Medical Imagines

Imagine for DrewMurray13

 I came home today to a sick boyfriend. My boyfriend is a lot older than I am, and is a successful career, and I'm just a student. That makes me "lower" than him, and gives him the leverage that he needs to abuse me for anything and everything. I had already been sick, but I knew that I still needed to go to class. My boyfriend, as always, was insistent that I took care of him, even though he seemed to just have a little cold, even though I know I had a fever.

It was now 11pm, and I had just gotten back from a study session. My boyfriend was extremely upset that I did not grab Tylenol on my way home, even though he didn't tell me that he needed any.

"You better find some, otherwise you will have pain to pay." He said coldly. That sent shivers down my back. I quickly left the house and closed the door behind me. I took a big, deep breathe, and thought. Obviously, it's too late for any store to still be open. There are no 24 hour stores in our area either. And most of my friends would be asleep. Frankly, most of humanity should be asleep at this time of night. But then I remembered my friend, Will. He's my neighbor across the hall, and is a doctor. He often works until late, depending on when his shift ends. He's kinda a friend, and he is super nice. I go up, and hesitantly knock on his door. Immediately, I hear fast footsteps. And then, the door opens.

"Oh, Alex, hi." He says, clearly confused as to why I am at his door so late at night. "Are you ok?" He asked, concerned. Here's the thing. Will I think knows that my boyfriend is abusive. He has seen some of the aftermath of our fights. He always offers to check me out, but I refuse. I can't let him know the true extent.

"I'm fine. I just came to see if you happened to have any Tylenol. My boyfriend is sick, and apparently we ran out, and everywhere is closed for the night. I'm not sure that he can wait." I said, trying to get out of this situation, and fast.

He reaches out through the doorway, and puts his hand on my forehead, and then moves his hand to my neck, maybe trying to feel my pulse. I push it away fast.

"I'm sorry hun. But you feel very warm to me. Are you sure you're feeling okay?" He asks again, with a little bit more force behind his words this time.

"I don't feel great, but I'm okay. My main priority needs to be getting my boyfriend better. Because without a happy boyfriend, things aren't fun for any of us." I said, trying to not put too much thought behind those words.

"Why don't you at least come in while I grab some, it's a little cold out here." Will suggests, motioning me in. I simply nod in response, starting to not feel very well myself.

Instead of coming back into his living room, he goes straight into another room. I stand there awkwardly, not knowing what the next right steps are. Will quickly comes back in with what appears to be a medical kit.

"Alex, can you please just sit down, and I can make sure that you're okay? You are super pale and I can tell that you don't feel well." I simply sit down, because I was continuing to feel worse as time went on. He listened to my heart and lungs, clear focus written on his face. He checked the glands in my neck, me wincing slightly.

"You're doing so well. Can I have you lay down on the couch for me? I want to just examine your stomach real quick." I looked at him, fear written on my face. I know that I have bruises all over my stomach and ribs, and I definitely do not want him seeing any of that.

"Can I please keep my shirt down?" I asked, trying to not sound as terrified as I felt.

"If you are more comfortable with that, then sure." He said, but I think he may have read through the question.

I cautiously laid back on the couch, my arms at my side, watching him intently. My hope was that he wouldn't press on any of the tender parts, or if he did, I could mask it. I have developed a very high pain tolerance, so I was counting on that to come into use. He started pressing lightly on various parts of my stomach. I was fine, until he got to one particularly painful bruise, and I whimpered.

"Does that hurt?" Will asked. "May I please lift up your shirt? I want to figure out what's happening." At this point, I had tears in my eyes. I felt cornered in this situation, and had to give in. He lifted my shirt, and his facial expression changed.

"Who did this to you?" He asked sternly, no niceness behind his voice anymore. I simply stared at him, frozen in fear.

"You don't have to tell me, however, I need to look at these closer, and I can help you out of this, but you have to trust me." He said sincerely.

"It's my boyfriend. But you can't tell anyone. I can handle this. I've done it before, and he says that the last time was his last time. I don't think he'll do it again." I spit out, trying to not panic.

"You have broken ribs honey. It's not nothing. And I can almost guarantee that he had said that before. These abusive relationships don't stop, they only get worse. Please let me help you out of this." Will said, his eyes pleading.

"Can I just please have the medicine and take it back to him? He's probably wondering where I went." I replied, breaking eye contact, and trying to get out of this situation as fast as I could.

"Not without you having my number. I need you to promise to call me when you realize this situation is not going to get better. Day or night, when I'm working, whenever. Please call me." He said, handing me the Tylenol and a business card.

And with that, I ran out of his apartment, slamming the door behind me, running across the hall, trying to be ready for whatever I had to face.

Hi everyone!

I finally updated twice in a week! I have to tell you all this: if you EVER find yourself in an abusive situation, or if people are telling you that you are in an abusive situation, it is NOT your fault, and there are ways out! Feel free to send me suggestions for the next imagines, or feedback, or both! :)