"Jacques how long have you been off your meds?" Jacq swung his legs over the side of the examination table acting like he didn't hear him. "Don't ignore me. I've been your doctor for over fifteen years there's nothing you should hide from me."
Jacq was due for his monthly check up. It was mandatory since Adama Silvers wants to make sure he is taking care of his disorder properly. During these check ups they weigh him and take blood work every time to make sure the medicine he's supposed to be taking is in his system. Jacq was two hours late for his appointment and refused to get his blood drawn, It made Dr. McDaniels suspicious since Jacq had done that before when he wasn't taking his pills.
"I'm gonna ask you again. How long has it been?" Jacques held his hands together as they trembled, he was showing signs of withdraws and he knew he wasn't doing a good job of hiding it. "It's been three days." Jacq wiped his clammy hands on the thighs of his sweat pants.
"I'm not buying that shit for a second. Adam Silvers called me this morning and told me you've missed seven practices and four games. He also tells me some members of the team have expressed their concerns about you not getting out of the bed. Mr. Silvers also tells me you went off on him in a unprofessional manner in a meeting the two of you had the other day. Those things all lead me to believe that it's been more than three days since you've taken your meds. When we weighed you, you have lost eight and a half pounds since your last appointment. You have dark circles under your eyes and their bloodshot. You can hold your hands all you want but their clearly shaking so bad you can't even control it." Dr. McDaniels leaned against the wall and looked at jacq. "I heard about what's going on but I want you to tell me yourself."
Jacques looked at the wall of babies the doctors office has delivered and his eyes instantly flooded. He missed Noah so much that it was literally killing him.
"I-I was fixing a bottle for Noah an-and I heard a noise on the monitor. When I ran upstairs the window was open." Jacq used his trembling hands to wipe his face. "Someone came in my house and uh... Someone took him. Someone kidnapped my son. I-I tried to c-call my girlfriend over and over and she wouldn't pick up. She uh got transferred to Denver with the old coach and that's w-why I went off on Adam. He sent her there when he didn't have to and she was supposed to call me when she landed but she never did. No one had heard from her and her bags were already sent to her room but she never checked in." Jacques breathed hitched as he tried to continue speaking. "The police are trying to figure out what happened but it's been two weeks and they have nothing."
McDaniels pulled Jacq in for a fatherly hug that was well needed.
"So why haven't you took your meds? You know in stressful times like this, this all the more reason for you to be on top of them or you'll be just like how you are now."
"I got in my bed after the police questioned me and I couldn't get out of it. I was stuck and I laid there for a few days and I couldn't bring myself to get up. The cops that are staying with me tried to get me to get up and to eat but I didn't feel like it. And then it was hard to sleep. I'm so used to Neriah being in bed with me and I can't fuckin sleep knowing my son isn't safe." McDaniels let him go and sat in the rolling chair trying to figure out his next move.
He let Jacques cry for a moment. In his yeasts of working with Jacq he realized that's all he needed was to cry sometimes. Jacq didn't cry much in therapy sessions when he was younger but when he did, Dr. McDaniels let him cry till he fell asleep. That seemed to work fine up until now but going through a tragedy like this needed more than tears to fix it.
"Jacq you're not gonna like this, but I'm gonna admit you." Jaques looked at him with crimson red eyes. "No, I'm not staying at that place again." More tears rushed down his face. "Please don't. I'll take my meds. I'll sleep more, I'll go to practice. Don't do this." Jacq rambled on in a panic. Dr. McDaniels stood up and pressed a blue button under the counter and then held Jacques arms to calm him down.
"You can't be trusted not to take you medication. We've gone down this road before and I'm not good let that happen again. You just need to let me help you. Silvers said you can keep playing if you do what I say. And what I'm saying is the best thing for you."
Three male nurses came into the room.
Jacq allowed them to put him in a wheel chair and strap him in. He was quick and had escaped from them before. That didn't get him nowhere but wrestled to the ground with a needle in his neck to sedate him.
"But I don't wanna go there. Just let me go home." He begged and McDaniels turned his back to him as they wheeled him out the room.
Neriah
"Noah I think that's a bus." I stood up and flagged it down so they wouldn't ride past me. It looked like a city bus. It began to slow down and I covered Noah's face from the dust. The double doors opened and a white bearded man smiled at me. "Where you headed sister?"
"I need help. I got dropped off here in the middle of nowhere." The man frowned. "You gotta some money for this ride? It's only $1.25."
"I don't have nothing. Please help us." He laughed. "Sugar I would love to help you but I'm not trying to lose my job." He started closing the door again but I pushed my hand forward to stop it. "What on earth are you doing?" The air conditioning hit me in my face and I took it in. I made sure Noah could feel it too. "At least tell me where I am."
"Well you're in South Texas my dear. You're not to far from the nearest town though. Have fun making it there." He slammed the doors in my face and drove off.
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