Bewitched | Henry Creel (18+)

chapter 002 - tased.

TW: Abuse & Graphic descriptions of injuries.

. . .

It had been another normal, long day at the Hawkins Laboratory until the doors of her little clinic had burst open and two men, dressed in all white— like every other person in the monotonous lab— had barged in, dragging an unconscious man with them. Both the men had held one hand each of this said unconscious man, and they had harshly picked him up and dropped him on one of the beds. Then, they had asked her to treat him. From how they glared at her, Jade could tell that they expected her to ask no questions and get her job done. She could also tell that they wanted her to get things over with as quickly as possible. But Jade wasn't going to let that happen. So, rather boldly, she had stepped closer to the two tall guards and asked them if they were responsible for the condition of the man who currently lay on the bed. They had said nothing. Instead, they had both looked right into her eyes, daring her to ask another question. She hadn't blinked. But then, neither had the guards.

"Was Dr. Brenner responsible for this?" She had asked, and one of the guards had raised a brow, amused by her confidence. 

Jade still hadn't received an answer, but she knew she was right, so she had ordered the guards to leave. It seemed as though they had been stuck to the floor, not budging an inch. Eventually Jade had to threaten the guards, saying she wouldn't treat the man unless they left them alone. That was when they had left, and when they did, Jade knew that Brenner wanted this man, whoever he was, alive. 

She had walked up to the bed where he lay, tilting his face ever so slightly. And when her eyes had fallen on his face, she could have sworn she had felt her heart sink. 

Peter Ballard. 

His clothes had been covered in dirt, the lower half of his shirt had not been buttoned, and it was messily tucked in his trousers. His belt had been hanging loosely around his waist, missing one of the loops too. But the worst of it all had been the upper half of his shirt, soaked in dried blood at random places. Little spots and big blotches of blood had been scattered on his shirt, while his collar had turned entirely red. Even unconscious, Jade had been able to see the pain he had been feeling. His eyebrows had been frowning, his lips had been bloodied from biting too hard, and his face had turned pale. When Jade had slowly unbuttoned his shirt to reveal his wounds, she had not been able to stop the single tear that rolled down her cheek.

Why Peter of all people? Why would Brenner do that to the sweetest, nicest of orderlies?

Jade had been drowned in her pool of questions as she had treated the taser wounds on Peter's chest. Some of the wounds had been so bad, it was as if they had burned him. It took her all the strength in the world to stop herself from barging into Brenner's out-of-bounds-without-permission cabin and slapping him for doing what he had done to the person who had deserved it the least. 

Now, however, Jade sits in her chair, reading a book to divert her mind from Peter's devastating state. She stares blankly at the page in front of her, subconsciously reading each word without registering any of it in her brain. But when she hears a grunt from behind her, she drops her book immediately, turning back to a now-awake Peter. 

No matter how much he tries to hide it, she knows he is in pain. She almost hugs him but reminds herself that it wouldn't be professional, so she stops and asks him how he feels instead.

"I'm alright, Doctor Everette. You need not worry about me."

"You're a good actor, Peter. But all that won't work in front of me. I can see through you." She says, looking right into his eyes. "I'm a doctor, you cannot fool me."  She adds as an afterthought.