Tory Quail

Waiting. Content Warning.

My skin started to itch as the automatic doors slid shut behind me. The air stung my eyes the way that they stung when I opened them under water in the chlorine-filled pool, but this time I wasn’t sure how much that was due to the chemicals and how much was just me. A girl who can’t be much older than me, she must be here for an internship or extra credit, looks up from the reception desk. She smiles at me and her teeth are so white they match the clinic walls.