One Last Call

Chapter 4: Blood

A sharp knock on the door brought me out of the state of drifting consciousness I was in. Strange, I thought, I didn't recall making it into bed at all. I shrugged the thought away.
"Yes?" I called out, voice croaking for lack of use.
"Miss Homewood? May I come in?"

Sivanah. Of course.
"Yes, you may," I said, clearing my throat.
The door creaked open, and Sivanah stepped into the room, holding a clipboard, and wearing a remarkably patterned jumpsuit, decorated with a variety of tiny birds.

"I am here to bring you to your examination. Please do get dressed. I trust you found the hospital gown?"

"Yes," I responded simply. An overwhelming sense of dread infiltrated my senses, but I let no emotion betray my face.

I swung my legs round, and stood up a little too fast, head spinning.
"I don't suppose there's any chance of breakfast?" I asked.

"Yes. After you dress there is a light breakfast outside, as it's not good to undergo a blood test on an empty stomach."

I nodded, swallowing, as I closed the bathroom door to get dressed.

The gown slipped over my head, the coarse fabric had clearly been washed one time too many. It was a little long, it fell to around halfway down my calves.

A thought crossed my mind. Quickly. Overwhelming.

Why are they making you wear a hospital gown if they're just taking blood?

Panic burned up my throat and I threw up in the toilet, acid coating my teeth. I swallowed, the fire in my throat painful and uncomfortable. Flushing the toilet, I washed my hands, attempting to wash any thoughts of blood away.

Flashes of that night. The smell. The broken window. Blood. So much blood.

Taking a few deep breaths, I left the room, the door clicked shut behind me.

"Miss Homewood, are you alright?" Sivanah asked, concern tracing the ever-growing lines atop her brow.

"Yes, just hungry and a little tired," I lied. My bones felt weak. Breakable.

"If you're sure, Miss Homewood. The cook just brought your breakfast up, so you're welcome to eat it here."

A tray sat on the bed, consisting of toast and bacon. A glass of water was balanced precariously atop a coaster, which I went for first. The cool water slipped down my throat soothingly.

"Eat quickly, Miss Homewood. Your examination begins in ten minutes," Sivanah said, still standing awkwardly in the hallway wielding a clipboard, which she had been scribbling notes down on for the past three minutes.

Hesitantly, I ate one piece of toast, merely nibbling on the edges of it. Then another. A piece of bacon. Another. I ate until the plate was empty.

I felt Sivanah's eyes on me as I looked up, wiping phantom crumbs off my face with the back of my hand.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked.

I swallowed, and after a beat responded, "Yes, I think so."

____________________

Sivanah lead me into a small room, decorated with clouds and haphazardly drawn suns. I smiled; I knew I wasn't a child yet it was still calming.

"Glad to see you're enjoying yourself, Miss Homewood."

That voice again. Thana entered the room, an epitome of grace and elegance, followed by a shorter man wearing doctor scrubs, pushing a tray. I forced myself to look away

I said nothing, instead nodded slightly.

"Alright," Thana said, "Miss Homewood, this is Dr Connor Sullivan, he will be conducting your examination today."

I looked at the doctor, and nodded again. Stop doing that, I mentally screamed at myself.

"Alright, Miss Homewood," Dr Connor spoke for the first time, "So we're going to take a little blood, just so we can see if there's anything perhaps that's not normal, are you alright with that?"

No, I wanted to say.

"Yes," I said, forcing myself not to nod.

"Miss Desmona," he gestured to Thana, "has looked into your medical history, and there are no conditions we should know about, correct?"

I swallowed, "Correct."

He wrote something down on a notebook, resting against the tray.

"And when was your last period?"

"About two weeks ago."

He wrote something down again.

The questions seemed to go on forever until finally Dr Sullivan said, "Alright, so everything seems to be good, so we can proceed to the examination now."

He pulled out a pair of blue rubber gloves from the box on the tray, then picked up the needle.

"You should only feel a small sting, Miss Homewood."

I nodded, then mentally kicked myself again.

He cleaned the area of skin on my arm.

I sucked in a breath as a sharp pain stemmed from my arm. Slowly, it ebbed away into a dull ache, until it was removed. He wiped the wound with a cotton bud, then put a plaster over it.

The doctor made me stay seated for ten minutes afterwards, but then it was Thana who spoke:
"Thank you Miss Homewood. The results will be back shortly. Sivanah, please escort Miss Homewood to the cafeteria, and ensure she eats something."

Sivanah seemingly appeared from nowhere, shifting away from the wall, coming out of the background.

"Come on, Miss Homewood. I'm sure you're hungry."

I stood up, legs a little shaky but otherwise unscathed.

I followed Sivanah out the room, making eye contact with Thana as I past. She smiled at me, "Thank you for your time, Miss Homewood."

Again, I said nothing in response. Something seemed...off about Thana. I didn't know what but a feeling of dread was slowly crawling its way back into my throat. I swallowed harshly. Purposefully.

I continued following Sivanah to the cafeteria, until we reached a set of blue double doors.

"We're here," Sivanah said, "Miss Desmona has made arrangements for you to have whatever you want. All charges will be taken care of."

"Thank you," I said, head spinning like it had been kicked like a ball.

I retrieved a tray, piled it high with food then sat down to eat, ignoring the ever-growing feeling that someone was watching me.