#PartyBoss isn't a term Tulip Carpenter coined herself but she wears it with pride. Her life is a party, she's doing what she loves, creating mindblowing celebrations for the happiest moments in people's lives. But when the baby she put up for adopt...
"Is she still on the antibiotics or..." The woman's voice stopped for a couple of seconds. "Wait. I see it right here. She is. She's on the seventy-five-milligram tap."
"Pill or intravenous."
"IV." The woman's tone went soft. "She hasn't woken up yet. It's been two days. Hopefully, tomorrow."
"Poor thing."
The foreign voices entered Tulip's ears and poked at her subconscious as she lay sleeping in the hospital bed. She groaned, absolutely irritated that someone had walked into her bedroom to talk. Like how rude is that?
'Hold up, why are people in my bedroom?' She thought to herself but there was a drowsy haze blocking her mind from remembering those details and events. She tried opening her eyes but her eyelids felt like cinder blocks were attached to her eyelashes, which were probably fake since she didn't take them off last night at the Gates-Robinson Engagement party.
What party? You didn't go to a party last night? Movie. Jasper. Sex. Condom. Crash. The five words illuminated in her mind like the signs along the Las Vegas strip. Her memory of the previous day was images cut into randomly shaped pieces and she had to find which one went together but she didn't feel like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Just the thought of conducting the mental game gave her carnal pain. She groaned once more and fought harder to open her eyes.
Her eyes slowly opened and she wanted to curse her willpower and regretted her curiosity. She should've just stayed asleep.
But what about Sidney? She remembered and her mind started with images of the child. She immediately stopped regretting her choice to abandon the clutches of sleep. Just the thought of the little girl that had become the most important thing to her, even more, important than her business which was quite a feat caused her to abruptly sit up. But that urge didn't last too long. A sharp pain shot through her chest, shoulder, and side.
"Fuck!" She shouted, lowering herself back down on the bed with a little more ease.
She held her breath as mist collected in her eyes. She held her side taking quick, brisk breaths since pulling in a deep one was utterly painful. She swept her eyes around the room as she tried to get enough air in her lungs and finally realized where she was. She was in the hospital. She was in the hospital and...she paused to take in the sterile room. The mist in her eyes matured to tears that dripped onto her standard white pillowcase.
No one was there. No one was lying on the couch. No one was sitting in the chair. No one was standing in front of the TV watching the rerun movie. No one was there.
"I don't the pain meds are wearing off but Ms. Carpenter shouting the F-word is prohibited." A woman with flecks of copper in her eyes and strands of gray in her hair hustled into the room with her hands full. Her straight line mouth curved up around the corner once she reached the hospital bed and whispered. "Damn is the word of the day. Damn, these needles. Damn this bed. Damn, this doctor."
Tulip stopped crying and flashed a faint smile at the one. "Then why am I in this damn hospital?"
"Car crash." The nurse said placing a trio of medicine bottles on the movable table. "I'm not surprised you don't remember. You have a concussion."
"That's not the only thing," Tulip added letting out a grunt from the pain throbbing through her body.
"You would be correct." She said. "But since you're awake I'll let the doctor know and he'll tell you all you need to know."
Tulip shook her head. "Nurses are the best thing besides the drugs in the place so can you please tell me." She grunted painfully again. "Please, I need to know what's wrong with me and how soon can I leave. I need to see my baby girl."
She breathed out slightly frantic wondering how Sidney was coping.
The nurse glanced out the door and discovered nothing and no one was stirring in the hallway.
"You have two broken ribs." The nurse started. "A concussion from the force of which your head hit the window. A couple tore ligaments in your ankle from the way your foot twisted between the floor and brake and..." She pointed to the part of Tulip's side that she held. "That pain is from your spleen removal. It was punctured by your rib."
Once the woman stopped talking Tulip exclaimed, "Damn, is that all?"
"Yes." The woman smiled brightly and Tulip was happy that she was her nurse. It was a plus since she had an empty room.
"Which is why you have a little of this." The nurse held up a needle with a small amount of liquid elixir in it. "Volume. Should ease your pain and make breathing better but if you're having trouble just press the button and I'll turn on some oxygen for you."
Tulip nodded as she watched the woman push the medicine into her IV. As the medicine traveled down her vein she lost the ability to fight two battles at once; dealing with the sting of the medicine and the sting of the tears she was holding back so she let the latter go.
The nurse disposed of the needle and then turned back to her, "Darling, why are you crying?"
She soothed Tulip's hand and the nurturing, motherly way she peered at her made her feel safe.
"I'm alone." she croaked out and wiped at her eyes with her IV-free hand.
"Ohh, darling." She glanced over at the couch while still caressing Tulip's hand. "Do you want me to send someone to the cafeteria to get your husband? Tell him you're awake. I should've done that earlier. " She started to move from the bed.
"Husband?" Tulip quietly questioned. She wanted to say more than but pain meds were hitting her system and going straight to her head. Her eyes blinked a couple of times before closing again.
"Get some rest, Darling." The nurse patted her leg lovingly. "He'll be back. I can't get him to leave."
Can't get him to leave. Those five words repeated in Tulip's mind before she drifted back into a deep slumber.
Who do you think Tulip's 'husband' is? And why would someone lie and say they're her husband?
Why do you think 'can't get him to leave' repeated in her mind?
Who do you think is watching Sidney?
Tulip's goto cuss word is 'fuck' but she loves to also switch it from time to time, what's yours?
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