Dark Like Me

12~Surprise

After a few days of debating and fussing with myself, I decide to go see Alchemy. I still do not know what else to do about Alchemy and her attitude problem. 

It really does hurt me to my heart to see her hooked up to all the tubes and machines. Alchemy is strapped down and is not even looking at me. She has this scowl on her face as if I did something wrong when all I did was defend myself because she did slap me first, then tried to slap me again. What was I supposed to do? Let her hit me again?

 She just stares at the ceiling with her lips poked out and she looked as if she had gotten no sleep at all; dark circles under her eyes. Her left eye, where I punched her is swollen; I start to feel even worse.

I try my best to make small talk and to tell her that it is not my fault that Louis had left her and that she is angry with the wrong person. I even found myself apologizing for punching her and making her fall over the railing. However, none of it is going through to her. She just continues to stare at the ceiling.

Knowing that I am not making an effort to get through to Alchemy, I sigh and leave the room. Making my way down the hallway towards the entrance, an elderly patient throws a yellow substance on me that reeks; pee.

"Back to the cotton fields, nigger. Or be bedded and ready to bare my children, harlot!" He yells, getting ready to throw the entire bucket at me.

I stand there frozen in shock, covered in pee in which the stench starts burning my eyes, and I slightly shiver. Some nurses come sprinting down the hall, restrain the elderly man, and force him back into his room.

A candy stripper grabs me and pushes me down the hallway into a small washroom with a shower.

"I am so sorry, ma'am," He says going through a drawer and pulling out some white scrubs. "He usually is locked in his room; I will have to check who was in his room last and report it..."

When he turns around to hand me the white scrubs, his deep brown eyes go around, "Sirrah?"

"Cole?" I take the scrubs quickly, a little embarrassed that he is the one to see me like this. Cold and covered in pee and reeking.

"W-what are you doing here?" Cole asks me.

I do not know how to answer that question. "I am here to see Alchemy...was here to see her." My eyes slide to the floor still feeling the guilt of what I did to her.

"Oh, yeah. She came in a few days ago. What happened?"

"I can ask the same of you." I turn the conversation around on him. I do not want to explain what happened between Alchemy and I. "You haven't really been coming to class lately." I turn around and turn on the sink water. 

Cole has been skipping out in the middle of school for the past three to four days now. I had to be a little nosey, I guess I was a little concerned as well.

"I got a job as a candy strap here and it pays well, but I cannot really attend classes that much. Therefore, I opted for online classes or someone to bring my assignments to me. I know I should not have to take a second job, with me being a private and all. But, I needed more money to send my family." Cole explains himself to me. Cole is in the Youth Group as well but opted for a roommate instead of living with his family.

I nod and stand there smelling like pee because I did not want him to see me naked or even partly naked.

"Can you please leave?" I ask him with my voice quaking a little.

"Oh yeah....right." Cole chuckles nervously and leaves the small washroom to give me some privacy he closes the door behind him.

I wash up a little and observe the white scrubs; they are a little too big. Thankfully, not all of the pee got on me and get to my bra or underwear, I still smell like pee a little.

  A second job to send money to his family? I never asked him about his family. Come to think about it, I have never really spoken to Cole until now. I will admit that he is a cutie. I shake the thought of him out of my head and continue to try to get the pee smell off me. After I have scrubbed for 10 minutes, I come out changed in the scrubs and holding a plastic bag with my soiled clothes.

Cole is leaning against the wall on the other side, looking at his cell phone. He looks up when he hears the door open and close.

"So, what happened with Alchemy? I thought she was your best friend?" He pressures me to tell him the story as we walk down the hallway towards the entrance of the hospital.

"She got hurt," I tell him the partial truth. 

Cole eyes me but does not push anymore. We make it to the entrance of the hospital and my phone vibrates. When I take it out of the bag to see who is, Cole snatches it. I panic a little and try to get it back but he is a lot taller than I am, and he keeps it out of reach.

"Come on! Give it back, please." I try my best to reach for it, but he is too tall.

"Relax, half-pint." He gently pushes my forehead with the palm of his hand.

Most of his hand covers majority of my face. I purse my lips together and stop reaching for my phone.

"Thank you." He does a few things with my phone. What? I am not sure. He gives it back to me.

I look at it and he smiles. "Okay. I have got to go." I all but run out of the hospital. My heart is thumping hard in my chest and when I get in the car, I can see that my face is red with a blush; if I was light skin, I would be able to see it.

My mom looks at me weirdly when I settle down. "I thought you were wearing jeans." She questions arching her brow at me, observing my clothing. 

"Uh, something happened-." I begin to explain to my mother but I am interrupted.

"Smells like straight pee." Andy groans emerging from the backseat scaring the crap out of me. She is holding her nose.

My mom looks at me as if she knew I was not telling her the full truth.

I fess up a little leaving out what the elderly man called me, "okay, some elderly man threw pee on me." I click my seat belt.

All my mom could do was shake her head, "Did they detain him?"

"Yes, someone helped me and gave me scrubs to put on until I can get home."

She nods and drives on.

On the drive home, I still had many things to think about. But, I could not think as much as I wanted to with Andy here considering it has to deal with her sister. Andy and I are supposed to be having a lot of fun at this sleepover. I push the things to the back of my mind and engage Andy in some light conversation.