Venom

17

Back at the hospital for my internship, I was sitting beside my grandmother on her bed. She'd been asleep at first and I didn't want to startle her so I waited. About thirty minutes later she woke up, happy to see me. 

I knew that Taylor would be back any minute so I tried to get her to speak as soon as possible.

"Now Becky, please tell me you and Peter are over that disgusting hobby of yours." My grandmother scolded. She thought I was my mother and I decided to just go with it to avoid triggering her silent episode.

I furrowed my brows. Disgusting hobby? "What? What hobby?"

"Don't make me spell it out."

"I really have no idea what you're referring to."

My grandmother rolled her eyes. "I understand that the drug dealing got you a strong foundation, financially, but it is a dirty, dirty business and nothing good ever comes from it."

Drug dealing? WHAT?

Before I could question further, I heard the click of heels in the distance.

Crap. Taylor must've been back from her breakfast.

"Sorry grandm-- mother, but I need to go."

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking at me through her thin-rimmed glasses.

"Uh...the kids are crying." I fibbed.

"Alright, see you later, dear."

As quietly as I could, I dashed to the door, swiftly pulling the door open.

I saw Taylor at her desk, talking to someone on the phone, looking down at her desk.

Luck was on my side today.

Gently shutting the door behind me, I locked it, knelt to the floor, and returned the key to its place.

Just as I places the tile over the box, Taylor looked in my direction.

Still on the ground, I pretended to be tying my shoelaces.

Taylor ended her call, walking towards me with a frown. "Where did you go?"

"Sorry, I had to use the washroom really badly."

She nodded. "Well, I can take it over from here, enjoy the rest of your week." She smiled.

As I left the hospital, I struggled to swallow the new information my grandmother had presented. I'd come back next week to ask her questions.

My parents had been involved in drug dealing.

I wondered what else I'd never gotten to learn about them.

* * *

Reading week had started, so I had a week off to study for my midterms. 

Knowing myself, I wouldn't be studying very much. I'd procrastinate by doing other productive things.

For starters, to get through the rest of the day without weeping over Carter and overthinking about my family, I decided to finally clean the apartment. I'd given up on trying to mend my friendship with Ellie. She'd blown everything out of proportion.

Three hours, too many garbage bags and a lot of music later, I'd finally made the apartment appear fairly breathable.

There's my workout for the day.

There was no trash in sight, the clothes were washing, and all the dishes were washed.

Proud of my efforts, I decided to treat myself to some homemade pasta.