Chapter 2 #2
Jaxon’s laughter echoed in the hospital room. Geri’s voice was faint but she could clearly hear herself yelling at him that she was hurt. His smile took too long to fall before the video ended.
“That bastard. I can’t believe he posted that,” Geri said. But she could. He wouldn’t care that a prank-gone-wrong made him out to be the villain. Actually, he would because it’d be more likely to go viral.
“It’s down from his socials but you can’t erase something from the internet,” Molly said. “When it’s out there, it’s out there forever.”
“As long as he isn’t getting clicks and likes.” Heaven forbid he get enough views to actually hit the threshold to make money. She rubbed the spot between her brows, head aching.
“Okay, no more screens,” Molly said, taking her phone away. “And no work.”
“I don’t really have a choice about that.” Geri predicted crippling medical debt in her near future and not enough sick days. “I have rent and no sugar mama.”
Molly frowned. She worked for a community legal clinic, which was invaluable work and helped so many people, none of which her salary reflected.
Anh made the big bucks working a corporate job for a cosmetic company.
Geri didn’t really know what she did but it had a title and the company sent her off to various locations to improve performance. A corporate Sith, Molly once explained.
“Take the week off, please,” she said. “I called your office and talked to Dolores. Is that your boss? They know you’re in the hospital. They can’t fire you.”
“They cannot pay me. I don’t have sick days.” Until this point, her boss had been understanding about doctor appointments and the days she called out due to a migraine. Dolores wouldn’t fire her but she sure as hell wouldn’t pay if she didn’t have the time in the bank.
“Anh and I will help cover your rent.”
“That’s too much. I can’t accept.” It was a very generous offer but Geri already felt like the loser younger sister.
Failed marriage. Soulless job. Bad choice of boyfriend.
Hemophiliac. Her parents never made her feel like a burden or too fragile to have an ordinary childhood, but the worry had always been there.
She’d prefer to avoid adding money to her feelings of inadequacy.
“Just help me file for temporary medical leave.”
“Already done. Your office emailed me the paperwork.”
“Do you know how insufferable it is that acts of service are your love language? How am I ever going to pay you back?” She meant it as a joke, but the tone came out too serious.
“You don’t.” Molly reached over to awkwardly hug Geri. “Accept my love.”
“Your love is weird and pulling on my IV.”
“Accept it,” she said, not relenting.
“Fine. Fine,” Geri said with a laugh, pushing her sister away. “If I need money help, I’ll ask. I can’t work until they let me out of here.”
“And you’ll follow the doctor’s orders and take off the amount of time they recommend.”
Geri made a sour face. She could miss a few days of work, possibly even a week. If the doctor prescribed two weeks of rest, she’d definitely need Molly and Anh to loan her money for the rent.
Not that Molly would begrudge her the loan or expect it to be paid back, but it was embarrassing.
Since the divorce, she managed to stay on top of the bills but struggled to build any savings.
Moving out, putting down a deposit on an apartment, buying all the bits and pieces to furnish said apartment so she didn’t live like a college student with one towel, one bowl, one pan and one spoon was expensive.
She was grown. She had a job with a 401k and decent insurance. In theory she shouldn’t be struggling, but the cost of rebuilding her life plus her medical care meant she’d always be behind. The last little indulgence she bought herself was a fancy latte.
“Don’t make that face,” Molly said. “You’ll be stiff and sore. You’ll need time to recover.”
“I’ll listen to the doctors,” she said, deliberately avoiding a timeframe. If the doctor said no work for two weeks, fine. She’d be broke. If they said she could go back when the headache stopped, even better.
“No screens until then.”
Geri agreed.
“And you’ll stay at our house.”
That was easier to agree to. She didn’t want to be alone while her brain was still seeing things that weren’t there, at least for a few days. “Sure, but only because you have the fancy bathtub with the jets.”
* * *
Geri woke abruptly. Hospitals were too loud, too busy even in the middle of the night, for her to sleep properly. Finally, exhaustion claimed her in victory and dragged her under. It was a strange, fitful sleep, of half-dreams and wandering thoughts.
She was not alone in the room.
A dark figure in a hooded cloak stood at the foot of the bed. Skeletal hands peeked out from the sleeves. Shadow obscured the face.
The figure should have been terrifying. It was a classic grim reaper, right out of the pages of a storybook, but Geri sensed peace. No malice. Only the serenity of surrendering to the inevitable. Death was part of the cycle of life. The sun rose, and it must set. A harbinger of death was a friend.
This was weird. Geri had her brief emo phase as a tween but she had never been into the dark stuff. This friend of death stuff was not her. Not her at all.
“You owe me a debt, Geraldine Melnyk,” the figure said.
Geri tried to reply but she couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even move.
This had to be a nightmare, only it felt too real.
“We are bound. Your life belongs to me until your debt is repaid.”