Free Falling

Fighting Back

Denitra hated being wrong. No, she hated proving others right. She stared up at the ceiling and exhaled deeply, thoroughly annoyed with herself. The room was cold and, despite being covered in a heap of warmed blankets, so was she. They had dimmed the lights in the room, hoping to encourage her to go to sleep. However, it was the constant hum and beeping of the machine on the side of her bed, keeping track of her pulse and blood pressure, that kept her awake. Not to mention the homicidal blood pressure cuff that seemed determined to at least amputate her arm before they discharged her from the hospital.

There was a brief knock on the door before it opened and her doctor came inside the room. "Everything's looking good. How do you feel?"

"Okay enough to go home." She rasped. Her throat was dry from not using it in nearly twelve hours.

He nodded and looked at charts before checking her vitals one last time. "Well, your mother's on her way now. I called her to let her know you were ready to go home. The nurse will be here shortly with your discharge papers and home care instructions."

"Okay, thank you." Denitra relaxed, closing her eyes to think. All she could think about was Jamien's constant nagging about her taking her medicine the day before. Of all the people in the world, he was the last person she wanted to prove right. He'd never let her live it down. Nearly twenty minutes later, her mother still hadn't shown up, but the nurse was there, removing her IV and quickly going over her home care instructions. She found that she could walk, as long as she kept a hand on the wall for support.

"I said I don't want any pain relief, bitch. JUST GET ME SOME LOA DUST!"

"Sir, we've been over this before. I can't give you - "

"THEN GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

A young nurse with tears in her eyes nearly ran Denitra over as she backed out of the room. Denitra frowned. No patient had a right to be that rude. She peeked into the room and gasped.

"What the fuck are you...Denitra?" Michael Romaine laid in the bed, tubes of all sorts coming from him.

"Mike?" She stepped into the room, confused.

"Well, if it ain't Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. You're still in Stilwater?"

"I'm only here for the weekend. Actually, I got sick, so I had to come to the hospital." She approached his bed, resting her hand on the side rail.

He looked her over then licked his lips. "Nice to know you haven't changed. Still a little sex kitten, huh?"

She frowned and rolled her eyes. "Still a dick, I see."

"Don't play me like that. You know I've always had a thing for you."

"You were dating my best friend, Mike. It couldn't have been too much of a thing."

"You know I didn't care for her. Don't make me out to be a bad guy just because you want to ignore the truth. I tried to get with you but you shot me down." He rolled his eyes and laughed before mocking her. "'I don't have time for a relationship, I have to study so I can be a teacher.' So, I said fuck it. Go for the next best thing. Only second best never really compares to the first choice."

Her spine stiffened as her fists curled up. "Don't talk about her like that."

"But am I wrong? She knew how I felt about you then and didn't care. She claimed she understood but still loved me. I'll never understand women."

Denitra took a deep breath to control her anger. "You could have treated her with a little more respect, Mike."

"Baby, please. She could have treated herself with a little more respect. She didn't care what I said or did, as long as I stayed with her and showed her some attention."