The Bad Guy's Doctor

ELEVEN

"Hey there, lovely," Arsenio steps into my room from the balcony, bringing a hand up to move some hair out of my face. I was everything but lovely. Dark circles,  red rimmed eyes, fatigue written in my bones. I've been sitting at the same corner of the room all night.

I would like to say that I was thinking, but nothing crossed my mind for hours on end.

He wraps his arms around my frame, before picking me up gently when I don't oppose. "Rough night?" He sets me down on my bed, my joints immediately agreeing with the gesture. I nod. Arsenio rubs my back, accepting my silence. "You're freezing cold, Althea." He pulls the covers up around my shoulders.

I grip them, my fingers stiff. "You should've called me. For this, for anything, darling." Arsenio kisses the crown of my head. I think he smells the smoke from my skin.

"Does anyone ever make it?" My voice feels hoarse, but Arsenio doesn't react. Doesn't mention it, smiles softly to himself like my voice was all he needed to exist.

"We can if you want." We can if I want. If I want.

"Yeah," I rub my eyes, pressing my palms against my closed eyelids. "Yeah." I say, considerably quieter.

- - -

"Althea?! Is there a doctor named Althea here?!" Someone knocks loudly at the clinic door, the wooden frame rattling as they rapped away. "Please—I need help! Althea—" I open the door, a passiveness sliding over my face.

There's a man standing outside, sweat beading down his face. He pulls back sharply when he sees me, holding a person against his side. "What do you want?" I don't react.

"A-Are you the doct—"

"I only serve food here, I don't know what you're—" The girl attached to his side, reaches out to me, grabbing my arm. I glance at her as Arsenio comes up from behind me, pulling the door open wider. "Jade...?"

I recognize her. She was in my class and sat near me. I graduated a year earlier than she did. "Al—Althea, please—" I glance at her, a bloodstain on her thigh against her dark leggings. I pry her hand off of me, before sighing.

"Clear the table and close the door." I move back and Arsenio follows my words, gathering the stuff on the table and sliding it down. The guy stumbles in, holding up Jade with his arm.

"You're okay, you're okay," He says to Jade as he lifts her up onto the counter. She has a bundle of fabric pressed against the wound, already soaked in blood.

"What happened?" Arsenio closes the door and I pull out a kit from the cabinet.

"A bullet, she told me that there was a doctor here—" I pull out a pair of scissors, snipping at her pants to expose the wound. "Is she going to be okay?" I move the crumpled bandana, relieved to see that most of the bleeding stopped.

"I'll see what I can do." I pull out a syringe, pulling the cap off quickly. I find her arm, poising the needle at the appropriate angle. "Breathe, Jade—"

"What are you giving her!?" I drop it, taking a wide step back to avoid it. "You're a doctor? You're younger than I am, how can I trust you to do some—" Arsenio moves in front of me, cutting me off from his view.

"I get that you're worried, but don't raise your voice at her again." He picks another painkiller from the kit and hands it to me, without another word. I take it, not sparing another thought as I pricked Jade's arm.

"And who are you? Her assistant or something? What do you know?!" Arsenio grabs him by the neck, before slamming him against the wall.

"Let's take a little walk outside, alright?" Arsenio opens the door, before shoving him outside. I work through everything, not looking up to acknowledge them. "Don't miss me too much, sweetheart." The door closes behind him softly. Arsenio doesn't slam doors near me.