Mt Hospital Stay: Monday

‘I’d really love some feedback on both new and old stories. Please leave comments to help guide my future writing. I know some of them are long but I’m really proud of them.’



Stephen lay with his back propped up against the pillows of his hospital bed. Although he was getting better at it, he was still struggling to work his laptop with his good arm in a cast. His whole right hand was suspended in a contraption holding the bones of his hand in place while they healed. It was still a little unsettling to look at the small cables penetrating through his skin on the back of his hand and going all the way though to his palms.

He’d been helping his uncle put in a new garage door when it had fallen and trapped his hand. Luckily it hadn’t cut into him or damaged any veins, but it had broken three of the metacarpals and cause a lot bruising.

Stephen had been here for four days now. Not that he’d slept much on the first night mind you. Other than solitaire, which he was still struggling with, he couldn’t really play games with one hand. Despite having no choice but to try he just couldn’t coordinate his left hand to do what he normally did with his right. Stephen had watched everything new on Netflix that he hadn’t already seen by now and would just have to start watching things from the start again.

He looked out the large window to see the clear blue sky punctuated by an occasional fluffy cloud. Turning back he reminded himself that the other three beds were now empty.

On his first night there had been three of them in there. One old guy who needed an oxygen tank to breath; from the looks of him he’d been a heavy smoker all his life. The other guy had been much closer to Stephen’s own age. Jason was twenty three and had hurt his hand too but he’d simply burned himself repairing a car engine. He’d kept Stephen company for almost the full day before going home just after the evening meal. They had enough in common to keep each other company by talking about gaming, movies, music and a lot of other stuff too.

Stephen kind of felt like he’d rather be alone than have an old guy again. He felt horrible for thinking that but for him it was true. The Doctors and Nurses were great and really paid attention to him, but when there was nobody else in the room he didn’t see as many of them coming and going.

He looked out the window again as he watched a passenger plane high up in the sky as it left a white trail behind it. Stephen then turned his restless head back to see someone coming in to room again. He could tell the difference between someone walking past and someone actually coming in to see him.

Carol walked in with one of the junior nurses. The pair acknowledged him before checking the tidiness other beds. Carol then came over to him while the other nurse left again.

“How are you this morning?” she asked him.

“Good,” Stephen replied. “I’m sleeping a little better,” he then added.

“How’s the hand?” Carol came around to the other side of the bed to check on it.

“I tried going without painkillers to see how it feels,” he began. “Although it still hurts it’s the itching that’s the worst.”

“That’s pretty normal,” she explained as she touched his finger tips one at a time. “How’s the feeling in your hand.”

“Still tingles a little, but the feeling is pretty good.”

“Good.”

“Did you have a good day off?” Stephen then asked.

“It was nice thanks,” she answered. “Not as nice as today,” she then remarked on the weather.

Carol then walked around to the other side of the bed. By Stephen’s guess she was about forty and she was about five foot two with short blond hair. Her blue eyes were seemed to glow with the bright blue sky outside. Although nobody could call her fat she was definitely curvier than most of the nurses. Stephen couldn’t be sure where her biggest measurement was; around her hips or her bust . She then unexpectedly sat down on the visitor’s chair beside him.

“Nina said you were a little distracted yesterday. A little out of sorts. Is everything okay?” she then asked.

“Sure,” he answered.

Carol could tell there was something on his mind. While still sitting down she reached out and pushed out the curtain a little so that it blocked Stephen’s view from the door.

A sympathetic smile then graced her face before she spoke.

“For most eighteen year olds it’s pretty normal for them to… release themselves most days.”

Stephen knew instantly what she meant but stayed silent.

“It’s very normal thing to do,” she reassured him.

He still didn’t say anything.

“I’m an experienced nurse. I’ve heard it all before.”

Carol checked over her shoulder to see if there were any silhouettes at the door.

“How often do you masturbate?” she asked softly but directly.

Stephen swallowed.

“Once a day, twice a day, every couple of days,” she tried to gauge him.

“Once a day,” he then committed himself, “sometimes twice.”

Carol smiled a little.