Turning Point

Gabriella de la Cruz walked into the air conditioned room with a clipboard in her small hands; her amber colored eyes skimming the notes as she stopped a few feet away from the patients’ bed.

The hospital’s staff hadn’t wanted to go anywhere near the man lying on the bed in front of her when he first came in. And she was sure that if she hadn’t gotten word of how bad his injuries were, he’d be six feet under.

Although unprofessional, the staff had a reason for avoiding him. They weren’t equipped or trained to deal with his type of injuries, and none of them wanted to risk their lives to try to save his.

“Mr. Mendell,” she said, a frown on her face. “I hear you’re not eating your meals. Are you feeling any different?”

It was an insensitive way to ask, but she didn’t know how else to put it.

“Yes, Gabriella. I do feel different.”

His eyes remained closed as he spoke, but she wasn’t surprised. He rarely opened his eyes anymore, saying the lights were too bright. When the lights were dimmed to accommodate him, he’d been happy, but he also decided to scare any nurse that came near him. He told her it was proof that he was feeling better. She told him it wasn’t acceptable behavior and tuned the lights to their average illuminating power.

Patrick Mendell was one of the strange patients she tended, but his sense of humor was what made him incorrigible. He didn’t care who laughed or didn’t laugh; all that mattered to him was annoying the staff, which unfortunately included her.

“Call me Patrick,” he said, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Gabriella frowned and repeated her question. “Why aren’t you eating your meals, Mr. Mendell?”

“Gabriella, the food here is hardly worthy of being called food. Why must I suffer it for more than what is necessary?”

“My name is Dr. Cruz, Mr. Mendell. Please don’t call me by my first name. It’s not appropriate.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “And I am sorry you do not like the food, Mr. Mendell, but it is all the hospital has to offer.”

“But Gabriella, it doesn’t make sense for me to call you by your professional name.”

His voice was calm and decided, grating on her already stressed nerves.

“You are my patient, Mr. Mendell. That alone means you should call me by my professional name, as you put it.”

Her tone remained firm as she spoke, something the nurse’s couldn’t do now that his conversion was complete. The staff at this hospital continued to amaze her with their inability to remain professional with this patient.

She knew they never expected to handle patients like him since the hospital had a strict policy on who they accepted as patients, but the unexpected had happened, and the hospital was forced to make an exception. The hospital hadn’t transferred him to a different hospital once he was stable because he spoke to one of the owners by phone and threatened to sue them for their lack or professionalism and willingness to do their job. He had enough money to make it a huge scandal; something the hospital hoped he would be generous with once he was released.

“No, Gabriella. That’s not the truth, so don’t try to lie to me, all that will accomplish is your job becoming a lot harder than it should be.”

Pursing her lips, she stared at Patrick while she thought about what he said. It sounded ridiculous, even to her, but she was determined to find out why he thought of it that way. He had opened his honey-colored eyes, but refused to look at her; she took that as a sign that he wasn’t too sure about what he had just claimed. His voice had held anger, whether at her or his situation was something only he knew. Regardless of his reasons, she refused to let him speak to her as if she were an ignorant child.

“You can’t stop eating, Mr. Mendell. After all that has happened and your amazing recovery rate, you can’t let yourself fall into sickness again. Especially now-”

“Why?” he asked, cutting her off. He faced her and the barely contained fury she saw there burned her with both shame and guilt. “Oh, wait. I know why. The doctors want to see the freak-show without any extra complications. How could I possibly refuse them such a pleasure?” Crossing his arms over his chest, he shook his head. “Do you think I’m an idiot, Gabriella? I know the laws – I should be free to go, yet you and this damn hospital refuse to release me. My injuries have healed faster than your staff expected, but that’s normal for me now. I know what I am; what will happen tomorrow night.” He paused, a bitter smile curling his lips. “It’s inevitable for me, but you? You’re just as bad as them; you’re all just using me.”

“I am doing no such thing,” she denied, outraged at what he said.

“No?” he asked, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Then what are you doing?”

Trying to control her rapid heartbeat and anger, she said, “I’m responsible for you for up to ten days. Those are the laws, Mr. Mendell. The laws you’re thinking of no longer apply to you.” She paused, trying to rephrase the way she spoke. It wasn’t fair to him for her to take out her anger on him by being insensitive because he was lashing out. “I am to keep you here for ten days, six of which have already passed. I realize that your injuries have healed, but I can’t let you leave yet.”

“Then you better find somewhere to keep me locked in, because tomorrow night, I won’t give a damn if you or anyone else gets hurt.”

Gabriella stared into his honey-colored eyes and tried swallowing the lump of fear his words caused. She was determined to see this through, and was aware that he knew it. The longer she stared into his eyes, though, the more she could see the anger and self-loathing he felt.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Mendell. We have a room for you.” She saw the subtle nod he gave and tried to reassure him. “Even better is that you won’t be chained.”

The look in his eyes told her exactly what he was thinking; she was an idiot.