You Scared Me!

You Scared Me!
“Can I get a witness?” Sine poked her head out the door of the med room, which sat just outside the nurses' station. Andy, who was walking in the opposite direction down the hall, held up a fist and immaturely said, “Amen!”
Irene rolled her eyes and stood up to assist Sine. She held the door for Irene with a small, timid smile.
“Thank you,” she said as Irene punched her code into the machine and pressed a finger to the scanner. She waited patiently until the drawer opened, then watched her closely as she counted the syringes and pulled out what she needed. When Sine turned around and found Irene leering over her, Sine jumped, clutching her hand to her chest in surprise.
“You scared me!” she said, then laughed shakily. Irene apologized as she moved around her, reaching for an empty syringe, then stopped her before she left the room.
“Aren’t you going to waste that?” Irene asked Sine, gesturing to the vial in her hand. She looked confused for a moment because none of them usually demanded that they waste everything there in the med room.
Normally, Sine would go to the patient’s room, draw out the amount of medication she needed into the syringe, and dispose of the vial in the sharps container. Or at least that was what she thought she would do. A certain amount of trust used to exist among them. That was a thing of the past. At least for Irene.
“Right. Right,” Sine said, hastily recovering.
There was a sink in the corner. Irene watched her draw up the medicine, squirt half down the drain. She glanced at Irene uncertainly, so she assured Sine she was satisfied with a forced smile. She grabbed the empty vial and quickly left the room.
Later in the day, Gavin got the same treatment, although he was not nearly as complacent beneath her scrutiny. He took one look at her suspicious, shrewd eyes and unleashed his inner diva with a vengeance.
Hand on his hip, he wagged his unoccupied finger at her, clucking his head back and forth like a belligerent rooster. “You think I took the drugs? Well, let me tell you, honey, I’ve been a nurse longer than you’ve been alive and I’ve never been so disrespected by one of you little girls before. And I do believe it’s your name the drugs were missing under, hmm?”
Irene suddenly realized why Andy couldn’t stand the guy.
“I never said you took the drugs,” Irene countered with just as much venom, instantly affronted at the accusation. “All I said was that I want to see you waste the stinking medicine.”
Ignoring her, Gavin said, “So what? Couldn’t get your cute little doctor to write you a prescription? Is that it?”
If it were any other man, Irene would punch him in the junk. As it was, Gavin was hardly taller than her, his features feminine. Gavin would probably scream, accuse her of assault, and get her in even more trouble.
“Are you going to waste the medicine or do I need to go get Haley?” Irene demanded irritably.
“Oh, you better believe I’m gonna waste it,” Gavin assured as if he wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise.
Irene rolled her eyes at his absurdity as he flounced over to the counter and began his exaggerated ministrations. After squirting it down the sink, he had the audacity to turn the tap and wash it down with water as if preventing the supposed crackhead from scraping the medication off the side of the moldy drain.
He didn’t say anything as he left the room, but the hostility left behind was stifling. She heard Andy say something derogatory in the hallway, and suddenly he and Gavin were bickering, their muffled voices audible through the thin door.
Irene shook her head and sighed, then picked up the notebook and resumed her work.
.
\[I can’t wait to get home, strip you down, and feel your huge cock inside of me…\]
Brenden’s reply came only a few moments later.
\[I think we need to talk, Andy. -B\]
\[There will be time for that later.\]
Andy’s phone vibrated silently in her hand, Brenden’s name appearing on the screen. Irene quickly slipped into the break room and answered it with a satisfied smirk, deepening her voice and saying, “Yo!” in the best impersonation of Andy she could muster.
“You’re not funny, Irene,” Brenden said immediately.
“Well, I think I’m hilarious,” she argued. “Why? Disappointed it wasn’t Andy?”
“Definitely not disappointed,” he amended. “What are you doing with Andy’s phone?”
“Sending you dirty text messages.”
“I see that,” he said dryly. “It was definitely… surprising.”
She did an internal fist-pump, gloating at her ability to catch him off guard, fully aware that she secretly harbored the mind of a twelve-year-old boy.
“Are you guys slow today?” he asked.
“It hasn’t been too bad. Why?” She immediately wondered if he had time to stop by and became excited at the thought.
“Mason was extubated this morning. He’s awake, if you want to see him.”
“Really?” she asked happily. She had made Brenden give her updates on Mason’s status every day. And while it had been positive, this was the greatest sign of improvement so far. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”
“Good. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Alright.”
“And Irene?”
“I love you.”
Irene smiled. “I love you, too.”
.
Even though Irene knew he was awake, it was still a surprise to find Mason lying calmly back in bed, flipping through channels on the TV while holding a cup of ice chips. The blinds were closed, bathing the room in darkness, but the light from the hall and TV was sufficient, albeit a flickering glow across his relaxed features.