Stella sat in the dark parking lot for thirty minutes before she was able to force herself to walk into the hospital. She spent the previous night pondering the conversation she had with Vincent, and how much it seemed to reawaken the hellish spirit inside of her that she had so long suppressed.
Thoughts of revenge filled her mind before, but they had become more vivid. She imagined herself going straight into Elliot Greer's office with a scalpel in her hand, using it to slice his throat wide open, smiling as his blood poured all over his desk, all while he stared into her eyes with horror.
The thoughts frightened her. She didn't know how to cope with them in a healthy manner, especially since they brought her a strange sense of comfort.
The front doors slid open, sending a cold wave of air blowing past her like an apparition. The young girl behind the desk glanced up, then looked away when she saw who walked inside. Most of the female staff were still under the impression that Stella was trying to seduce the doctor to further her position in the hospital. They hated her.
She ignored the accusing stares from the rest of the staff as she walked down the hall. 'I just have to get through this until I save enough money to get the hell out of here.' She told herself.
"You're two minutes late, Nurse Bennett."
His voice caused her to stop in her tracks.
"I'm sorry," She said, refusing to turn around.
"Look at me when I speak to you."
Stella walked away from him, not caring about the potential consequences. She had gone from being fearful of what he would do to her to becoming numb to it. She expected him to hurt her.
After chugging a cup of nasty coffee from the lounge, she picked up her supplies and went to see her first patient of the night. Earl was already standing in front of his door, giving her a nod.
She could see the pity in his dark eyes.
Earl was no fool. He knew what the doctor and his sister were capable of, but he wouldn't dare turn him in. He hoped one of the victims would do it.
"Good evening, Nurse Bennett," He said, pushing the door open before she responded. He followed her into the room and stood with his arms crossed.
Stella kept her eyes fixed on the floor when she stepped into the room. She could feel Vincent's gaze upon her until she was forced to look up at him to give him his medication. His face hardened as she placed the pills in his hand, which sent a shiver up her spine. He had never looked at her like that before. Something was wrong.
"Do you need anything else?" Stella asked, lacing her hands in front of her stomach.
Before he could answer, Doctor Greer opened the door so swiftly that he nearly knocked Earl to the floor. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and his chest moved up and down rapidly. "Thank God I found you, Earl," He said, "Patient 409 is having a meltdown in the rec room. They need help."
Earl grunted and rushed out of the room.
Elliot smiled as soon as he left. "I should have known that I would find you here, Stella. You can't stay away from Graves, can you?"
Vincent rolled his eyes. "Leave her alone."
"Why? Does it strike a nerve when I hassle the girl who's become infatuated with you?"
"What are you talking about?"
Elliot snaked his arm around Stella's shoulders, causing her to lower her head. "Haven't you ever seen the way she looks at you, Graves? The way her eyes light up when she comes to your room."
Vincent stood from his bed. "Take your disgusting hands off of her." He demanded.
"Oh, does this bother you?" The doctor chuckled and placed his other hand between her thighs, squeezing her private area so hard that she let out a pained gasp. When she tried to pull away, his grip around shoulders tightened. "Don't even move."
Stella wanted to speak up. She wanted to tell him that she would turn him in to the authorities if he didn't release her, but her voice was gone.
"What's wrong with you!?" Vincent stepped closer to them, "You can't treat people this way!"
"Why not? You did the same to thing to Emily Hayden, and I'll bet you enjoyed every minute of making her feel like a whore, didn't you?"
"Don't use my past as an excuse!" He wanted to step closer, to stop the doctor, but he knew that if he even tried, the consequences would be dire. "You're supposed to help people like me, not make my life a living hell. You should be ashamed."
"There is no helping you. You are who you are, and no one has the ability to change that."
Vincent's eyes lowered to the floor.
"See? You know it, don't you?"
"Maybe," His eyes shifted back up, "But why do you have to torment Stella? She's done nothing to you."
The doctor released her, then gave her a hard smack on the bottom. "I take care of my nurses. When I see that they're sexually frustrated, I help them."
That comment was all it took to change the course of all three of their lives. The primal instinct to protect herself went berserk in Stella, and in one swift motion, she grabbed the blue pen that was in the doctor's coat pocket and jammed it in his neck.
The doctor fell to his knees and tried to scream in pain, but nothing came out. He pulled helplessly at the pen lodged in his neck. The pain was so intense that tears began to stream down his face.
Vincent watched it happen, his mouth agape.
Stella's body trembled in anger, until she came to her senses and realized what she had done.
"Oh, my God!" She cried, clasping the sides of her face. "What have I done?"
Vincent stepped around the doctor and took hold of her shoulders. "Calm down," He said, though his voice was as shaky as hers. "We can fix this."
"No, we can't! He's going to die!!"
"No, he won't. You didn't hit his jugular."
"But he'll tell the police! I'll go to prison!"
Vincent held his hand in front of her face. "Stella, you have to lower your voice. I can take care of this, but not if your screams bring Earl running in here. Be quiet and let me think for a minute."
"There's nothing we can do," She whispered, "I know his schedule like the back of my hand. He's due to visit another patient in a minute. If he doesn't show up, someone will look for him."
"How long do we have?"
"What does it matter? I'm screwed no matter-"
"God damn it, Stella! Will you please stop with the negativity for two second and answer me!"
Stella froze like a stunned deer caught in a pair of headlights. He had never spoken to her that way before. The desperation in his eyes scared her.
"I'm not trying to be negative," She said, "I'm just trying to face the facts. I'm fucked."
"You are not fucked."
"Please, don't get yourself dragged into this. I'm the one who stabbed him. I'm the one who will have to face the consequences."
"No. I'm not going to let that happen. You were trying to protect yourself from this evil prick."
"No one's going to believe that."
"It won't matter....if we get him out of here."
"What are you talking about?"
"Can you get ahold of a strong sedative?"
"Well, yes, but-"
His finger went over her lips. "No buts. Just listen and do exactly as I tell you."
She nodded her head.
"Good. Now, go grab a sedative and come back as fast as you can."
"What about him?" Stella looked down at the doctor, who was writhing in pain while still trying to pull the pen out of his neck.
"I'll keep him quiet. Don't worry."
"But-"
"Go, Stella. And grab a medical mask as well."
"O-okay."
Stella left the room and walked down the halls as quickly as she could without arousing suspicion, her heart racing in her chest. Most of the other doctors and nurses were too busy to so much as give her a glance, so she was able to slip in to the pharmacy and obtain the sedative and syringes with no issue. All she needed was her key card to open the door and a bag to carry them in.
'What the hell am I doing?' She asked herself as she headed back to Vincent's room, 'That was attempted murder, and now I'm considering kidnapping. I'll lose my license and go to prison if the authorities find out. Oh, God.'
'Stop over thinking it!' A much louder voice in her head demanded, 'That bastard raped you, for God's sake. He deserves what he gets!"
The voice was right. There was nothing left for her but to seek her revenge. Her job was a nightmare, and her parents didn't care what happened to her.
It was time to shape her own destiny, even if it meant changing her life forever.
She pushed the door to Vincent's room open and stepped back inside. Her blue eyes landed on the pool of blood and the pen that laid on the floor next to the doctor, who was struggling violently against Vincent. He had his arms and legs wrapped around his body and a hand covering his mouth.
"Get the sedative ready!" Vincent growled, "This asshole is biting my palm."
Stella hurriedly prepared the syringe and edged to the doctor. Her hand trembled as she prepared to jab it in his neck. But her worst fear came to pass when the door opened, and Earl ran inside.
"What the hell is going on here!?" He demanded.
"Earl!!!" Doctor Greer cried, though the name was heavily muffled under Vincent's hand.
Earl's eyes darted from the doctor to Stella, then he raised his hands in front of him. "Listen to me, Nurse Bennett. You don't want to do this."
"He raped me, Earl! He deserves it!"
"I understand that, but you will only bring trouble on yourself if you aide Vincent in whatever terror he has planned. Don't throw you life away."
"You don't know what I've been through."
"No, I don't. But I can help you."
"Don't listen to him, Stella!" Vincent said, "He'll turn you over to the police the minute you-"
He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence.
Stella jabbed the syringe into Earl's neck, covering her mouth to stifle her scream as the orderly fell down to the floor with a sickening thud.
"I'm so sorry, Earl." She whispered, before taking out another syringe for the doctor.
Doctor Greer kicked his legs out and screamed obscenities into Vincent's palm, until Stella jabbed the syringe into his neck. His wailed in pain, then became as limp as boiled spaghetti.
Vincent sighed with relief, then wiped the sweat from his face. "Thank God that's over."
"No," Stella was void of emotion as the reality of what she was doing set in. "It's only begun."