desk. Soon after a familiar sound filled the air causing my heart to race.

He pulled out another bottle of my pills.

My sweet pills; Oh, how I missed them.

He slid them on the desk then glanced at me with worried eyes, "Take them..." He whispered, "You look like you're about to die..." His voice trailed off with pain, "I'll tell you everything once I know you're in the right mind. Because right now your ratty thoughts match your... your quite dirty appearance, sweetheart. "

I took the bottle, recalling his awful words and like the madman I was, I twisted the cap open and toss two tiny pills down my throat. A jolt of pain crashed through me as the pills tumbled down. It was like a rush of pure ecstasy as it hit my stomach. With a moment's sigh, the pain faded away and the constant tugging feeling in my skin ceased. Shivers sprinkled down my spine as I plopped my head on the glass desk separating me from Steve.

He stared at me with pure horror as he pushed aside the bottle of water I didn't even notice him offering me. "Where do I start?" He shook, constantly shaking his legs as he wiped the concern off his face. "There's a lot..."

"I have time," I yawned as I turned over. Days without them felt like years and now that I finally had these pills, this drug back in my system, I felt numb.

I felt normal.

Steve ran his hands through his blonde hair as he got comfortable, "Ok then? I'll start from the very beginning." He took a sip from his cup before starting, "Evelyn, you are your mother's miracle child." He sighed, "Rosemary tried to have a child for years with many sperm donors. With every try, a miscarriage happened. With every try, it left your mother heartbroken to a point where she was on her last mental leg. That was until you came along..." Steve turned his chair away from me and faced the large glass window. "However, you were born with a rare genetic condition. A condition so rare that your mother got to name it—she called it Marigold's Fatigue after your late grandmother.... After you became fully grown in the womb, the cells in your body just stopped reproduction. This meant you would have died a few days after you were born." He whispered those last few lines, and I realized what was going on.