The white walls were spotted
With blue and green flowers
In a sorry attempt to make the
Detroit Medical Center ER
Homey

It hadn’t worked, Ashley decided
There was nothing homey about hospitals
Because they smelled like cheap soap, needles, and plastic
And bad things always put people there

That was why Ashley was stuck watching
The regulated pattern of the green line
On the grainy screen coincide with the
Obnoxious beeping of the contraption
Beside her rather uncomfortable bed

Beyond the tangle of cords
Connecting the wall to the machines
Ashley saw Jenny race in through the double doors
The cold rain from outside
Dripping from her shimmering auburn hair
Onto her sad and worried face

Ashley flinched as
Jenny, trying to avoid
The stitched upper left lip
The swollen left cheekbone
The broken ribs
The IV cord
And the two casted hands,
Kissed her

“What happened to you?” Jenny asked
Rubbing Ashley’s least damaged cheek.
Ashley looked into Jenny’s beautiful blue eyes
And answered-

“My dad found out. He doesn’t approve.”