Claire.
Work has been going smoothly and swiftly so far. No rule has been broken yet. I tried to be fairly strict and professional with every single inmate that walked in here and I must say that it's been pretty easy so far.
I'm not one to fall in love out of the blue. I was very cautious and mindful of the people I gave my heart out to. I've crushed on a few people I've met in my life and some celebrities too but it was nothing serious, just mere infatuation.
For someone like me who has gone through so much betrayal from close allies, I needed a deep layer of emotional connection before I could fall for anyone so falling for an inmate was really absurd. They lacked love and were devoid of humane emotions. Not only were they incapable of loving someone truly, they had a reputation of hurting innocent people and everyone close to them. I wasn't going to let anyone hurt me again.
So far, my relationship with the correctional nurses has been blooming. They were nice people, the both of them and they helped me out so much and made my time here truly enjoyable.
But I still kept my guard up. It was a default way I'd forced myself to live with after the betrayal I faced back in college.
"Doctor" Darren called out as he barged into my office, "There's an emergency."
I got up quickly and ran after him, my lab coat flying with the wind.
The infirmary doors slid open to reveal a transport cart carrying an inmate on it, he was convulsing.
His whole body was shaking vehemently and his eyes were closing gradually. I rushed over to the cart.
"Bring him down"
The nurses and the staff carrying the cart stopped to look at me questionably. "But doctor..."
"Bring him down and lay him on the floor" I ordered again. This time, Ambel and Darren rushed to carry the inmate from cart, they struggled to place him on the ground because he was heavy and also violent.
Once he was on the floor, I crotched down to his level unbottoning the prison uniform he was wearing.
"Hey, it's ok" I reassured sweetly although he was still convulsing and staring at me dead in the eye. After I unbuttoned his shirt, I began to rub my hands through his exposed chest patting it gently while holding his left hand tightly.
"Pls give us some space, he needs air" I informed the nurses and the staff who stood watching as I performed my act on him. They all moved back obediently in silence.
I returned my gaze to the recovering inmate who was now beginning to calm down, his breath slowly becoming steady.
"Hello, it's ok. Nothing is going to happen to you ok, you're safe with me." I whispered to him, smiling softly down at him as I patted his chest. I noticed he became calm and still, he even squeezed my hand a little.
I smiled.
"Darren, please can I get a pillow" I asked, my gaze still on the inmate.
"Sure." I heard him say followed by some footsteps behind me and in few seconds, Darren returned with a pillow and handed it over to me, I took it and held it in place right above the inmate's head, he tensed.
"Hey, don't panic ok, I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." I assured squeezing his hands softly until he stilled then I placed the pillow below his head and rested his head gently on it.
He wasn't convulsing anymore, all I needed to do was to get him to sleep. I looked at the nurses who all stared at me with suprised faces.
"I want to get him to sleep and when he does, please don't wake him up. Let him lay here to rest, I'll prescribe something later"
They all nodded in affirmation then dispersed to their various posts.
I looked at the now motionless breathing man, his eyes were slowly closing as his heartbeat followed the rhythm of my pats. It didn't take long before he drifted off to sleep, his hands still held on to me. I stayed him him for a while before untangling myself from him and heading off to get lunch.
***
I walked into the ODR, the canteen for the officers, the correctional cooks, the medical teams and other employees working in the prison.
I made my way to the counter and ordered one of my favorite things to eat. Hamburger and Sprite.
l retired to my usual spot at the end of the room. I loved eating there, It was calm and was far away from the officers sitting area which was always noisy.
The officers always sat in groups and chatted loudly, laughing hilariously when anyone among them say something that I bet wasn't even funny enough.
I didn't like that, wasn't not a fan of talking and even worse laughing while eating. I prefer to finish the meal calmly before chatting, that way, the food works better in your system.
I placed my food down on the table and took my seat. I picked up my hamburger and took a bite gently, savouring in it's rich taste, I could feel the eyes of people in the room on me coupled with silent whispers but I didn't care I was already used to getting stared at and talked about by the officers and the staffs.
"That's the new doctor? Fuck, she's pretty"
"She's so tall and beautiful"
"How the heck is she even working here?"
I'd already gotten accustomed to hearing all these whenever I walked in here. It wasn't anything thing new.
I continued to munch on my hamburger hungrily but elegantly.
"May I?"
I looked up to see the senior police officer, Chris standing before me with his tray of food on his hands.
"Yes, sure" I said, gesturing my hands towards the chair opposite me. He sat down while dropping his tray on the table and I noticed that he ordered the same thing I did, just that his was with ketchup
"How have you been, Doctor?"
"I'm quite well officer, thank you" I replied with a smile.
"And work?"
"It's been going great so far"
"It's difficult to see you these days" He blurted, his eyes still on me as he ate.
I chuckled and he smiled too. Gosh, he was fine.
"Well, I've been busy with work."
"I see. It has me wishing that there wasn't a restroom in your office maybe just then I'd be able to see you around more" He said teasingly, his voice playful.
I almost choked on the piece of burger in my mouth to those words, my hands unconciously reached for the sprite and gulped it down.
I looked back at him through hooded eyes but guess what... he was still smiling, casually.
Fuck.
I hated that I'd let him have the upper hand, that one silly mistake was surely going to hunt me for the rest of my stay here, as long as he's around.
"We don't have to bring up the past now officer, do we?" I repositioned myself on the seat, trying so hard to get back the upper hand.
"We certainly don't." he affirmed and we stared each other for a while before returning to our meals.
We ate the rest of our meals in silence. I noticed the officers at the other end would glance at us every now and then whisper among themselves. They better not include me in any rumours.
I took the last bite of my hamburger and washed it down with this sprite. I felt so full.
I got up to leave but Chris stopped me, dropping his half eaten burger on his tray.
"Claire, I'm sorry if I took things too far and made you mad, it wasn't my intention to do that."
"Oh no Officer, it's fine. I means it's ok to throw a few jokes sometimes, right? We shouldn't be so uptight" I said, clearly lying to myself but somehow seeing the logic in those words.
"You're right" He acknowledged, smiling sweetly. "Thanks Claire."
"You're welcome, Officer." I replied before leaving the ODR.