Her Brother's Best Friend - Aching Hearts Series #2

Chapter 36 - Descent into darkness

CHAPTER 36 - DESCENT INTO DARKNESS (part 1)

At the twelfth time he heard the nickname, the short balding man couldn't retain himself from asking: "Why does everybody call you Doc?"

Jason heaved a deep sigh to keep calm, even only the man's coarse voice ticked him off. Then again, anything seemed to tick him off these days. After two entire months of not hearing a single word from his girlfriend, it was only natural.

His mother had restarted calling, but no matter how many times he asked, she always dodged the topic, Renée visited, being his lawyer, of course she visited, and seeing the guilty look on her face, Jason had come to the conclusion that she knew something, but she didn't budge either. And Riley? Riley didn't say a word. He didn't even speak to his best friend, which only made Jason more and more worried and furious at the same time. Something had happened, and nobody wanted to tell him.

Now, the balding man beside him was his new cellmate, transferred just a couple of days before, in there for having stolen money to his company, so a white collar crime. The man had been talking nonstop, and Jason was having a hard time not letting free this new violent side that had been growing, and quite simply punching the man.

Louis, that was his name, was fiftyish, with only a few hair left, short, more than a little chubby, he kinda looked like a bad copy of Danny De Vito, only his voice was different. And with how Jason towered over him with his height, they sort of looked like one of those cliché couple of minions.

Right now they were having their out-of-cell time, Jason would have really loved a break from the constant babbling of his cellmate, but the man didn't think it that way, so just kept following him around as he took a walk to stretch his bones a little. In truth, the man was only applying a rule he'd been suggested: sticking to the inmate that seems to be more respected by the others, and, much to his luck, his own cellmate was, which saved him the trouble of bothering the big shots and risking worse than the glare Jason sent him all the time.

The reason why Louis asked that question was that, as they walked past inmates, most of them nodded their heads to Jason calling him 'Doc', henceforth Louis' curiosity.

"Outside of here I'm a doctor, was working my way through my residency before I got arrested." Jason explained in a sigh, not in the mood to talk, but knowing the man wouldn't shut up till he replied.

Louis frowned, sweating profusely as he tried to keep up with his cellmate's long legs. "Just that?"

Jason frowned, stopping for a moment and turning to the man beside him, who looked really unfit – was he outside, he would advise him a healthy diet and more exercise, because, the chances were, the man's heart could collapse any moment.

Louis tilted his head to the side, not to crane his neck to look up at the taller man, and, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, asked for further explanations. Jason, raking a hand through his growing hair that now fell onto his forehead, groaned, also because he'd forgotten the glasses he was wearing – reading in the darkness of a prison cell had worsened his myopia in a little time, and while before he could do without glasses except for when he was reading, now he needed them more often, and given the sun that was shining now, pervading the whole perimeter, they were due when outside – therefore wound up nearly breaking them.

Restarting to walk, hands stuffed in his pockets, Jason responded to his annoying cellmate: "On my first week here, Dominic Besson had a stroke, the guards were late to call the prison's doctor, I was around here, so ..."

Louis grinned. "So you saved his life. You do realize he's the head of the worst gang that –"

"I know. And don't care."