A Better Life

The orphan

Michael bid us goodbye, heading to a page for a broken collarbone, leaving me and Calum.

"Okay, I'll send a nurse to bring you some food, you just make yourself as comfortable as possible."

I nod my head and as soon as he leaves, I make my way to the bathroom, feeling the horrible effects of five beers. I situate myself next to the toilet, feeling the need to puke but not being able to. It's going to be a long night.

"-ny"

"-any"

"Jany!"

I lift my head from the toilet seat, looking to the door where the voice is coming from.

"Jany"

I feel even worse than when I fell asleep. I slowly get up, trying not to let the dizziness get to me, and make my way towards the door.

Pulling open the door I see Calum standing there, hand in the air ready to knock again.

"I came to check on you before going home for the night, but your food wasn't even touched. Why didn't you eat? Is there something else I should be concerned about, that you aren't telling me?"

"No, no, no" I laugh. "I uh- I fell asleep?" I say, not knowing how to explain it to him.

He raises his eyebrow at me. "You fell asleep? In the bathroom?"

"I felt nauseous and fell asleep in the bathroom... for in case I had to throw up" I shrug my shoulders, trying to play it off.

"How much did you drink at that party?"

"Really not that much – "

He cuts me off with a knowing look.

"That's not what your bloodwork said".

"Okay, I drank like 2 two beers".

He crosses his arms, staring me down.

"Or maybe three."

He keeps looking at me.

"Maybe four?"

He just keeps looking.

"Okay, five. Happy?" I throw my arms up in the air.

"Yeah, I'm happy. I told you; I'm not going to judge you, but now that I know, I can help you."

He turns around and walks to a cupboard, unlocks it, takes something out and turns back towards me with an outstretched hand.

"Here, they'll help with the nausea and dizziness."

I eye him carefully, slowly taking the two capsules from him.

"I'm not going to drug you, Jany."

How he knew that's what I was thinking, I have no idea, but hey, I'm sorry, those are the types of circles I move in. I have to be careful with what I take and from who.

Before I can overthink it any further, I put the two pills in my mouth, immediately spinning around searching for water.

"Here"

He hands me a glass of water, with a straw, but I ignore the straw and down half of the water, before handing it back to him.

"Thank you"

"Why don't you try to eat something and then I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night?"

I nod my head, strolling to the bed where the plate of food has probably been sitting for a few hours – or however long I was sleeping in the bathroom for.

I eye the food, gently picking up the fork and stabbing a few pieces of potatoes.

"We called the emergency contact on your file, a Miss Rachel." Calum starts.

My hand stills, the potato almost to my mouth. "Oh" I force out. "What did, uh, what did she say?"

"We told her that you were in the hospital for severe injuries, due to a car accident. She didn't seem too bothered by it" He looks towards me to gauge my reaction, but I try to keep a straight face.

Nodding my head, I bring the potatoes to my mouth, finally starting to chew on the first real food I've had in days.

When he doesn't say anything else, I decide to say something. "She's the foster mom."

"You're an orphan?" he asks shocked.

"Hmm" I hum, taking another bite from the food.

"That doesn't explain why she wouldn't care about you being injured."

I shake my head "It kinda does, it's self-explanatory."

"Is everything okay at the orphanage?"

"Yeah" I continue eating, savoring the food.

"How's Macy doing?" I question him, staring into the distance.

"She's stable for now, but we don't know when her body will start functioning correctly again for us to take her out of the induced coma."

I nod, not in the mood to talk or eat anymore.

"Well," Calum stands up from the chair, pulling at his coat "I'm leaving for the night. If you need anything, just press the nurses button."

He makes his way to the door but turns to me before exiting "And please try to get some proper sleep, your body needs it to heal."

"I will, thank you for everything."

He nods and then I'm left alone with my thoughts.