3

JENNA

My flesh burned.

The moment the both of them left, the silence in the hallway echoed in my ears. I moved around the room, legs trembling as I tried to think of the next step to take. I was restless.

David had left with the divorce papers but the pen laid on the bed. I stared at it from where I stood for a long while before I moved towards the bed, reaching for it when all of a sudden, a knock came on the door and I jumped out of fear.

The sound shook me to the core. The door pulled open and I turned almost immediately to see the nurse strutting into the room.

She gave me a cold hard stare before she opened her lips to speak. “Why did you get up? You need a lot of rest.”

I shook my head. “My whole world is crashing and the thing you tell me to do is calm down? If anything, that is the last thing I'm going to do.”

My chest flared. I was beginning to panic.

What about Chloe?

She was all I had.

How was I going to feed and raise her?

Am I going to survive?

A lot of questions swirled in my head at that moment that I found it very hard to even look the nurse in the eye and speak.

Nothing came out.

No matter how hard I tried.

“You have to relax or you're going to flare up your heart issues all over again.”

I paused for a second, giving her a listening ear for the while. 

“Your husband,”

She paused almost immediately, scanning my eyes to check if I took offense in that.

I did but I hid my emotions behind a frown.

She swallowed before continuing. “Mr David has asked us to clear out any plans for taking you in for surgery. I was asked by the head nurse to ask if you have any other relatives?”

“None. I'm an orphan actually.”

Her lips pulled into a pitiful smile and her fingers scratched her scalp. She turned towards the door, “I will try to speak to the doctor on your behalf. I'll get back to you with any feedback.”

I watched her make her way out of the room and as soon as she stepped out I turned in the cushion, dragging in a deep breath. I already knew what was coming.

In less than the twenty minutes from now, she'd come back, fingers crossed clutching her file with eyes gleaming with thinning pity. 

Her lips would move and she'd tell me something like, “We're sorry ma'am. We won't be able to continue the treatment. We have no other option but to discharge you.”

A tear threatened to fall. I didn't bother holding on to it. I let go, sighing, staring out the window at the dark night sky.

It was almost night.

The least the hospital could do was let me stay the night there before they sent me out with a discharge slip.

My head was still caught in between thoughts when the door slammed open and I jumped, scared. My eyes scanned that of the hostile dark ones of the red haired lady in front of me.

This was weird.

The nurse that responded to me had midnight black hair and eyes. Why was a red head nurse by the door?

“Excuse me. I think you have the wrong room.”

I said softly, waiting patiently to feature what she was going to say.

I expected her to say something like, ‘Oh, you're right. Have a great day, ma'am.’

But she didn't say that. She didn't even say anything close to that.

She stepped into the room and stormed towards me. “I was sent by your assigned nurse. She popped out to attend to some paid, esteemed patients. The ones that can actually afford to pay their bills.”

I already knew where this was headed. 

She opened her lips to speak but I cut her short before she even began. 

“I understand if you want to discharge and get rid of me quickly but the least you can do is let me stay the night. Tomorrow, I'll try t—”

I'd barely finished speaking when the sound of her phone ringing cut through the air and I paused, staring back at her as she dug her fingers into her pockets and dug out her phone.

“Shhh.”

She warned, eyes weighing me with a heavy glance.

I waited the entire while as she picked up the call and began speaking in a hushed tone to the person on the other end. 

She tilted her head away from me and pressed the phone so close to her jaw that her whispers rolled right through.

That didn't stop me from overhearing the sound of the caller’s voice.

It was heavy in the air.

It seemed familiar too.

“We have an emergency. The VIP floor is filled with all high ranking patients but Mrs Windford is visiting today as a patient. We have to clear the rooms of one of the VIP patients. The ones who barely know what's going on around them. They’re clueless. They'll barely notice. Ditch that wretched bitch and fix one of the patients in the room.”

I heard every word. Listened to every single thing she said.

Her words did hurt but what hurt the most was the thought of the grave embarrassment I was going to have to face alone. 

I couldn't believe my husband would really do this to me.

He left me stranded here.

Barely healed.

My heart issues had escalated.

He knew that.

He ignored every medical report I'd ever received. I turned a blind eye to each and every one. 

Now, I was stranded.

“Yes, I'll do just that.”

The nurse turned to face me and my breath caught in my throat.

I swallowed a sob, sniffling.

“I understand. The only thing I'm asking for is to just pass the night here and I promise first thing tomorrow, I'll g—”

“Didn't you hear the instructions I received? I'll be back with your stuff.”

Those were the last words that she said before she turned to leave. I raised my back from the bed, resting my aching back against the painful metal bed frame.

The door opened shortly after and she walked right through it. Eyes dark with emotions I couldn't read. Her fingers clung to the handle of a bag that had the New Work City Hospital logo written on it.

I didn't need to ask what was in it.

I already knew.

“Go change.”

She reached forward, the bag tight in her grip. 

I dragged in a deep breath, before stepping down from the bed. 

I guess this was it already.

Safe to say I was heading right back to square one.