You Stole The Pills?

You Stole The Pills?
When she flipped it over, she glanced at the screen. In the dim glow, the message caught her eye.
\[Hello? Are you there? If they don’t suspect you, then why would you say anything? Don’t be stupid.\]
Irene read it once, twice, and her pulse rate automatically quickened as her thoughts raced into overdrive. Did this have anything to do with the drugs? Did Sine take them? Or maybe she was being paranoid and jumping to conclusions. It wouldn’t be the first time.
She stared at the phone in her hand, then looked at the break room door. Then the phone again.
‘Fuck it.’
Her resolve crumbled.
She clicked on the message, opening up the entire conversation. The screen glowed invitingly bright, the words appearing in an instant at the touch of her finger. She read them backwards, starting with the most recent texts, working her way up.
The texts answered all her questions, laying Talia’s earlier claims to rest. Texts that made her heart thunder against her chest with such force that she was sure half the hospital could hear.
The break room door flew open suddenly, and she was so startled that she dropped the phone. It fell to the tile, protected by its case, and landed face-up for both her and the intruder to see.
Sine froze with her hand on the doorknob, her wide eyes glued to her fallen phone. She didn’t seem to breathe, but then neither did Irene.
She took a wary step back as she lunged and snatched her phone off the floor. She looked at the screen as if seeking confirmation in what Irene saw, and then raised fearful eyes to meet hers.
“You read my text messages?” she accused.
“You stole the pills?” Irene countered.
Andy sauntered into the room, lazily chewing on the cookie. He eyed them both with raised eyebrows. Sine’s chest turned rest, then her neck, and finally her face, all the while she struggled for words.
She finally responded by bursting into tears. Andy looked from her to Sine, the cookie hanging halfway to her lips, his eyes widened in alarm.
“What did you do to her?” Andy asked, his voice uneasy. He looked befuddled at the sight of the sobbing, hysterical woman.
Sine began wiping at her eyes, trying to speak, but the words weren’t discernible. She turned to Andy and said, “I think we are going to need a minute.”
Andy didn’t need further invitation to flee the room.
Sine shook her head and tried to follow him, saying. “I can’t—”
Irene moved and stood steadfastly in her way, blocking her exit. Even though Sine was taller than her by a few inches, she was skinny. Irene was almost positive she could handle the other into staying if she wanted to.
“We need to talk first, Sine,” she said firmly. “You took the drugs? You?” When she didn’t respond, Irene threw her hands up and exclaimed. “At least tell me why!”
“I had to, okay? You wouldn’t understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t understand. Steal them under your own name next time,” she said rudely. Irene saw the hurt in her eyes, but right then, she didn’t care. She was furious at what Sine had done to her. At nearly costing her the job, her career, and possibly her relationship with Brenden.
Because what respectable doctor would want a relationship with a nurse who lost her license for narcotic theft? That was a fear she didn’t want to confront, a fear she subconsciously locked away, choosing to face it only if the time came.
It was possible nothing would have come of this situation… that the whole situation would have blown over, and been forgotten in time. But the chance, however small, that it wouldn’t blow over was what worried her.
Sine tried to leave again but Irene once again blocked her way. “I hope you’re planning on calling Haley when you walk out of here.”
Sine scowled. “It’s not like you got into trouble!” Even through tears, it was clear that anger was replacing her initial hysteria.
“I can’t say the same will happen for you.”
Sine looked at her, her wet face composed, her eyes cold. It suddenly occurred to Irene that she might try to deny it. Would she fail the drug test? Was she high right then?
The phone was still in her hand, and she gauged how hard it would be to wrest it from Sine, to hold it ransom until she confessed everything. Or to turn it over as hard evidence. It was stupid of Irene to allow her to have it back to begin with, but she was so shocked, she wasn’t thinking clearly.
“I thought I was always nice to you,” Irene said, hoping to get through to her with a healthy dose of guilt. “I stood up for you on my second day here.”
“And that worked out well for you, didn’t it?” she said with a snotty snort, probably thinking about how Brenden and she were together. She slept with the enemy, so to speak.
Sine quickly wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sadly added, “But you were nice to me. I’m sorry, I didn’t single you out or anything.”
Perhaps that should have been comforting, but Irene realized it didn’t matter. In the end, Sine didn’t mean anything to her. But what she almost cost her did.
Still weighing her options, Irene held out her hand and said, “Can I have your phone?”
Her eyes widened, her grip on her phone tightening. “What? No.”
“Just until you call Haley.”
“I can call Haley without giving you my phone.”
“I don’t trust you,” Irene said blankly.
“Sorry, but no.”
“Fine. I’ll call her now. And you can tell her everything.” Irene pulled out her own cell phone from her pocket and looked up the number. Sine stood stoically, unmoving, and when Haley’s line rang, she put the call on speakerphone.
“Hello,” Haley answered, her easy voice filling the break room. It sounded windy on her end, like she was driving, which must be the case because she got off an hour ago.
“Hey Haley, it’s Irene. Sine is here and she has something to tell you.”
Irene thrust the phone at Sine, urging her to confess. She took the phone with shaky hands, her eyes welling with tears again, but Irene’s adrenaline was coursing too hard to permit any sympathy.

With a trembling voice and a few leaked tears, Sine confessed everything.