Charlotte returned to her room that morning, and pondered what had occurred during the night. The sense of dismay and confusion mounted in her throat; the column of tension from her stomach to her mouth undulated inside her. She could do nothing but sit upright in bed reviewing the past evening’s events over and over again in her head. When her roommate tapped on Charlotte’s door to ask the girl to breakfast, Charlotte pretended to be asleep. She feared someone would guess her state of mind, and pry. Charlotte needed to understand, she needed to explain matters to herself before explaining to others. The bruise vaguely in the form of teeth marks on the inside of her thigh was the only concrete evidence that anything even happened; the drugs had clouded Charlotte’s memory.
An hour later the roommate returned, and knocked.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, fine,” Charlotte lied.
“When did you come home?”
Charlotte did not answer right away. She did not want her tone of voice to betray her.
“This morning.”
The roommate left. Charlotte remained paralyzed under the bright floral bedspread. The only sound was the slight grinding of Charlotte’s teeth.
“I have something that will make your leg feel better.” N said.
“I don’t like taking pain medication, I’m very sensitive to certain kinds.”
“Really, it’s fine. I’m a nurse.”
“Well….” Charlotte held out her hand, and N dropped three different pills onto the center of her palm.
“Are you sure this is alright?”
“Trust me!” N handed Charlotte water out of an old glass jar. “Your leg will feel much better in no time.”
Although the bruise on Charlotte’s leg soon faded, she never stopped replaying that night over and over in her head.
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Author: Liv
