We Met in the Emergency Room

~Gerard’s POV~
“Hey Mikey,” I said cheerfully leaning back against my stiff pillow.

“I’m good. Yea, they just found a donor. No I don’t know who it is,” rolling my eyes I ran my hand through my hair, feeling just how greasy it was.

“Because I don’t think that they can tell me that. Yeah. No, they’re treating me well. Yes I’m eating.”

Mikey continued rambling in my ear, and I just let him go, while counting the grey ceiling panels.

“Anyhow Mikey,” I finally interrupted, “surgery should be within the next week, give or take. No, I don’t know why they can’t make it sooner. Well there are other people here.”

“Sorry Mikes, but I really have to go. Yeah, I’m not really supposed to be talking on my cell in here. Yea, I promise to call again soon. Love you too. Take care.” Closing my cheap black phone, I placed it on the wooden side table beside my bed.

Being stuck in such a tiny room was starting to get to me. Everything was fake. The food, the furniture, the smiles, it was all so phony.

Sitting up, I watched the bubbles rise to the surface of my IV drip. Each time a bubbled popped at the top, a drop of the clear liquid fell into the small glass tube tied right below it. At this pint, I wasn’t sure if the drip was just water or if it was morphine. All of my days were running together in this tiny cage.

As I stared blankly ahead through my open door to the hallway, people hurried to and fro. They always did this; they always had somewhere to go. To something caught my eye.

Being pushed in small, silver; wheel chair was a small boy. He was small and pale with brown hair that hung in lose curls behind his ears. His eyes were hallow and sunken into his skull. But there was something so appealing about him. He held some sort of charm.

Even though he held his head low, as if in shame, I could see that he was a spark. Next to him, he pulled ivy. It screeched against the cold tile with such a terrible pitch that I cringed.

I could faintly hear his nurse talking to him.

“So how was therapy today Frankie? Did you have any interesting break through?” She seemed nice, and like she generally cared about the boy’s well being, but he didn’t care. He didn’t even lift his head in response. HE just gripped tighter to the pole in his hand.

The nurse let out a tired saw, and blew a strand of her curly red hair from her eyes.

For a split second, the boy looked over at me, his dull eyes meeting mine for a split second, and I swear if looks could kill, well then I was in the right place.

But I knew that I had to ask about him later, I had to meet him.

~Next Door~
Amy pushed me into my room and let me lay down in bed before restraining me.
Yea, the motherfuckers still tied me down, even after two years.

I glared over at Amy as she walked to the small sink in my room to wash her hands.

“Sorry Frank, but we don’t know how you would react if you were left unrestrained.” I just narrowed my eyes at her.

“If you would say something, we might be able to make some sort of progress, maybe let you out with some of the other patients.” Her voice was calm and smooth like always.
Like I really want to be around the other patients, the other sick people.

I wasn’t sick; I just didn’t want to talk to the Barbie dolls that walked into my room day in and day out. They never brought anything up worth talking about. They just crammed questions down my throat about what happened, as if I really wanted to talk about it. They always smiled at me as if they really cared; they always said that they were there for me if I needed them. Bullshit.
“Alright then Frank, well I’m going to give you some dinner, and I’ll come back in about an hour to pick it up alright?” she asked, bringing me a small, aluminum covered plastic plate.

“Please eat something today honey,” she said softly.
Yea right.
She un-cuffed me, and gave me longer restraints, so I could reach my food.

She smiled sweetly at me, her eyes tired and defeated, before turning to leave the room.
Tearing away the foil, I poked at the food with my plastic spoon. Yea, they stopped giving me forks.

There was a rubbery meat, mushy peas, and a pile of gritty mashed potatoes. It was completely disgusting.

So I did what any normal person would do. I took a spoonful of potatoes and flung it onto the floor. If they were going to lock me up in this bed like a four year old on time out then I was going to start acting like one.

So that’s what I did for the next hour before Amy came back. I made the biggest mess that I could with the small amount of food I was given.

Being stuck in here, you have to find ways to amuse yourself, or you’ll go crazy.