Sincerely, Yours

Chapter 14

• Cheyenne •

The next day rolled around sooner than Cheyenne anticipated. She used one hand to lock her car doors while holding her bag and latte in the other. She ran her free hand down the bottom of the blue scrub top as she walked over to the facility's entrance. "Morning, Nurse." The guard at the front gave her a warm welcome and allowed her to scan her ID. "Morning, Officer Greenly." Cheyenne issued him a friendly smile in return.

After making it to the infirmary and straightening up a bit she decided to head to the wardens office. A tiresome sigh could be heard escaping her mouth when she got closer to his door. Taking a few seconds to calm herself, Cheyenne then sent a few light knocks to the door. "It's open, come in." Warden Monteź responded in his usual thick accent.

"Oh, Nurse Mitchell." The warden briefly looked up from the pile of paperwork on his desk. "Good morning. I got your email, you wanted to see me?" She stood by the doorway. "Yes. Have a seat." He pointed to one of the empty chairs by his old wooden desk. Cheyenne sat down, crossing her right leg over the left as she waited for their conversation to start.

"I understand that you're new here, Nurse Mitchell," Monteź gentle brushed his mustache. "However, we do things differently here at Solitude. Some inmates will ask for whatever they can get, faking whatever symptoms they think will do the trick." He told her. "There was no faking with a person of that state." Cheyenne defended. "I respect your medical judgment, that's why I chose you for this position, but this is my prison. I've ran it successfully for the past nine-years without a matter of this nature occurring." The warden sounded absurd in Cheyenne's opinion.

"I'm not trying to change the way you operate things around here, but I'm also not about to start neglecting my medical duties as a nurse." She stood her ground while being still remaining professional. "Nurse Mitchell, I am not trying to penalize you whatsoever. I'm simply asking you not to make arrangements without notifying me of what is happening." The wardens had brought down his tone. "Yup. Understood and noted." Cheyenne slipped him a fake smile, trying to remain polite.

"I'm glad we could come to a understanding." Warden Monteź smiled, "That'll be all then." The conversation wrapped there with no further words exchanged. Cheyenne rolled her eyes so hard they hurt once she got out of the office. She hated that the bedroom wasn't the only place men had the power to be dominant. Just as she turned the corner of the infirmary wing, she saw an inmate waiting outside the door.

"Good morning." She greeted politely. "I'm hoping you can help me out, Nurse. I can't sleep and need something that can give me a good nights rest." The inmate was straightforward. He was being awfully fidgety, Cheyenne thought. "What's your name?" She made direct eye contact with him. "Kahleed Johnson." He seemed agitated by the simple question. After allowing the inmate into the infirmary, she began asking questions about his medical history to better understand how to possibly treat an inmate for restlessness. "Mr. Johnson when's the last time you've gotten fair sleep?" She asked, being the circumstances she knew inmates weren't getting the full rest that the human body requires.

"Like, two, maybe three days ago." He replied. Cheyenne took a note of that before going to give him a full body exam. "Aye, look, I just need some pills or sum' to help me sleep." He told her. The five-foot-nine man was underweight with sagging skin. His eyes were glass bright and wet, which drew concern to her as she continued examining him. His uniform was soaked with sweat and every-so-often he'd shake. "Are you cold Mr. Johnson?" She moved back to observe him.

"No. I just need some damn sleeping pills!" He shouted, causing Cheyenne to jump. "Relax yourself now Johnson." The guard stood up, ready to detain him at any given moment. "Mr. Johnson I can see that you're frustrated, but I can't help you if you're being belligerent." Cheyenne reasoned. It was obvious the patient was experiencing withdrawals. "I-I'm sorry. My bad." Kahleed apologized. "It's okay," She slipped him a faint smile.

She'd come encounter with many addicts in her line of work to spot the symptoms when they were presented. "Are you currently taking any medications?" Cheyenne asked while writing some notes in his chart. "No." He lied. Cheyenne stopped to glimpse over at him, "Mr. Johnson, you don't have to lie to me. I'm not allowed to disclose any of your medical history with anyone, and besides I can't treat you with anything if you won't tell me what you're on or taking." She was transparent.

Kahleed ran his hand down his dry face. "I been poppin' some perky's for a little minute now." He confessed. Cheyenne nodded. "You're in good hands, Kahleed." She signaled for him to lay back on the gurney. "I'm going to get you started on an IV, is that alright with you?" She awaited his response. He shook his head yes while allowing her to proceed.

Cheyenne soon got the inmate started on a IV line. When she looked over at him, he was fast asleep. "How much longer will he be here?" One guard stepped into the room to ask, "Until his IV finishes." She replied. Deciding to stretch her legs for a bit, Cheyenne roamed around the infirmary ward. She pulls out her phone, scrolling through Instagram with nothing better to do. She found herself interacting more on the app these days. She had even posted a picture of her breakfast this morning to her story, which to her surprised got a reply from an unexpected someone.

41O_king: All them lattes ain't good for you 😂 wouldn't be experiencing that if you let me treat you to some real food.

Cheyenne couldn't help but smirk. She responded to the message, then locked her phone and returned to the infirmary. The IV had fully emptied when she got back, but the inmate was still sleeping and so peacefully at that. She didn't want to have to wake him just for him to return to an uncomfortable, cramped cell. However, this was reality. People had to reap the consequences of their actions.

Side bar: I did not know how to feel about this chapter 🫣 but I hope y'all enjoyed

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