The Ruin by Samantha Moran

Author:Samantha Moran [Moran, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Obsidian Inkwell Publishing, LLC
Published: 2023-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

St. John’s cafeteria is crowded at 11:30 in the morning. Ambulatory patients and their loved ones sit around tables or pass through the serving area. Many of the hospital staff mill about with stained and disheveled clothes that match the varying shades of exhaustion visible under their eyes. A low rumble in my stomach reminds me I’m hungry as I pass by. I haven’t eaten since early this morning.

It takes me a moment to find a table away from the vast majority of the patrons. For my purposes, I need something quiet with a semblance of privacy. I hadn’t counted on the lunch rush when I asked Doctor Mitchell to meet me here. Luckily, there’s an empty space, perfect for two people, tucked away in the back near one of the garbage cans. I swipe a few crumbs off of the navy chair before taking a seat and removing my purse and jacket.

I glance around the room, looking for Doctor Mitchell among the crowd. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t arrived yet. Something must have held him up. I try not to worry too much about what it might be. If it had anything to do with Mom, he would have called or texted, and it’s unlikely he would decide to ghost me and back out of our arrangement now.

When my eyes pass over the hot food line, they land on Trinity, who notices my attention and offers me a pleasant smile and a wave. I smile back before she turns to speak to the server who’s busy ladling out some sort of creamy pasta.

An affectionate warmth settles into my chest at the sight of her. Trinity’s honestly my favorite person in this building. Without her, I wouldn’t have known about Plasmedics. Through all of this, she’s been my guide.

Connor, Ally, and I have made several visits to Plasmedics this week. Between our donation payments and the advance on my check, I’ve scraped together enough money for the upcoming treatment and stowed away what’s left for the ones to follow. I have three more appointments this week, and as long as Plasmedics keeps paying me like this, I’ll keep going back. Things are finally heading in the right direction.

A chorus of laughs from a few tables away snags my attention. Fingers drumming impatiently on the table, I turn to look for the source. My hands freeze when my gaze lands on Matthew Collins. The blood drains from my face. Instinct urges me to slip lower in my chair and hide myself behind the potted plant on the stand next to me. There’s something unsettling about him beyond his connection to Novemion.

What’s he doing here? How had I not seen him when I sat down? Maybe meeting Doctor Mitchell in a public place wasn’t such a great idea after all.

Though I’ve spotted him, he doesn’t seem to have noticed me. From this far away, I can’t hear a word he’s saying, but Matthew’s obviously engrossed in a conversation with three older men.

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