Darling Darkness

Blue Moon Cafe

    After a very long and very tiring night I was able to leave the hospital around noon with very strict instructions to come back immediately if things didn't improve or if they got worse. I doubted I would come back either way. They were not happy about my leaving and said they would prefer to keep me at least another night to make sure I was fine but I just couldn’t make myself stay. I really hate hospitals, always had since I was little, they had always been creepy to me. People walking around with needles to stab you with, dying people everywhere and the smell was enough to make you gag. I had insisted on leaving as soon as possible. 

    At least the cab ride home was quick; the place I rented was in a small suburb right in town next to the park. Only a quarter mile from the hospital itself. It was a nice small two bedroom duplex with a small yard and flower beds out front. I had been really lucky to find this place for so cheap. I had expected to have horrible neighbors at the price I was paying but it was quiet the opposite. My neighbors who rented the other side were an elderly couple who were very sweet. Julie was a retired veterinarian and Mark had been a teacher until two years ago when he retired. They had lost their only child when he was still little but, Toby, their corgi seemed to keeping them company. 

    I quickly made my way from the cab to the door and managed to get into the house without them seeing me. Julie would have fretted over me if she had seen all the bruises. They were wonderful neighbors and were just like family. Julie had been trying to look after me since I had moved in, treating me like I was her own daughter. Which was nice considering I didn’t really have a family, unless you count the three foster home I had grown up in, but I just really didn’t want to deal with them right now. I was exhausted and my head was still stuck on that guy from the hospital that night. I locked the door behind me and let out a sigh, I’d go over and say hello to them tomorrow. 

“Honey I’m home.” I called out as kind of a private joke. I had been living alone for five years now. I had thought about getting a pet but this was the first place I had ever lived in that would even allow animals. Maybe I could get a fish, they weren‘t a difficult pet. I tossed my things on the bench in the entry way before heading into the kitchen. I was happy that they hadn’t tried to cut off my clothes. I had managed to talk the E.R. nurses out of it. I had been able to strip down on my own. Though they were filthy and I really needed a shower and fresh clothes but first things first. I needed food. I was starving, hospital food is the most disgusting thing to serve to someone, especially someone who is sick or injured and don't even get me started on their coffee. 

    I grabbed the brown bag of coffee beans from the freezer and made my way to the coffee grinder. There had been weeks that buying ramen was pushing my budget, but I always had good coffee. That was something I simply wouldn’t go without. I would go a few days on little or no food but I won't go a day with less than a cup of coffee, and two is the preferred minimum. The smell of freshly ground beans was already helping my mood, and my head.  

    After some scrounging through the fridge and the pantry lunch ended up being a toasted roast beef and provolone sub with some ruffled potato chips. It was much better than what the hospital had tried to serve me. I don't think chicken soup was supposed to have a pasty consistency and fruit out of a can was not appealing. 

    I ate quickly and tossed my dishes in the sink I‘d clean them later, right now I really needed a shower. I could still feel the hospital air on my skin. It made me feel gross, worse than if I had been rolling in mud. And wearing my dirty, blood stained clothes, didn’t help. I turned on the water, letting the steam fill the room, and was just about to hop when I heard the clang of the mail slot. That made me stop, something wasn’t right. It was already past two, the mail should already have already been delivered. I threw on a towel and crept out of the bathroom. Not really sure why I was acting like I was being sneaking, I peeked through the curtains in the hallway but didn't see the mailman or the mail truck. If it wasn't the mailman than who was it?