Mizuyuki was sitting in the living room in a fresh pair of sweats and a hoodie. The boys were all watching a comedy movie of Sebastián's choosing, while Stephen brushed Mizuyuki's hair. Todd had gotten up to pop some popcorn and just sat back down passing out bowls.
I was at peace with the calming atmosphere and the men who were secretly keeping eye on me throughout the movie. It was a little funny and very heartwarming. There was a sudden knock on the door, Sebastián got up to answer it.
"Hey Gloria, come on in."
In sauntered a woman, in her early 50's, with wavy brown hair with blonde highlights. Her hazel green eyes shined as she walked in taking in the sights. She had a figure that was breathtakingly beautiful especially for her age, a large oversized duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Stephen stood up holding me, and greeted Gloria. Todd stood protectively to our left, not saying anything.
"So who's the patient?" She asked.
Everyone turned to look at me, she walked towards me with a smirk.
"Hey beautiful guy, I'll be your physician for today. Where would you like to be treated? Bedroom, living room, the loft? Whatever makes you comfortable." She said attempting to put her hand on my hair, but I shrank back.
Stephen also took a step back making Gloria cock an eyebrow.
"Best to keep things professional Gloria, he's likely to throw up on you otherwise." Stephen said.
Stephen then turned and walked towards my room. We passed over the threshold and Stephen laid me gently on the bed.
"It'll be easier if he's alone, not just for patient confidentiality but because there are times when other people don't need to know certain things. You of all people should understand that, right Stephen?" Gloria said.
"Mizuyuki she's a good doctor... she's been the family physician since I was a kid so you can trust her." Stephen said kissing my forehead then lips.
"I'll be right outside if you need me." He said walking out the door and shutting it.
"That boy, he's like a completely different person. I wonder... was that your doing?" She asked me with a squint.
I said nothing, still staring at the door Stephen had walked through. The sense of loss was more than I thought possible.
"Focus hun, or we'll be here all day. The sooner we finish the sooner you can see him again." She said with a breezy chuckle.
I could feel my face heating up with embarrassment, but I still couldn't turn from the door. Gloria sighed, grabbed a chair, and sat directly in front of my view of the door.
"Mind telling me why I'm here? I can't treat you without knowing what ails you."
That question immediately made me shudder, the past five days coming to me in quick fragmented motion. I swallowed dryly, then looked at her.
"I... I-I was... abducted... and drugged with... a massive quantity of unknown drugs... over a five day period. Beaten and raped... repeatedly throughout the day... by two men." I squeezed out, feeling my throat close up and my eyes tear up.
Gloria sat in momentary shock before taking my right hand, attempting to comfort me.
"I'm currently going through withdrawal like symptoms and PTSD. Potentially might have insomnia, or a fear of sleeping in general. I'm in excruciating pain all over, and I have no appetite whatsoever."
Gloria immediately got to work doing a basic check up. She checked my vitals and motor skills.
"Do you have a problem with stripping down to your boxers? I will need to draw blood and do a physical examination... if that's ok."
"I can try. I can't stand on my own though."
"It's fine do your best. We can call Stephen if we have to." She said reassuringly.
I took off my hoodie and shirt, and she immediately gasped.
"Oh... hunny. You are in bad shape. Who did this to you? Do you need an official work up for a police report?"
"I don't think reporting it to the authorities will be very fruitful. It was Stephen's and Sebastián's fathers..."
The pen in her hand snapped and the fury in her eyes matched Myah's at that time. It was weird seeing this kind of anger from a total stranger.
"Those unbelievable bastards! So, abusing their kids wasn't enough they had to go after significant others as well?! Ugh I should have harvested their organs five years ago! Stupid! Boarish! Shitty! Fucktards! This is unforgivable!"
As she ranted and paced the room I removed my sweatpants, and laid back down. There was nothing to be said, but I did have some questions about what happened to Stephen and Sebastián when they were younger.
After she calmed down a bit she sat down, and resumed her work. She checked the bruising on my body, pressed spots on my chest and sides. She looked at my throat and even probed then swabbed my ass. She drew 10 vials of my blood and hooked up an IV full of fluids, antibiotics, and vitamins.
"Now make sure that IV stays connected until its empty. Stephen will know how to take it out once it's done. Given that you need sleep I'm not sure what to do about that condition just yet. However I will prescribe you a medication to wean you off the drugs so your withdrawal symptoms will stop. Take 3 a day with food for 30 days. Do NOT take them on an empty stomach."
I nodded along to the instructions my body feeling heavy all of a sudden.
"Now you sit tight and let the medication do its thing. I'm going to go have a chat with Stephen for a bit." She said, heading for the door.
It was becoming harder and harder to keep my eyes open and I began to panic, not having Stephen beside me before I slept would be catatonic on my mind. My body went slack, and I couldn't stay awake any longer, as fatigue grabbed me with both hands pulling me under.
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Gloria walked back out to the living room walking right past Stephen and his mountain of questions. She planted her feet firmly on the ground in front of the Television.
"This is unacceptable! They went too far! That boy was near death and doesn't even know it! His heart rate was over 200 beats per minute! He is at risk of a heart attack this very moment! Not to mention the bruises and aberrations on his body. I can't be certain but I suspect he has at least 3 broken ribs! What the actual fuck is going on!?"
Nobody made eye contact with her. It was a sore spot for the current group, but none of them had known the full extent of his injuries or the damage done to him. It was becoming abundantly clear that he suffered far more than he lead on and that he was putting on the bravest face for their sake. It was an awful feeling. The one who was hurt most was doing his best to make everyone else more calm, but what had they done for him beside treat him like fragile fine china?
"What is he doing right now? Does he need help coming out?" Stephen asked.
"I gave him antibiotics, vitamins, fluids, and a muscle relaxer mixed with a mild sedative."
"YOU WHAT!?" The men exclaimed in unison.
"He was severely malnourished and sleep deprived! As a doctor I had to–"
Her words were cut off as the men rushed to the room. Stephen turned on a dime back to the hall, Sebastián jumped over the back of the sofa, Todd moved Gloria out the way following Sebastián.
"NO! STOP!"
They all halted as Stephen forcefully opened the door, Mizuyuki was screaming at the top of his lungs twisting and turning atop the bed. He was covered in sweat, his hair clung to his face as his hands gripped the sheets tightly.
Stephen rush to the bed picking him up trying to coax him out of his sleep. Nothing he did would rouse him.
"What's happening?!" Gloria yelled from the door staring at the men.
"Mizuyuki had problems sleeping even before this incident. Now you've essentially trapped him back in that hell with no way out!" Todd yelled back.
Suddenly Mizuyuki started to seize violently, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"No... stop... let me go! Please!"
"Mizuyuki it's okay. I'm right here..." Stephen said holding him in his arms.
"Please do something to wake him up!" Sebastián yelled at Gloria.
She set her bag down and unzipped a pouch. She pulled out a vile and syringe then filled it halfway with the solution. She inserted the syringe into his arm and Mizuyuki stopped seizing.
"Mizuyuki... come back to me... I'm right here..." Stephen said on a pained whisper.
Mizuyuki's eyes fluttered open and all the men sighed in relief, then shot murderous glares at Gloria. She stood there in confusion looking between them and Mizuyuki.
"Uhh! Hurts... everything hurts..." Mizuyuki said his eyes unfocused.
His tears began anew as he sobbed, his body trembling.
"I... can't do this... I don't want to do this... please... don't make me... Ngh... just stop... please... let me go..."
Mizuyuki still couldn't distinguish dream from reality, he was still begging his captors to free him. Sebastián and Todd clenched their fists as they each sat on either side of Stephen as he held Mizuyuki.
"Mizuyuki it's okay now. You won't have to do it ever again. Open your eyes, look at me..." Stephen said kissing him gently.
"Stephen, Todd, and I saved you. Myah too. It'll be alright now Yuki." Sebastián said patting his head reassuringly.
"We won't go anywhere without you anymore, so please rest easy now." Todd added rubbing the top of his feet.
Mizuyuki slowly blinked, letting out a shuddering sob. He opened his eyes wider and looked up at Stephen confused.
"Stephen...? Todd...? Sebastián...?" Mizuyuki said looking at each of them in turn.
"Yea it's okay now...would you like to get up?" Stephen said wiping Mizuyuki's tears away.
Mizuyuki looked around again and spotted Gloria and shrank back. She stared back in concern but didn't approach.
"Who are you?" Mizuyuki asked seemingly already forgetting the woman.
"She's a physician. She's going to prescribe you some medication for the pain, potential infection, and vitamin supplements." Stephen answered instead, glaring at the woman.
"Yes I'll send Stephen the bill, you just rest up with these big ol softies. They'll take good care of you. Sebastián, I need to speak with you outside a moment." She said turning on her heels and exiting the room.
"Have Stephen and Todd help you dress, we can finish watching the movie and Stephen can finish brushing your hair." Sebastián said placing his forehead against Mizuyuki's, before standing up and walking away.
Sebastián met Gloria at the front door then opened it for her. They stood out in the hallway of the apartment.
Gloria sighed deeply, "That boy needs around the clock care for no less than a week. If he can't even sleep for 10 minutes he will have a psychotic break in the next 72 hours. I can prescribe him medication but it needs to be taken with food and most of it will make him drowsy there's no way around that. You boys will need to watch him in shifts or you're likely to screw up his medication in your own sleep deprived states. His detox medication specifically has some harsh side effects, he must take it after eating. 3 times a day for 30 days."
She sighed deeply then straightened her posture and continued, "I'm sorry I didn't know the sedative would be the opposite of helping him, but if I'm right, that boy has slept a maximum of 8 hours in the last 5 days. If that is the case it could be that they forced him awake with drugs and adrenaline or something similar like a shit ton of uppers. His skin shows dehydration, his eyes do not dilate naturally, and his throat is bruised and swollen. Meaning they barely fed him, barely let him rest, and worst of all they barely let him heal properly. Sebastián, the next 7 days will test all of you. He could die very easily with none of you being the wiser. He will need a routine, sunlight, and standby medication for emergencies. I'll send all the scripts to Stephen, do not procrastinate filling them. He needs to start the medication by this time tomorrow."
"Yea thanks Doc. Sorry for snapping at you... we just got him back this morning and it's been a rough day already."
"Well it's clear how much you all mean to him, however I will stress... it will get much worse before it gets better. His memory for one thing will be a huge problem for a while, how long will depend on him. When I get his blood work back I can give you more concrete answers and advice but I have no idea what they injected him with."
"Thanks again. Be careful on the way back."
"I'll call you when the blood work comes back. Someone needs to watch him at all times. Do you hear me?"
"Yes Doc. I got it, I got it." Sebastián said waving her off before going back inside.
They were all back in the living room, the movie going, while Mizuyuki lay on Stephen's chest while getting his hair brushed. Sebastián sat to the right of Stephen with Todd on the left.
Mizuyuki was still silently crying into Stephen's chest and Stephen was looking more and more murderous. One thing was for sure, the Doc was right. The next few days would test everyone's limits.