Hole

    At first she thought it was just a big pimple. Right there, on her upper lip. Was it there last night? She panicked. It was huge! The size of her fingertips and covered in dried pus and scab. Ugh. Disgusting.

    Was she allergic to the pain medications she’d been taking? She had a bad toothache for weeks now. She knew she should’ve gone to the dentist but work kept her too busy so she never did. She’d assumed it was just the cavity and dismissed it as not a big deal. She was wrong.

    It itched. It itched! Despite knowing she shouldn’t, the woman picked at the yellow and brown scab. The scab filled her fingernails. Pus poured out of the wound. It was a nasty yellowish gray color. She wiped at the fluid with the back of her hand. Then proceeded wipe off her hand on her pajama pants. She quickly grabbed some tissues and rubbed them over the wound trying to clean it. Was it infected? She worried.

    The wound itched but it hurt to the touch. She knew. She knew. She shouldn’t but she rubbed the tissue harder over the wound. It hurt but the wound didn’t itch while she scratched it so it felt good. It hurt worse but she felt better.

    Blood join the pus in the tissue but she’d mostly wiped the wounds clean. She felt something hard under the last ripped tissue. She put the tissue down and picked at the wound again with her nail. Her nails scratched against something. Causing a nauseating echoing in her head.

    She slowly began to prod the inside of her mouth with her tongue. Right above the swollen gum from that painful tooth she felt cold air. She poked around closer and felt pain. She tasted blood.

    There was a hole in her mouth! Forget dentist! She needs to see a doctor and soon!

    She saw her phone lying on the bathroom countertop. Looking at the time she realized she was late for work. She dug around in the cabinet for a box of Band-Aids. She covered the hole with one and hurried out of the bathroom to get dressed. She’d have to call for doctor’s appointment later.