Grandmas House

"you're late, Mrs. Reinhart." Leo said with heavy disappointment in her tone. Quickly signing, "Sorry, there was a weird guy in a car." That prompted Leo to stop me by grabbing my arm.

"A man in the car?" Concern replaced her previous tone, and worry sat on her brow.

"Yeah, he slowed down in front of me and randomly peeled off... It was odd." Remembering it raised goosebumps on my arms, making me drop it quickly.

"Could you describe him to me?" Not with that illegal tent I couldn't, I thought to myself.

"Illegal tent." I quickly signed, trying to make my way to the ER, just wanting to start my day.

"Okay, come to me if you need anything, Rose." The sorrow in her voice weighed on my chest heavily, so I shook my head, gave my best half-smile, and hurried away.

The emergency department of a free clinic downtown in a vast city is as busy as you can imagine, but I had never felt more comfortable. These people needed me, and helping them was a great way to keep my mind off the anxieties of the day. Approaching the nurse's station, I was greeted cheerfully by a grinning face and hands holding a cup of coffee and a cream cheese bagel.

"One coffee with a shit tone of sugar and a cream cheese bagel from your favorite place in the city." I took the offering sipping the warm coffee gleefully but also waiting for the hook inevitable yank.

"Usually, people get each other coffee and drink it together, but I seem to have drank mine... So why not you and I grab a cup when we get off?" There it was, the hooks hard yank. A genuine smile grew on my face. Every day since I've met her, Lilith has asked me out. I sit the gifts on the counter of the nurse's station.

"Would coffee be the best drink to unwind with after a long night shift?" I asked teasingly. The wheels in Lilith's head spun for a moment before a devious smirk appeared across her face.

"If you weren't planning to sleep, sure." That made me blush noticeably.

"And what were you planning?" I signed with a raised brow and smirk.

"Well, it'll still include the bed just putting coffee to good use." I chuckled hard at the confidence but then remembered rule number ten and almost let it altogether drop the mood.

"I know... Rule number ten, right? Well, what about coming to my place?" I swear steam was coming from both ears by now as I felt my face flush with heat.

"What about your grandmother and sisters?" I asked, genuinely considering the possibility of going home with her. Today had been stressful with the hallucination, and the driver, which I experienced alone, made me feel even more like I shouldn't be.

"The girls are out with their boyfriends, and Amma will be out when she takes her pills." The offer was tempting, and it wasn't like Lilith wasn't my type. She was a whole foot taller than me, stayed physically active, and was covered in extravagant tattoos that intrigued my mind thoroughly. Her purple hair framed mesmerizing ocean-blue eyes that captivated anyone who dared gaze into them.

I stood contemplating the offer for a moment until the sound of approaching footsteps roused me from thought.

"Lilith..." A male nurse said with disdain while approaching the nurse's station.

"Jeremy..." Lilith replied with an intensified disdain in her voice.

"Hey, Rose! I'm glad I ran into you. I was wondering since I had two tickets to the premiere of Madness Movie Massacre tonight if you would like to go?" Lilith's eyes rolled hard as she let out a scoff that Jeremy easily ignored.

"Sorry, I don't like horror movies." I signed with the most apologetic face possible. Jeremy looked defeated for a moment before shrugging.

"Alright, that's cool... What about a coffee after work?" I laughed uncontrollably. I expected Lilith's offer for coffee, but two in one night, and from Jeremy, one of the cutest male night-shift nurses, the other being Lilith, sent me overboard. His smooth baby-like face watched in desperate anticipation for me to stop laughing. His emerald eyes worriedly watched me through cute circular glasses, but I was stuck giggling.

"She has plans for coffee Jeremy." That he couldn't ignore, he turned his attention to Lilith.

"And what does that mean, Lilith." He spat, glaring into her eyes, challengingly.

"It means she's already getting coffee with me." She stood, reciprocating the glare unblinkingly. They are both now in a staring contest that forced more laughter from me. The buzz of my phone takes my attention from them. A message from G readout "need to speak tonight.". Before it fled the screen, I waved my hand through the two making them both lose their contest.

"My grandmother needs me tonight, sorry." Jeremy deflates while Lilith, on the other hand, mood switched to concerned.

"Everything alright?" She asks warmly.

"Of course, she just wants to talk, is all." I reply, then quickly rush off to change into my scrubs and prepare for the night rush.

Before my dad disappeared, we worked the ER here at Friggs sanctuary clinic run by Leo. She and my dad knew each other back when they were in university. They moved to America for a fresh start, and when my dad started a family and needed a job, Leo was there. My dad was the most excellent trauma doctor the ER had ever seen. He often said it was the only thing he knew how to do.

"A fixation with all things balanced." He would tell me when I asked why he chose this medical field specifically. For me, it's the understanding of the body and the chemicals within it that led me down the same path as my father. As for Leo, she just wanted to help others, she received steady funding from her philanthropist parents back home to keep her clinic afloat, and as long as Leo aided people, her mother would find any endeavor.

Leo is as old as my dad, so her mother must be as decrepit as my grandma.

The anxiety of talking to her after work crept in with that thought. She was abrasive, to say the least, and only seemed to want my attention when I would serve a purpose. A random text every Blue Moon, especially since my father disappeared and my mother went to stay with his family overseas. The sound of the rolling wheels of a gurney broke me from my trance. The patient thrashed blood violently oozed from underneath his shirt and down his neck from sizeable circular wounds. He made gurgled squeaks through mouths full of blood.

The nurses cut his shirt free to reveal more circular wounds and distressing black veins that seemed to grow like routes from the openings. I checked his eyes which had dilated pupils and then tried for a name. The man continued to thrash hard, unresponsive to the nurses holding his limbs and my questions. His squealing grew louder, almost piercing as the veins around the wounds began to darken.