physician.
“So, the combination of the MDMA, or Ecstasy, along with the intermittent heroin use was creating in your brain the false feeling of contentment and depressing your symptoms of social anxiety through manipulation of serotonin levels. Though the short-term benefits of the drugs would mimic prescription medications for the disorder, long term use…”
Blah.
Blah.
Blah.
The grey-haired physician droned on. She finally lifted her eyes to Ioan’s as he sat watching from across the small exam room. He was furious. Disappointed. But the emotion that pierced her heart, the one that had convinced her to follow him to the grey building in the city suburbs, was fear.
Her protector couldn’t be afraid. He was too strong. Too sure.
Brigid could never think of Ioan as a father. She had no father, and even the hint of one was enough to make her stomach churn. Ioan was the older brother she’d always wished for. The one who would defend her. And her protector was staring at her with dark, fearful eyes.
Brigid blinked back tears and looked away.
Ioan interrupted softly, “Dr. McTierney, I think that’s enough. Thank you. Brigid’s health appears normal?”
“Brigid?” The doctor spoke to her softly, his tone asking permission. She just shrugged, and the doctor turned back to Ioan. “All her blood tests came back normal except for the drugs in her system. The levels match the use she described in her interview.”
The doctor sat down on the chair across from her. Brigid curled into herself and stared at his hands and the small, dark hairs that sprinkled the back of them. Thick veins crossed the top of hands that he folded in studied, professional concern. “Brigid, I’m a physician, but I am familiar with social anxiety and depression. There are prescription medications that can help you. Your symptoms and history are classic—”
“Piss off and leave me alone.” Her voice was soft, but clear. She had nothing to say to the human. She wanted to be left alone.
“Brenden, if you could give us some privacy, I’d appreciate it.”
The doctor rose and shook Ioan’s hand before he left the small examination room, leaving Brigid and Ioan alone. Ioan often worked in the city doing clinics for the underprivileged. The doctor was a friend who helped and had agreed to perform the lab work confidentially during hours that Ioan could accompany her. She could hear Ioan heave a deep sigh, and she closed her eyes.
“Christ, Brigid, when I think how bad this could have been—”
“Are you going to make me quit school?”
She was still doing well in school. After her first experience at the club, she researched Ecstasy. Illegal drugs weren’t something she had ever considered taking, but the effects of the MDMA had been so soothing she had to learn more. She paced herself. She was careful to only use them in social situations, and never too often. And when the MDMA had stopped being quite as effective, a small dose of heroin did the trick. Never too much. She was still in control.
That’s what she told herself.
And if her use toward the end of term had increased, that was just because of stress, wasn’t it? Her grades had slipped a little, but not enough that it had affected her standing with the university. But if Ioan made her stop taking classes—
“Of course you’re quitting school, you idiot! You’re quitting school. You’re quitting your friends in town. Most importantly, you’re quitting drugs. Enough, Brigid. We’re lucky to catch this after only a few months. You’re entering a program and you’re—”
Her head shot up. “I’m not going to any fecking rehab.”
“Yes, you are.” He glared at her. “It’s not open for debate. You’re going. You’re getting help for the addictions, and you’re—”
“You can’t force me into one.”
“Oh, yes, I can.”
“You can’t!”
Ioan rose from his seat and stalked toward her. He pulled her up by the collar of her jacket and his
“So, the combination of the MDMA, or Ecstasy, along with the intermittent heroin use was creating in your brain the false feeling of contentment and depressing your symptoms of social anxiety through manipulation of serotonin levels. Though the short-term benefits of the drugs would mimic prescription medications for the disorder, long term use…”
Blah.
Blah.
Blah.
The grey-haired physician droned on. She finally lifted her eyes to Ioan’s as he sat watching from across the small exam room. He was furious. Disappointed. But the emotion that pierced her heart, the one that had convinced her to follow him to the grey building in the city suburbs, was fear.
Her protector couldn’t be afraid. He was too strong. Too sure.
Brigid could never think of Ioan as a father. She had no father, and even the hint of one was enough to make her stomach churn. Ioan was the older brother she’d always wished for. The one who would defend her. And her protector was staring at her with dark, fearful eyes.
Brigid blinked back tears and looked away.
Ioan interrupted softly, “Dr. McTierney, I think that’s enough. Thank you. Brigid’s health appears normal?”
“Brigid?” The doctor spoke to her softly, his tone asking permission. She just shrugged, and the doctor turned back to Ioan. “All her blood tests came back normal except for the drugs in her system. The levels match the use she described in her interview.”
The doctor sat down on the chair across from her. Brigid curled into herself and stared at his hands and the small, dark hairs that sprinkled the back of them. Thick veins crossed the top of hands that he folded in studied, professional concern. “Brigid, I’m a physician, but I am familiar with social anxiety and depression. There are prescription medications that can help you. Your symptoms and history are classic—”
“Piss off and leave me alone.” Her voice was soft, but clear. She had nothing to say to the human. She wanted to be left alone.
“Brenden, if you could give us some privacy, I’d appreciate it.”
The doctor rose and shook Ioan’s hand before he left the small examination room, leaving Brigid and Ioan alone. Ioan often worked in the city doing clinics for the underprivileged. The doctor was a friend who helped and had agreed to perform the lab work confidentially during hours that Ioan could accompany her. She could hear Ioan heave a deep sigh, and she closed her eyes.
“Christ, Brigid, when I think how bad this could have been—”
“Are you going to make me quit school?”
She was still doing well in school. After her first experience at the club, she researched Ecstasy. Illegal drugs weren’t something she had ever considered taking, but the effects of the MDMA had been so soothing she had to learn more. She paced herself. She was careful to only use them in social situations, and never too often. And when the MDMA had stopped being quite as effective, a small dose of heroin did the trick. Never too much. She was still in control.
That’s what she told herself.
And if her use toward the end of term had increased, that was just because of stress, wasn’t it? Her grades had slipped a little, but not enough that it had affected her standing with the university. But if Ioan made her stop taking classes—
“Of course you’re quitting school, you idiot! You’re quitting school. You’re quitting your friends in town. Most importantly, you’re quitting drugs. Enough, Brigid. We’re lucky to catch this after only a few months. You’re entering a program and you’re—”
Her head shot up. “I’m not going to any fecking rehab.”
“Yes, you are.” He glared at her. “It’s not open for debate. You’re going. You’re getting help for the addictions, and you’re—”
“You can’t force me into one.”
“Oh, yes, I can.”
“You can’t!”
Ioan rose from his seat and stalked toward her. He pulled her up by the collar of her jacket and his
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