Scarcely, have I had such an issue to face. Rarely, have I ever had to explain myself. Hardly, had I been so stupid. It had been simple: go in, get the information and then leave him to be fucked over. But I can’t go through with it. I can’t just… let him pace in that hospital room by himself, staring out the window at a complete loss. I hurt him far too much… even for my standards. I fucked with something that was not mine to be fucked with.
As I drove towards the hospital, I could feel my heart, no matter how cold or dark, rising within my throat. Relenting about twenty dollars for twenty minutes of parking, I pulled into a parking spot beneath the hospital, slipping from the car. I pocketed my keys and went into the hospital, going straight for the administration desk. I had made sure to grab the deli sandwich from Subway that had sat upon the passenger seat beside me.
The nurse behind it was elderly, graying hairs tied up in a tight bun and a starchy, white dress with white clogs and white stockings. She gave me probably one of the dirtiest looks recorded in history ever before saying harshly: “Can I help you?” I was a bit taken back but how gruff her voice was towards me. I mean… what if I was here, at a hospital, visiting my dying father on his death bed and I’d just come into the city after a twelve-hour plane flight? Would she have spoken so harsh to me then?
“Yes. I’m here to see Ahriman Lucifer. May I please have the room number?” A bit of sarcasm was dripping from my voice as I tried to remember my P’s and Q’s. What the hell are P’s and Q’s anyway? Anyways, after looking me over once or twice, she wrinkled her nose. Who could blame her? I probably stuck out the most in the sterile, white building. All my clothes were black, consisting of an ankle-long trench coat, a black tank top and baggy black jeans that just barely remained on my waist without the use of a belt. This exposed the very tops of the red straps of my knickers. C’mon now, I don’t look like that much of a whore. “Fine. Fourth floor. Room 402.”
With that, I nodded, leaving the conservative woman to glare at my back before returning to her charts or whatever the receptionist did those long hours they worked. A leaned against the back wall of the elevator now, staring up at the numbers blinking above the sealed doors. I was alone, yet I felt that overwhelming sense of being watched. Turning my head upwards, I noted a small, black dome above me in the left corner of the elevator. I raised my eyebrow once, pulling myself up onto the railing around the elevator walls. I moved my face right up to the camera, one of my sapphire eyes looking right into the camera lens. There was a crackle of a microphone as a voice sounded through-out the elevator. “Get down please!” I continued to stare in the camera, blinking every so often. “Why are you watching the elevator? ‘Fraid someone might, dun dun dun, press the emergency button?!”
Before whomever could answer, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Mockingly, I pressed my lips against the camera before hopping down and slipping from the elevator. Almost instantly, I was hit with the overwhelming sense of nausea. There were so many different smells of medication and sickness that it made me want to purge my stomach of my Egg McMuffin breakfast that honestly didn’t taste much better than styrofoam: styrofoam with forty year old processed cheese slices and microwavable bacon. Mmm, mmm, mmm… just like mom used to make.
I continued down the hallway once I had convinced my nausea to subside. Gently, I knocked upon the door. A muffled “enter” sounded through the thick, whitewash door before I turned the handle and slipped in. There he was, staring out the window from sitting on the window frame, one leg crossed over the other, hands resting limply in his lap. A bit of a frown came to my brow as I closed the door behind me. His head perked up a bit, but he didn’t look towards the door. “Just leave it on the bed, Marie. I’ll take them in a minute.” I glanced from him, to the bed, then back to him. A bit of a smirk came to my lips as I promptly hopped onto the bed and stared at him. Leaning back slightly to rest upon the heels of my hands, my legs begin to swing back and forth over the side of the bed.
“Marie is not here right now. Please leave a message after the tone. BEEP!” I grinned widely as Seraph spun around and stared at me in disbelief. I winked at him once before chuckling softly. “Christ, Seraph, your reflexes are lacking. You must be getting old!” Seraph, rightfully, shot me a look that would make even Evil Knievel’s knees quiver. I, however, knew Seraph well enough to know that that glare was more of an idle threat from a kitten than anything. So, naturally, I bat my eyelashes at him, and smirked. “Where’s Amy?” Chuckling a bit, I tilted my head to the side.
“Good to see you too. Not even a hello. And I brought you a sandwich, god damn it!” I held up the bag for him, smiling faintly, almost hopefully. “I know how awful hospital food is. Have they made you eat what they call Jell-O yet?” I saw him stare at the bag, waiting for the drool to start pouring all over the floor. He stood up from the window frame and grasped his cane, moving over to the bed. He took the bag from me with a muttered thank you, and then asked where Amy was again. “She’s with Morgy. Relax. We’ve been watching her since you’ve been in here.”
He opened the bag and breathed in the smell of the meat lover’s sandwich. His eyes fell halfway shut, before his hand dove into the bag, pulling out the sandwich in its crinkling paper. “So, they got you in rehabilitation yet?” Seraph nodded slightly, slumping down on the bed beside me. “Yeah. Stretch this, bend this way, dislocate all of your joints and pop them back into place. Blah, blah blah. I just wanna get back in the ring.” I nodded a bit, gazing down at the floor surrounding my still-swinging legs.
“Yeah. Hasn’t changed a bit since I was here last.” Beside me, Seraph took a large bite of the sandwich, reveling in the taste. I held back a soft chuckle, shaking my head slightly. Men… “I gotta tell ya, Seraph… I did come here for a reason…” Indeed, I had. I needed to tell him what I’d done, how I’d worked with his father and brother to bring him down. It had been for money, but now, after getting to know Seraph a bit better, I sure as Hell was paying for it in guilt trips and nightmares. Even now, as I stood up beside him, moving over to the window where he had sat, I took up the position that he had before, though my gaze was turned into the room instead of away from it. He was looking at me, curiously, brow raised slightly.
“Well, spit it out, Woman. I gotta go to rehab. soon so I can get back to the ring sooner. It’s really killing me. This… prison is just wretched.” My stomach clenched softly, eyes going wide for but a moment. My stomach clenched tightly, my heart sinking into my chest. Today… was not the day to break such news. “Christ, Man… I was just here to see if you were okay and shit. No need to get your knickers in a twist.” I smiled faintly, trying desperately to hide the blatant lie that had rolled from my tongue. He smiled too and nodded his head, crinkling up the paper as he swallowed the last bite of his sandwich.
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