The Devil's Cure: Sinful Bliss

A Shitty Day

           Sierra parked her car or whatever’s left of it in the upper ground basement parking of the city hospital. 

           She felt sorry for it but she couldn’t do much about it. That asshole took all the chance to cheat, banged on her bumper so many times and even attempted to send her off the road to the riverbanks. Good thing she was fast enough to set the gear up and step on the gas after drifting on a sharp curve. The fucker ended up diving to it himself when he hit the brakes too hard, sending the Mazda to topple and flip then slide down to the waters. 

           “Serves the mother fucker right for hurting you eh, Bee?” She whispered as if the car could understand her. “Don’t worry I’ll bring you to Carlos before I hit the bed. Meanwhile, you just stay put and out of trouble, aye?” She tapped on the stirring wheel before she turned and took the paper bag behind the driver's seat. She made her way out of the car and stretched her arms then massage her shoulders as she walked lazily towards the entrance of the hospital. 

           She checked her phone and suddenly stopped waking while she gawked at it. She temporarily forgot how tired and sleepy she was after seeing fifty-two missed calls  from her boss and a few more messages from her best friend Lailane. 

           She immediately dialed her boss’ number as she walked towards the stairs. Lailane could wait but not her boss. Sierra was pretty sure she’s already breathing fire with how pissed she was with her. She decided not to take the lift because she’ll lose her phone’s signal and she had a feeling she’s already in a lot of s**t to even dream of delaying calling her back.

           s**t! What could the old hag want from me to call me fifty-two times? She hurried her steps up the stairs while listening to the other line ring. She was already on the third floor when her call was accepted. 

           “Hey, Libby! So sorry to call you back so late. I was just getting up,” she lied but released a yawn that she’s been holding to cover her being short of breath. 

            “So you finally decided to return my call! I’ve been trying to reach you since last night! Where have you been whoring around this time, huh?”

            Sierra bit her tongue in an attempt to not lash at her nagging. What does it have anything to do with you? It’s my personal time and personal like for bloody sake! Of course, she didn’t attempt to say that to her instead keep it inside her thoughts.

            “Good morning to you too, boss.” She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help a little bit of sarcasm as she greeted her. 

           “What’s good in the morning, Sierra? You are late for today’s duty!”

           She looked at her phone incredulously. What the f**k is she saying? She breathes in and slowly breathe out before she put the phone on her ears again. 

           “It’s my day off today, boss. I understand if you forgot.” She said between her gritted teeth while trying her best to sound nice. 

           “I know it’s your day off b***h, I’m not that old to forget! That’s why I’ve been calling you to tell you that I planted a schedule for you today because we are short in manpower and we need to hit the stats before the end of this month!”

           “But you know my brother’s at the hospital right now. I need to take care of him. And besides, I’ve already given you my day off last week. I’m only getting one day of rest for a month now. I think I deserve that!” She reasoned out. The only reason why she went to the race last night was that she thought she’d have the whole day to sleep after checking up on her brother.

           “Didn’t you hear what I just said? Should I repeat myself?” She challenged.

           “But...”

           “No buts! Don’t you need the money to pay your brother’s hospital bills? I’ve already computed the needed hours to hit the bonus and that includes today’s schedule. If I were you I’d run to the office now ‘cause if we lose that prize you lose your job too! You understand me?”

            “Give me fifteen.”

            “Five and not another minute more.” Her boss replied before cutting the line. 

            “f**k you!” She shouted back at her phone in frustration. That old maid was a slave driver! If not for the good pay, she would’ve left that BPO company a long time ago. 

            Ugh! She wanted to scream and kick someone but she remembered she’s at the hospital. 

           Calm down Sierra, she bid herself as she inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly. She did this five times before she felt her head throb. She looked up at the stairs and sighed. I’ll just check on that dimwit later, she thought before she ran towards the lift.

            “Wait up!” The lift’s door was almost closed. It’s not full yet but she saw a man in a wheelchair talking to one of the two men standing behind him. She had no time to assess how good looking he’s profile was. “Please, wait!” She won’t make it, no if she could just slip her shoe in between the doors it’ll stay open. 

              She saw the man turn his head towards her but didn’t seem to bother, instead, he looked back to the man he was talking to. 

              What the f**k? Is he deaf? She bolted towards it, irritated. It’s harder for her to run in the baggy clothes she’s wearing, but she won’t just quit. 

             She was so close to the door and instead of her feet she extended her left hand in between the doors. “Yes! I made it in...” before she finished the door suddenly opened. It was too late to stop her momentum. 

             Sierra felt like everything was in slo-mo. She found herself falling, face-first towards the man in the wheelchair who turned to her then. Her eyes widened. There’s no way she could spin around nor stop the fall. Her ocean-green orbs met his icy grey eyes and her head went blank. In a split second, she chose to close her eyes and braced for impact. She was expecting her face to hurt anytime now but it didn’t. Instead, she felt two solid hands hold her tightly around her shoulders. 

          Sierra opened her eyes and regretted it at the same time. She was a few millimeters away from his face and she clearly saw her reflection in his eyes and how his pupils dilated. 

          Budump...

          She could feel his warm breath fanning her face. It smelled of peppermint, fresh and spicy.

          Budump...

          Is that her heart? 

          s**t! s**t! s**t! Too close! Her face was too close to his handsome face! 

           His right brow raised and though his lips remained tightly closed, she could see a flash of amusement in his eyes as he stared back at her face. His warm eyes wandered from her eyes to her nose and to her lips, where he lingered a little longer before he looked back to her eyes. 

           Sierra, still in a daze, felt herself being pushed back lightly. 

           “You should be more careful, Miss.” His baritone voice sounded so sexy in her ears. It made her stomach churn.

           Wait, what? Since when did I found a man’s voice sexy? She shook her head and willed herself out of the trance. She planted her foot on the floor to regain her balance then she stepped back to the now closed door as her hand found and scratched on the back of her head. 

           She bowed a few times while whispering ‘I’m sorry’ to the men inside before she turned her back to them. 

           f**k!  She closed her eyes and bit her lip feeling her face burn. She must be as red as a tomato right now.

           Sierra felt a burning sensation on her back like they were checking her out. For the first time in her twenty-five years of existence, she felt conscious of how she looked. She hurried to the hospital that she didn’t have the time to even change her shirt. 

           She lightly sniffed herself. I must have smelled like a construction worker! So freaking embarrassing! She wished the floor would split in two and swallow her whole. 

           Good thing the ride was short. The moment the door opened, she sprinted out and hurried to where she parked her car. After a few steps though, the hair on her nape rose and she felt the urge to look back. Once again she was met by the lightest pair of gray eyes she had ever seen. Their eyes stayed locked till the door closed. 

            Budump...

            Budump...

            Her hands went up to her chest and she felt how fast her heartbeat was.       

            What was that all about?! Am I crushing on the paralytic? 

           She huffed aloud. Nah, that's impossible. Not that she’s discriminating against him. It’s just that she had met a lot of handsome guys before. Well built, sporty, brainy, dickheads, muscleman. All of them perfectly fit and all of them swooned on her feet but went home broken-hearted. Why would she have a crush on a guy in a wheelchair of all people? 

           Oh, s**t! She suddenly remembered she had to be in the office soon when someone honked on her. The clock is ticking. She doesn’t have the time to waste thinking of him.