Private Wounded

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai beamed at her, only for his smile to fall away as she asked him to roll up his sleeve. A little reluctantly, he obeyed, but held his arm at an awkward angle in an effort to hide the needle puncture wounds on the inside of his elbow from her view.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani wasn’t fooled. The sudden deflated expression, the awkward angle, not to mention how he’d reacted earlier. She knew when to suspect. “Kai…” The cuff remained suspended. “...Are you sure there’s nothing you need to tell me?”

He’d get one chance to come clean himself, before she got a little pushy.

Kai Bamarri​

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Nope.>

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Mkay. Thennn can you show me inside of your arm?"

Kai Bamarri​

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Why do you want to see the inside of my arm?>

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Alright-" Amani rolled her eyes and took Kai's arm attempting to twist over and get a glimpse of the inside, "Just- Just- Just show it to me ya little-"

Kai Bamarri​

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Kai put up a little resistance to her grabbing his arm and turning it over, but not enough to actually stop her. He looked away, avoiding eye contact as she examined him.

The inside of his elbow was full of needle holes, some older, some more recent. His other arm was much the same.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani examined the damage with an initial disbelief, then sighed, “Kai…” There was no anger, just disappointment. “Wha-- What am I looking at? When did-” A huff. “Why didn't you tell me?”

Kai Bamarri​

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<It’s painkillers,> Kai answered, his tone weirdly cold. He finally turned to face Amani again. <Opioids. Stuff to help with the pain after I get tossed around in battle, or to help me sleep at night. It’s perfectly legal. I have prescriptions and everything.>

That didn’t explain why he was so reluctant to let her see it, he knew. So he added, <Only one of these holes is from anything else. I went to Denon recently to see a friend. We did glitterstim together one time. That’s it.>

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

“Opioids can be dangerously addictive. So can glitterstim.” She added sternly. “And- why a needle? Why not, like, pills?” Amani sighed and seemed to deflate. Kai earned a long stare, the internal conflict apparent on her face. Was he lying? She wanted to trust that it was really all as he said. But she wouldn’t ignore her concerns, either.

“You’re going to show me those prescriptions. And I’ll be checking in regularly to make sure we're staying on track.” If he got addicted, or was lying, she wanted to find out before it got bad.

Kai Bamarri​

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Needles work faster.>

Kai was somewhat intimidated by Amani, though he tried not to show it. He had done what he could to hide his addiction, but she had still seen through it. Would she hold to her principles of doctor-patient confidentiality, or would he be dragged before the Council after this doctor's visit?

<The prescriptions are listed in my file. And… okay, I guess.>

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

“Hm.” Amani was unsatisfied. On top of everything else he was playing with highly addictive drugs. Kai didn’t need that risk over his head. She scrolled down his file to check for the prescriptions but said nothing, merely offering him another squinted look.

Another sigh escaped her before she spoke again, now more soft and sincere, “I just want to make sure you’re being safe, Kai. I won’t be telling anyone about this, but that means I need you to play along with me here. If this gets worse, or it’s already worse than you’re telling me, we need to nip it in the bud as soon as possible.” She squeezed the boy’s shoulder, “Deal?”

Kai Bamarri​

 

[Kai Bamarri]

<Okay good, okay fine,> Kai replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. <Am I done yet?>

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani said nothing, but lifted the cuff back up to take his blood pressure. It strapped to his arm, and the device began to squeeze tightly before loosening once more. The result earned an expressionless glance from the healer before she undid the fastener.

“‘Kay.” There was an undercurrent of sadness to her now. But she said nothing else, and stepped out of Kai’s way to allow him to leave. Part of her wondered if it really would be better, for his sake, to just oust his drug risk to the council. It felt like this was an opportunity for things to get worse. At the same time, if she did her job, then perhaps it wouldn’t become anything worse. And Kai wouldn’t have to feel like another person had turned on him.

Was that worth the risk?

It was something she would spend the rest of the day thinking about.

Kai Bamarri​