You rip what you sow

It was hot. Way too hot for an autumn night, and Ige could feel sweat trickling down her temple. The fridge was way too far for her to get up and grab a cold beer, so she gave up and started starring at the ceiling. Her throat was parched, and she kept thinking about cold metal against her cheek. She had more and more difficulty swallowing her saliva and felt her throat tightening little by little. She should have fixed her heating months ago, but she had always put it off, spending too little time at home to worry about the renovations. Now she regretted her decision and promised herself to call the company first thing tomorrow. Ige dared not move any muscle anymore for fear of using too much energy in the process. And so, she just let her body relax and melt on the sofa. Her shirt was sticking uncomfortably to her skin, and she did her best to slow her breathing to avoid feeling it. She was getting used to the discomfort when she suddenly heard a loud noise in the garden. She closed her eyes and waited a moment immediately forgetting the heat of the room. The noise repeated more softly and rhythmically. Ige sighed. There was no possible doubt: someone was in her garden. She stares at the clock trying to decide if she was happy for this distraction or if she was too tired to get up. She glanced behind her trying to move as little as possible and seeing the stranger she made up her mind. Ige dragged her feet to the kitchen and pulled out a knife from the drawer. Once armed, she returned to the bay window and planted herself right in front of the man. The latter was very tall and dressed in a brown pullover. He had a smirk on his face eagerly waiting for his prey to start screaming in fear. To his great displeasure, Ige just found him pitiful. She approached the bay window and opened the door with a smirk. She stabbed her arm with the knife and motioned for the newcomer to come closer. However, seeing all this blood the man hesitated. He lost his smile and looked at the young woman puzzled. She was unhealthy in height and weight, her skin looked like she was a night-dweller, and her dark circles extended farther than her nose. Her thin hair clung to her skin like black headbands, and it looked like she was going to collapse any moment. And yet there was something in her eyes. Something terrifying enough to cause the stranger to retreat. Seeing him panicked, Ige lost her smile immediately. She lowered her knife, not taking her eyes off the man for a moment. The latter, ashamed of his reaction, turned on his heels and disappeared into the night. Ige dropped her knife which hit the ground in an unpleasant vibration. Then, she closed the door and finally went to the fridge for her cold beer. " What a waste of time. " She fell silent surprised by her hoarse voice and hurriedly drank the integrity of her can. How long had she not eaten anything? She looked at her phone and noticed that her alarms had been turned off. She put the object back on the table and dragged herself to her cupboards thoughtfully. She ended up deciding on a can of tuna and some bread, which she ate while standing. Once satisfied she threw away the rests and went up to her room. She stared at her sheets for a moment wondering if she had the strength to take a shower, but she ended up falling heavily onto the mattress. She didn't move an inch but didn't fall asleep. Sometimes she had the impression of falling asleep, but she woke up painfully from it because of a sudden kick wich escaped her. She eventually gave up and went to the bathroom to wash up. Once freed from her bodily fluid, she swallowed four pills in one go and returned to her original position on her bed. She had gone to bed very late and had to get up for work soon after. Despite her many pills, one alarm clock was enough, and she opened her eyes her heart pounding as if chased. She groaned when she felt her head split in half with each movement and rushed to find her phone and out an end to this ruckus. She didn't bother to change her clothes or eat. She just grabbed a sweater and her keys and set off for the agency. She could hear people gossiping from outside and groaned in advance but luckily everyone fell silent when they saw her come in. She felt the gazes of her coworkers not daring to breath in her presence. She paid no attention to them, being too busy with her migraine and went straight to her unit's meeting room. The latter was already filled, and the chief was doing the usual briefing. Ige had no idea what the leader was saying in those moments as she had never arrived in time before. Just like in the agency, everyone fell silent when they saw her arrive. However, her closest colleagues were unfortunately not scared of her and talked to her without any hesitation: “She finally decided to join us. What's happening to you Ige? Looks like a truck ran over you. " She didn't look at the boss. She still didn't understand why he went to such lengths to be friendly with her. "And she's already ignoring me. I'm glad to see you're fine. " She walked over to the back chair that was always reserved for her and dropped on it with a groan. The latter had been heard by everyone because of the silence and Ige continued to be the center of attention: “Do you need a doliprane? There's some in the cafeteria drawer. " Ige didn't answer, but she had to admit that the idea wasn't that repulsing. “I think what she really needs is to sleep 32 hours. " Following this statement, chief started to detail Ige. He looked at her for a moment before smiling cheerfully: " You're right. Go home Ige take a day off. " The latter did not listen to anything he said, busy imagining the doliprane saving her from her suffering. In the face of her silence, the meeting ended up resuming and the different pairs shared their progress in their various investigations. Ige didn't care what other people did, and she felt her eyelids grow heavy. It made her laugh internally. She hadn't slept all night but now that she was at work, she was tired. Maybe she really was a vampire. Unable to die or rest. She did not fall asleep and very quickly the meeting came to an end. Everyone went about their business as the leader moved dangerously closer to the back chair. “You are paler than usual, Ige. Go see the nurse and go home. -New case? " The chief shook his head gently, trying not to laugh. “You can't work in this state. " But Ige's eyes said just the opposite. "You wouldn't be able to dodge a single blow. " One action is worth a thousand words. Ige jumped on her feet and with a simple flick of the palm, pushed the chief into the wall ramming into it head-on. She watched him trying to get up patiently. " Case? " The chief couldn't hold back his laughter any longer. “You are definitely more stubborn than a donkey. " She didn't take her eyes off him, and the chief ended up shrugging. “I only say this for your own good, Ige. You should take better care of yourself. -Case? -If you don't want to go home then at least go to the infirmary. Petra will examine you. " Ige sensed that the boss was not going to budge, and she couldn't do anything about it. She could not bear to take orders from her superior and she could bear it even less when someone worried about her. However, she chose to disappear before breaking a table and decided to go to the infirmary to end it as soon as possible. She didn't glance at the chief and left the meeting room. If someone had been in her way, she would have thrown them against the wall but luckily everyone knew not to approach her. The infirmary was empty except for Petra who was putting away boxes she had just received. Ige looked around, inhaling the familiar smell of disinfectant, and she felt a certain satisfaction at the spotless cleanness of the place. The pale pink walls and furniture shone in the sunlight, and for a moment she thought she might be able to fall asleep on the bed at the back of the room. Petra noticed her wandering gaze immediately, nothing escaping her: “Lie down for a few minutes while I finish cleaning up. I'm sorry I'll be all yours in a few minutes. " Ige frowned, having lost all desire to lie down hearing that, so he stood and waited in silence. She did not take her eyes off Petra for a second and sensing her gaze, she hurried to finish what she was doing. Her hands empty, she motioned for Ige to follow her and sat across from her on a small stool. So, Ige ends up sitting on the bed, not looking away from her interlocutor for a second. Petra didn't seem at all disturbed and just smiled gently: "Chief sent you here again?" Ige said nothing as the answer was obvious. “I know he can be quite noisy, but he really cares about you. He cares about the whole team, bus he has a special place in his heart for our little Ige. " The woman in question did not seem impressed. "You can’t sleep, can you? You can take the pills I gave you if you need them. They can help you with that. -I took them. -Can I ask you how many? -Four. -I fully understand that you want to increase the dose. We often feel that the medicine has no effect and can't take it anymore, but too much medicine can't do you any good. There are specific doses to follow. -I know. -Very well. Do you want to lie down for a few minutes? I will wake you up later. " Before Ige had time to refuse Petra smiled: “Chief won't leave you alone if you go back there so soon. Just a few minutes, I promise. " Ige stared at the white sheet for a moment before giving up. The bed was so tempting that she saw no harm in following Petra's advice for a bit. She told herself she would close her eyes for a few minutes just long enough for her headache to go away, but when she opened her eyes again the scene had completely changed. She sat up in surprise and threw the blanket as far back as she could.