IV | Some Warning

❦

Tammie smiles politely
and hides her hands behind her back,
flashing her uneven teeth.

Do I know you?

I shake my head.
'I don't think we've met before.'

Tammie ignores the nurses
when she approaches me.

The strong odour
of bile and vomit
makes me choke.

I cover my mouth instinctively.

She takes a step back,
a dark emotion flickering

in her hooded grey eyes.

Sorry.

I can't un-smell it
even though she's a distance away.

The odour clings to her

like a cloud.

I shake my head.
'It's not your fault.'

It is.

Tammie tilts her head
again
and buries her hands

in the pockets of her oversized cargo pants.

The faint traces of her smile
remain.

Want to see something cool?

I don't

but I nod
and follow her

pass the named doors,

counting them
in my mind.

Eight.

There's eight of us.

[Read the full story at novelconbini.com!]