The Guardian

Chapter Four

"I'm Dr. Asher", said Seth as he entered a cubicle a few rooms away.

"I'm Jason. Jason Tremblant."

"What happened to you?"

"I was walking a girl home who had drank too much at a party, and she fell. I was helping her up when a big guy attacked me. I was just being a nice guy, and someone attacked me!"

"Really? It's hard to believe", said Seth drily. Jason shot a look at him, and he smiled. "What did the guy look like?"

"He was tall, big. And he was dressed in black."

"Could you recognize him again?"

"I don't think so. He had on a black balaclava and black clothing. He blended into the shadows, you know? He just jumped out of the shadows and attacked me. I wasn't doing anything wrong."

"It looks like he broke your nose."

"It finally has stopped bleeding. He was vicious, man. He punched me in the face, kicked me in the knee. Now my knee's killing me. How long do you think it'll be before I can play basketball again?"

"I don't know. We have to figure out the damage that was done first."

"If he has ruined my chance at getting a basketball scholarship, my friends are going to hunt him down and kill him."

"Why did he fight you? From what Julianna said, it didn't sound like he was a person who attacked people with no provocation."

"I don't know what she told you, but it was a lie. She's one of the juvie kids. You know, those rejects who live in the group home? The one that's located near the high school. The kids there know how to have a good time. Quick to go to bed with guys, you know what I mean? Last year I paid someone from that house to go to bed with me, but she was worth it. She had lips on her that could make you scream."

Seth clenched his jaw. "Did you think Julianna was that kind of girl?"

"Aren't all the girls in there? They're all begging for it. Do you have some good painkillers that you can give me?"

"Your knee needs to be x-rayed first. Did the nurse give you an ice pack?" Sometimes, thought Seth, it was hard to follow the Hippocratic Oath and look after the patient in front of you, when you knew that he wasn't a good person to start off with. He wasn't unhappy that he had hurt him as badly as he had earlier, even if it meant he had to treat him now in the hospital, treat him when all he wanted to do was hit him again.

"The paramedics did. I have to wait until the x-ray is done before I can get some painkillers?" Jason's voice turned wheedling, and Seth wondered how often he had been told no in his lifetime.

"I have to know what we're dealing with before I start getting you doped up. Until the alcohol leaves your system it won't be safe to give you painkillers anyway."

"But I can get some good stuff, can't I? I didn't take anything at the party tonight."

"You may not have taken drugs, but you were drinking. Julianna, the other person at the party, was doped up pretty well."

"There was definitely stuff there if you were looking for it. When I was walking Julianna home, she was acting kind of weird. I figured she was high on something."

"She was."

He nodded sanctimoniously. "I knew it. I bet she took some drugs when she was at the party. All the girls in juvie are like that."

Seth's jaw was starting to ache from clenching it so hard. "No, she was given it without her knowledge."

Jason made a rude sound. "That's just what she told you. She was looking for it."