Dirty Deals With The Devil

Chapter 9. || Hospitals And Hoaxes||

Dedicated to ChidChick❤

The hospital stench was getting to me.

After school today, my mom had called from work to ask if I could kindly swing by the hospital to drop off some files she had forgotten in the process of her rush this morning. Molly and I were about to have some sandwiches at my place for lunch when she called, I agreed and we packed up some tomato sandwiches and pink lemonade to go for all three of us.

After taking the bus heading out of town and a very long hour or so, we got to the psychiatric hospital where my mom has worked as a nurse since before I was born. She appreciated the lunch we brought her and after a few minutes of sitting around and eating, I was already impatient and ready to leave. Molly, on the other hand had made herself completely comfortable on the office couch and was ranting to my mom about how she had been saving for some new designer boots that had gotten even more expensive over the weekend.

Sometimes, I thought Molly was very vain but looking at her in her faded denim jumpsuit dotted with multicolored patches and her soft, oval face framed with long chestnut brown, I decided she had a lot to be vain about. I fingered my shoulder length, thick, black hair and felt a flash of jealousy which disappeared as fast as it came.

Mom thought Molly was the best thing since the invention of technology, so our friendship was something she loved and encouraged heartily. I on the other hand didn't really like our friendship all that much, people always saw me as that Molly's friend, she was the reason I was popular too and I hated it.

"Sophie," Molly called my mom, speaking softly her voice dripping like honey. "You've got bags under your eyes, you need to rest, you've been working yourself too much."

My mom gave an agreeing nod, placing a hand to her forehead and leaning back on her chair. Molly was actually right, my mom did look stressed out with her hooded, heavy eyes and grey streaked black hair put up in a tight bun but I hated that she was the one to point it out, it should have been me caring about my mom not her.

"You're right, dear," my mom sighed, straightening up to reach for her plastic cup of lemonade and clutching it tightly. "It must be the graveyard shifts I've been taking lately, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, Molly."

"Sophie, you're like my mom, I'm always going to be worried about you."

I was sick to the stomach at this point and I rolled my eyes, getting up from the couch I had been seating on with Molly. I jammed my hands into the pockets of my gray sweatpants and cleared my throat loudly.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I told them, wanting to leave their presence but it wasn't a total lie too, I actually needed to use the bathroom.

"Sure, dear." My mom only glanced at me once before turning back to Molly.

"Want me to come with?" Molly asked, excitedly and I suppressed the urge to say a cuss word. That was the problem with her, she was so nice and genuine, you couldn't find a reason to hate her.

"No, I'll be back soon." I tied my hair up in a high ponytail. "And then we'll leave."

I had had enough of them. I strolled down the depressing hallways and said a few words of greetings to the few of my mom's colleagues I was familiar with. This whole place screamed sadness and depression and after glancing at the tiny, black 22 on the back of my hand, I felt the same type of depression radiate off me in waves.

22 days. I was going to die in 22 days with the way were going. I hadn't heard a word from the devil since after calculus two days ago.

Somehow, I had left the route that led to the bathrooms and was now standing right in front of a sign that contained two blue opposite faced arrows that each pointed out the words, Staff welfare and permanent residents.