Was so keyed up I not only finished the game but played another.

My first weekend back, last weekend.

Mished it out to NYC for big cuz E’s bday hang with autonomous bae and N.

Autonomous bae for the ride; N so it wouldn’t seem like anything it wasn’t to autonomous bae.

Broke all my dietary rules at E’s party drinking and eating whatever the fuck.

Barely slept—N crashed with autonomous bae at autonomous bae’s friend’s, I crashed in E’s guest room / dusty-ass tool closet—and then the next day we went all the way out to the Bronx for artist bae’s art show.

Limping, flared tf up, skin looking like a cracked lobster’s.

Telling everyone I was ‘about to move back into my van, to live out of it in NYC,’ going so far as arranging for roomie bae’s cousin to move into my Philly room once I did.

Despite being lowkey unable to walk.

Losing my shit all week, not being able to.

Back in my shitshow room, crashed out, layer of dead skin on the floor, clothes and papers everywhere.

Till finally, the night before roomie bae found me, railing three Advils just so I could stand.

Then walking all the way out to CVS and back, bundled like the damn Michelin Man.

Before waking up fucked, feverish, unable to sit up even bc my hip.

Skin open.

So damn dehydrated but unable to get up to get water.

Roomie bae at her boo’s so unable to hear my SOS laments.

The morning after my first night in the ER, got wheeled to the MRI room.

‘Sacrum fracture.’

Tip of my spine, by my butthole.

“You just been walking around the last two weeks?” the nurse asked as I re-gowned.

“I mean. I thought. If I just waited it out.”

He looked at me like Dude, massaging Purell into his palms.

It was on Day 3 that I first saw dermatologist bae. That we stumbled into each other’s lives.

So pretty, so put together.

Skin immaculate.

Hair so straight, like she straightened it. Although did she actually.

She could not have.

She coulda just been made that way.

I initially couldn’t tell whether she was the actual derm or the assistant.

This didn’t matter.

She was dermatologist bae to me regardless.

But there were two derm-assistant duos who pulled up to inspect me, on separate visits, Days 2 and 3.

And in the first duo, the young/pretty one was the assistant, while the older, doc-looking dude was the doc.

Although was derm bae’s assistant even an older, doc-looking dude?

Honestly can’t even remember, how wet off of derm bae I was.

As wet off someone as one could be in that state, how gnarly shit was.

Had gotten.

Gowned/cut up, hydration IV in my arm, on one of those recliner beds hospitals have.