Page 113 of Temptation
“Here,” she said as she removed the curtain, revealing a single made bed. “Sit down, honey.”
My knees buckled as I let go of her, but I held on to the bed, and as I scooped myself up, I could see her rummaging through the drawers stationed next to the bed.
“Do you have any allergies?” she asked with her back turned to me.
“No,” I mumbled. “Well, only penicillin.”
“That’s okay. We won’t be giving you anything that has penicillin in it.”
She pulled out the needle and the syringe from the first drawer, and then closed it with her hip. A small bottle with clear liquid was next, pulled from the second drawer.
“This is just a little something to calm you down.” She lifted the small bottle and inserted the needle inside, pulling out the liquid into the syringe. I gulped. “I’m going to give you Diazepam, okay?”
I nodded, still staring at the needle.
“Are you afraid of needles?”
I shook my head. “N-No.”
She rolled my sleeve up and started searching for a vein. “We need to get you cleaned up as well,” she murmured while tapping against my skin. “You came with another friend, right?”
I nodded.
“You’re looking awfully pale, sweetheart. Maybe you should eat something as well. The dosage I’m giving you isn’t strong, but it will definitely knock you out for a bit.”
“Kane, my friend.” I cleared my throat. “He already went to get us some coffees and something to eat.”
“Coffee might not be the best idea,” she mumbled. “You seem pretty shaken.” Her icy fingers against my skin were the worst torture and the best remedy. I was burning from the inside out, the uncertainty of the situation killing me slowly.
She pressed the tip of the needle to my skin and looked at me. “Take a deep breath… I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
“Skylar.” I gulped. “My name is Skylar.”
“Well, Skylar.” She smiled. “Take a deep breath.”
And I did. My lungs expanded as I let the air flow through my mouth, into my body, and just as I did, she pressed the needle further, injecting me. She pressed at the syringe, pushing the clear liquid into my bloodstream.
The area where the needle pierced through my skin burned for a second, but as soon as it came, the feeling dissipated, leaving me lightheaded, both from the exhaustion and the mere thought that soon I wouldn’t have to feel like this.
“There we go.” She removed the needle and pressed a small cotton ball against the place where she inserted it earlier. “Hold this here for just a couple of minutes and relax. I’ll be back once I find your friend.”
My eyes fluttered as she stood up, barely nodding before she left me there and pulled the curtains closed.
I looked toward the drawers from where she took the needle, at the bottle that still stood on the top, with the lid open. My fingers pressed against the cotton ball on my arm, and I willed myself to relax.
If this didn’t work, maybe I could ask her to give me more.
I never took Diazepam, but if it worked, then… I had no idea what then. Lauren was always the one with drugs. Lauren and Judah. With everything that’d been going on in the last couple of days, I even forgot about them, about my sweet little oblivion that always helped me forget at least for a second. Maybe it would be a better option than trying to walk around, pretending that everything was okay.
Minutes trickled, and as I looked up, I could see the round, white clock, ticking seconds, then minutes, until my eyes started closing of their own volition. My fingers slowly let go of the cotton pad, until it fell to the floor, but I didn’t have it in me to pick it up.
I couldn’t move a muscle right now.
I wished I could feel like this all the time, with my muscles relaxed and without the constant hammering of my heart. A fuzziness took over my brain, enveloping me into a lull of sleep. Before I could comprehend what was happening, my entire body went lax, relaxing against the pillow on the bed.
I didn’t have to think, I didn’t have to feel, I just had to let go.
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