Today is day 121 of antidepressants. It helps a little, perhaps. But it still sucks. This whole place sucks. She can't deny it. If you were her, you couldn't have denied it either. She takes off her ID— Dr. Jade Everette— it reads. The top two buttons of her shirt pop open, and she can finally breathe. Yet, it does not help with the suffocation she feels internally. What sort of a mess had she gotten into? Why did she choose this for herself? She was going to be stuck here, forever. And there was not one thing, not one thing, that would help make things even slightly better.
There's a knock at the door, and when she looks up, she is met with the ever-so-calm face of the orderly— Peter.
Okay, maybe there's one thing.
She notices Peter holding hands with the youngest of the test subjects— Eleven— who is choking on her tears as she attempts not to sob out loud. Brave child. This was not the first time Peter had brought Eleven to Jade. There were surely other orderlies and test subjects in the laboratory, but Eleven always showed up to the medical room with Peter, and Peter never showed up with any other subject. Perhaps it was the child's bravery and maturity that made him favor her, or perhaps it was the attitude of the other children at the lab that made Peter keep a distance from them. Nevertheless, Jade adored his protectiveness. Peter was the sweetest, softest staff member she knew, and she adored his traits.
"Nurse Everette." Peter addresses, calm as ever.
"Yes, Mr. Ballard. Come in. You too, Eleven. Let's what we have here now."
They walk in, Eleven in rather little steps, and she presents the gash on her elbow as she now stands closer to Jade. Jade holds her hand as delicately as possible, examining the wound.
"How did that happen, sweetheart?" She asks, already expecting the answer.
"It was one of the older test subjects again, I am sure. She won't say who, but I just know." Peter says, with his voice still surprisingly calm. But Jade does not miss the flash of anger in his eyes, which fades away quickly as he forms his composure again. It wouldn't be the first time Peter had hidden his true emotions, and Jade noticed the façade. She noticed a lot about Peter, alright. In fact, sometimes she would see right through him.
"Alright then. I'll fix this bad boy up for you, Eleven. But you need to promise you'll smash those bullies next time they try and hurt you, yeah?" Jade says, fetching some clean gloves and cotton from the drawer.
"Bullies?" She says quizzically, little doe eyes looking up at her, as Jade lifts her and puts her on the bed.
"Bad guys. People who hurt you for no reason because they enjoy it. Or perhaps, people who hurt smaller people because they feel strong by doing so, despite knowing how weak they are."
"Oh."
"Now, I'm going to clean your wound first. It might hurt but it will keep you safe, okay?"
Eleven nods.
When Jade does dab the cotton slightly on the wound, however, she hears the slightest of hisses. A single drop of tear leaves Eleven's eye, but she doesn't break.
"You're allowed to scream or shout or even kick me if it hurts, darling." Jade smiles.
"I'm okay," Eleven says, not sounding okay.
Jade tilts her head to the side, reading Eleven for a second before she averts her gaze to Peter. He stands there with no expression on his face, his chin high and his hands folded behind his back.
"Mr. Ballard, can you come here and help?"
"Of course, what do I need to do?"
"Can you hold her hand, please?"
YOU ARE READING
Bewitched | Henry Creel (18+)
Fanfiction"You know, if you'd like though, I could call you Peter in secret, when nobody is around. In fact, I could call you anything else you'd like me to call you too." She tilts her head to the side, the tiniest hint of a smirk on her face. "Why would I w...
