Alex worked on the eighth floor of the hospital as a medical records clerk. He had a small office near the laundromat, which he used as an excuse to sneak out and spend his pocket money on vending machine food.

It wasn’t a glamorous job, but

Alex had been dating the head of Floor 8 for maybe about two years now, though it was hard to say because he couldn’t really remember how he ended up in this relationship in the first place. Dr. Lamzy Divey wasn’t particularly unattractive, not that they were attractive either – in fact they had a quality that his eyes slid right over – but they had a sort of helplessness about them that he found himself drawn to against his own wishes.

Was he with them because he actually liked them? Or was it just because he felt bad for them?

Or – and this was even harder to think about than the thought that he was just a scumbag: did they pressure him?

It wasn’t an easy job, but

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” Divey admonished him.

He stared directly at the wall ahead of him for a few minutes, then turned his head back down to his work.