CHAPTER FOUR
( THE BILL )
QUINN FUMBLES WITH the copper set of keys as she tries to get into her loft. She can hear the excited whines of Rudolph from the other side of the door. As she opens the door she's bombarded with the force of the golden retriever jumping up on her to say hello. It had been a whole twelve hours since the last time he's seen her. Even though his fur is getting stuck on to her black pants she doesn't seem to mind. Petting Rudolph was almost damn near therapeutic to her. It was enough to relieve the stress of her work day.
Edith was on a warpath today, making most of them feel incompetent with their jobs - including herself. She made the mistake of accidentally grabbing the wrong basket with someone so she had to actually have a conversation with the person to trade back and Edith thought they were conversing freely. She spewed off about how lazy, and shotty her work was with the tech that's been brought in to her to fix, she can't do anything right. She knew better than to take whatever she was saying to heart but she couldn't help if the words seared into the back of her head, branding her as useless.
As she recalled the outburst and humiliation she starts to tear up, the hot, tingly sensation of water welling up in her eyes made her chest feel uncomfortable. She tries telling herself that she's okay, and reminds her to never take her words in to account but at the same time she keeps asking herself the same question.
What if she's right?
The hum of the hair dryer comes to an abrupt stop from the bathroom. "Quinn?" Jo's voice calls out for her. She freezes, trying to calm herself down before answering. "Yeah?" she responds, her voice a tad bit shaky but not enough to warrant worry from her friend. The wooden floor creaks from the hallway, Quinn quickly wipes her face from the tears as she hangs on to Rudolph.
She looks at the exit way of the hallway waiting for Jo's familiar short stature to appear. She rests her head on top of Rudolph's as she waits. Jo appears, half of her beige-colored hair twisted up in a ponytail, the other half dry, and flat against her head. She's wearing an old grey t-shirt with black shorts. "I just wanted to see if you were here," she excuses herself. "I heard Rudolph whining and the door open."
"Did you think I was a murderer?"
"Hell, Quinn, who knows? All I know is that I'm home alone and I'm no taller than a fourth grader. How am I going to defend myself when my police academy roommate is at work?" Jo says defensively. "Okay, well, I'm home," Quinn exasperates, patting Rudolph's belly. She glances at Jo's attire and narrows her eyes. "Are you going out?" Jo's lips turn upwards into a small smile as she nods her head. If only she could go on dates like she did, to never give up on trying to find love.
Not that she hadn't given up yet; she is just taking a very long break from it. No matter the person. She's also not actively searching for it. She worries for Jo. She's seen her heart broken time and time again, she doesn't know how much stress she can take until she breaks down and gives up. Jo giving up on love wouldn't be the Jo she knows. "Will you wear the nail polish I got you?" Quinn wonders, mimicking the motion of brushing polish onto her nails. Jo rolls her eyes. "I mean it won't go with what I'm going to wear-"
"Please, " Quinn pleads, earning a tight-lipped frown from her friend.
"Fine, " she gives in, walking back towards the bathroom to finish primping herself.
For Christmas Quinn had bought her nail polish that changes color if she dipped her finger in her drink if it was drugged. She wasn't going to go out every time and babysit Jo in the distance on her dates, she was an adult, she can handle herself. That doesn't mean she doesn't worry. The least Jo could do was protect herself instead of throwing caution to the wind. This was the only way that was reasonable that Quinn could make sure she's okay.
They also have a certain code they're supposed to use if they ever felt uncomfortable with a date, or if Jo actually did find out her drink was drugged. Once Quinn would catch the drift of the code word she'd drop what she was doing immediately and help her. Vice versa.
Quinn places herself on the cream colored couch, Rudolph follows suit. She groans. All she wants to do is relax and instead has to deal with the enormous golden retriever who's missed her all day long. "You are so neglected, " she coos at the dog, ruffling the golden fur around his neck as he stretches into her lap. Now she was stuck for good, at least for a while.
To her right, she can see the slender, black remote sitting on the arm of the couch. She stretches her torso as long as she can and reaches her arm out, careful not to disturb Rudolph who lay looking at her quizzically in her lap. Her middle finger barely brushes against the bottom of the remote, she sucks in a deep breath and smacks her hand down on the bottom of the teetering remote, sending it flying in her direction. She catches it with her left hand. She silently lets out a chuckle of accomplishment at what she just did.
"I have the force, " she whispers out, as she presses the large green button at the top to turn on the television.
It dimly hums to life as the screen lights up displaying channels she can choose from. Her immediate choice is Netflix. Just as she's turning on a new documentary Jo makes her presence known by clicking her heels on the ground on the wooden floor. Quinn looks up to see her roommate in a navy blue dress, with black pumps, her hair is in a side braid. "Any plans for the night?" she questions Quinn as she places her essentials from her purse into a small clutch. Quinn shakes her head. "You're looking at it, " she says as she presses play on the documentary.
"Well, we got the cable bill and you received a letter from the hospital, if you wanted to take a look at those," Jo informs her. Quinn looks over at her quizzically, as she picks up the ivory envelope that has "Dr. Meredith Woodruff D.O. - New York City Hospital" in crimson letters in the top left-hand corner. Quinn almost chokes on her own saliva as she stares at the envelope.
She pushes Rudolph off her lap with a strength she didn't know she had in her. She quietly apologized to the dogs she shuffled her way over to the kitchen island where Jo was holding the letter. She carefully plucked it from her hands, Jo's eyes are carefully trained on her watching for signs of distress. She delicately slides her index finger under the lip of the envelope, ripping it open. She skims over the letter at first, looking for keywords that could possibly mean there's a dire situation happening but she doesn't pick up on any.
She flips over to the second page, a bill. Her eyes immediately widen as she looks at the amount she owes them. "Holy mother, " she gasps, staggering backward a bit in disbelief. Jo looks over the bill and she lets out a gasp of shock as she looks at the amount. "Three thousand three hundred and fifty-five dollars?" she breathes out, scanning Quinn's features which have become pale. She would be pale too if she got hit with that lump sum. Quinn can't even find the right words to express how unbelievably taken back she is to the amount. The amount has gone up at least a thousand dollars from last month.
"Why?" is the only word she can muster as she flips back to the first page to reread what Dr. Woodruff had stated.
"She's been having more episodes lately, causing her to be sedated more often. Her condition seems to be stable for the time being but Dr. Woodruff fears that it could start to deteriorate rather quickly without proper treatment. She's suggesting she be transferred to her own facility in New York, where she can be constantly supervised. However, the sum would go up significantly. She's tried her best to let her be in the hospital but she sees no other options." Quinn lists off what the letter reads. "Her sincerest apologies, Dr. Meredith Woodruff." Her tone becomes mocking as she says her name.
She clutches on to the bill in her hand so tight, Jo fears she may rip it. Jo places a supportive hand on her back to assure she's okay, as Quinn sighs heavily into the shoulder, her face feels significantly hotter than before. She feels as if she could explode. "I'll take care of the cable bill this month, " Jo offers, earning a humorless chuckle from Quinn.
Her brows furrow as she looks at the letter within her friend's hands once again. She wished she could help, but she too was struggling as well. She started taking up some of the bills Quinn couldn't afford with her mother's hospital bills. "What are you going to do?" she hesitantly asks, biting her bottom lip in anticipation. Her friend shakes her head from side to side with frustration. "I don't know, " she states in irritation, shaking the letter before tossing it on the island once again.
She wanders off in a huff stating that she can't believe this, plopping herself on the couch. She feels Jo's presence lingering over her from behind the couch. "Everything wrong is just happening today, " Quinn states, her head resting in her hands. Jo can feel her wallowing in self-pity already, usually, she'd have no patience for it but, she's making an exception for now. "Do you want me to cancel? I could stay with you. We could eat our problems away and figure out what to do." she suggests, gnawing at her bottom lip in anticipation. She wanted to go out on her date tonight but, she couldn't just leave Quinn with this bombshell of news.
Quinn is silent for a moment taking in the news of what the letter encompassed, also taking in the that her mother's condition is worsening. She rubs her eyes before shaking her head. "That would be the responsible thing to do. You need to go out and enjoy your life, I need to take this time alone to figure out what's going on in mine." Her voice isn't as convincing as she'd hope to have sounded but she gets the point across.
Jo presses her lips into a firm line before she reaches across the way to give Quinn a lopsided hug. "I'll text you where I'm at when I get there," she exclaims.
"You don't even know where you're going?"
"I'm wearing the nail polish so you don't get to judge further." she defends herself as she grabs the keys to her car and her clutch. She reaches across the couch once more to give her another hug. "Try not to worry yourself too much, get some sleep before work, " Jo instructs her to which she grunts in response. Jo pets Rudolph's back one last time, catching his attention. "Keep an eye on her, " she commands the golden retriever as she heads out the door.
Quinn silently paces towards the door and presses her ear up against the cool of it, listening to the sounds of the hallway. As soon as she hears the elevator ring and the doors shut from the hallway, she slides her back down the length of the door. She feels like a failure - unable to pay for herself and to pay for her mother. She doesn't remember crying until Rudolph comes over to her and starts licking the tears off her face. Her lip begins to tremble, her chest begins to go feel as if it's caving in on itself. She lets out a wail of defeat as she thinks of her mother.