Chapter 20

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I suck in a breath, guiding my legs, one at a time, over the side of the bed.

Kallie, my Thursday nurse, stood to one side, helping to steady me. I could feel her disgust coming off of her in waves. It's obvious.

She stands with one hand on my back, her muscles stiff. She stands as far away from me as she can without letting go of me. Because, if she let go of me, I'd have a reason to report her.

She's the kind of nurse who doesn't like her job, caring for people who need it.

I glance up at her, and catch the curl of her lip, and the boredom plainly displayed on her face. Her eyes are averted, so she can't see me.

I sigh, wanting as little contact with her as possible, and pull the wheelchair closer to me. I glance at her. I need help with this part. But she doesn't even look at me.

"A little help please?" I ask, biting my lip.

Kallie looks down at me. "With what?"

I resist the urge to scream. "Wheelchair," I say.

Kallie looks over to where I'm indicating. She heaves a sigh but moves over to help me.

She slips her arms over mine and pulls me up.

Startled, my arms seize up, and, of course, my legs don't work, so I end up on my behind on the hardwood floor with a grunt.

Kallie looks at me on the floor in my hospital gown with disgust. She turns up her little nose and walks out.

Just great. How am I supposed to get up?

I reach up, grasping at the covers on the bed, trying in desperation to pull myself up to no avail.

Kallie walks back in with another nurse, Isabelle, a couple of minutes later. By now, I'm sweating from my failed efforts of trying to get up on my own. I didn't think Kallie would come back. To be fair, she hadn't before.

Isabelle, I recognize. She's helped out before when Kallie was on duty. She had wavy blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a kind face. She was so much nicer than Kallie.

Isabelle bends down to my level. "Are you okay?" she asks, her tone gentle. "Anything hurt?"

I shake my head. "I don't think so. I'm sure my bum's bruised, but as I can't feel it, I wouldn't worry about that too much."

Isabella laughs a little. "Alright then," she says. "Then let's get you up."

She motions for Kallie to help her and slides her arm under my left armpit, her other arm on my back.

Kallie takes my other side. This time she's a lot more gentle, and less rigid, probably because Isabelle is standing next to her.

They manage to get me into the wheelchair, with a little struggling. Kallie smiles at me, so filled with honey and sweetness, you can't help but know it's entirely fake. I resist the impulse to gag.

"What happened, Rina?" Isabelle asks, unlocking the wheels.

Kallie looks up at this. "I can answer that."

"That's alright," Isabelle says, kindness filling her voice. I love Isabelle. She smiles at Kallie. "Why don't you go on your break and I'll take care of Rina?"

Kallie raises her eyebrows. "Really? Why don't I tell you what happened first?"

"That'll be alright," Isabelle says. "You can go on."

Kallie shoots a death stare at me, but walks out.

"So what did happen?" Isabelle asks me, standing up.

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