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Edit: 13.10.21

Chapter 5: The Lie

Bruises located in too abnormal places to have been caused by an accident, signs of head trauma, indication of a concussion, a sprained ankle that would have explained her halting the previous day, and a black eye. Evelyn successfully managed to apply bandages and sanitized band-aids to the older woman's minor injuries, and ice for the black-eye and the ankle, but applying hydrogen peroxide on the cut over her forehead proved itself to be a challenge.

The older woman refused to stay still on the couch and the doctor tried immensely to press the cloth against the bleeding wound. Time and time again, the neighbor refused to stay calm, twisting and turning in similar ways like the black organism did in that container. Evelyn found it to be a tedious comparison, but she nevertheless persisted in her effort to cleanse the wound.

"Mrs. Rodriguez, please refrain from moving so much," she said in an attempt to calm the woman down, despite knowing fully well that her words were not the comforting kind most people would've wanted to hear. Rather than to add a soft tone to her voice, it remained stern and strict in every way. "Allow me to finish my assessment."

Surprisingly, the older woman relented and slowly stopped moving as much as she had previously done, though the abrupt flinches and yelps were still inevitable. Be that as it may, it granted Evelyn the opportunity to clean the wound without further difficulties on her part. The abrasion was not too deep, but nonetheless bleeding a moderate amount.

As she finally finished cleaning most of the blood away, she reached for the bandage in the kit and carefully wrapped it around the woman's head, making sure to pull most of the hair away as she covered the open wound. Now that she had attended to all of the injuries, Evelyn bent down by the couch and put all of the equipment back into the med-kit before she shut it soundlessly.

"The wounds are stable for now, but I will need you to refrain from any sudden movements. Do you understand? If they get worse, go to the hospital for further treatment," she explained, not looking up as she put the kit away in the kitchen cabinet.

Yet no answer reached her ears. Instead, whimpers grew audible from the couch, prompting Evelyn to look up with narrowed eyes. Mrs. Rodriguez's eyes were filled with tears to the brink, eyes reddened and nose puffy.

With the best of her abilities, she tried to deduce what was going through the woman's mind in regard to her emotional state, yet she was unable to come up with a reliable conclusion. (Frustration? Denial? Regret?)

Psychology had never been her field of expertise, nor of interest. Her focus was the physical well-being of her patients, not what drove them or what kind of motivations were present. Therefore, consolation and comfort would always be something she left in the hands to the other doctors or nurses. How she was supposed to deal with the situation was beyond her, but all she knew was that in this state, she would doubtfully receive a logical explanation from the elderly woman.

Even so, she did not require a full statement in order to unravel the circumstances. It was obvious what was going on, but this was the first time she managed to have it verified. The bruises and injuries on Mrs. Rodriguez were deliberate, intended, yet impulsive and spontaneous. Whoever had been there would have needed to be within close proximity, as expected, but why would the victim come to her neighbor instead of calling the police to report assault?

Humans were predictable like that, once you learned to read them the right way. Even though she was less than interested in reading their sentiments and take them into consideration, it aided her whenever she needed to deduce the situation if words were excluded from the predicament. Their motives and interests, although of no concern to her, had their advantages on occasions. Mrs. Rodriguez did not wish to call the police or the hospital because she was afraid, not for herself, but for the person whose fists had inflicted her with those wounds.

What kind of person within close proximity could do as they pleased without having to worry about the consequences? Either a foolish criminal with a lack of regard towards the aftermath for their actions, or someone who knew that whoever they had assaulted would not report it to the authorities. Not to mention, Evelyn was no stranger towards seeing bruises on her neighbor's exterior appearance, so it occurred to her more than once that this was a frequent occurrence for the elderly woman.

"Mrs. Rodriguez," she asserted the older woman stoically. "In order to keep matters as simple as possible for the both of us, it would be preferable if you told me who inflicted those injuries on you."

This seemed to perk the woman's attention, a fretful one. Mrs. Rodriguez hands were shaking, uncontrollably (stress? nerve damage? hypoglycemia), but the doctor did not seem affected by this in the slighted. Instead, she awaited an answer, taking note of the turbulence that was present on the older woman's countenance.

"N-Nothing happened," Mrs. Rodriguez uttered pathetically, lips trembling as she spoke. "I s-simply had an accident, tripped, silly me. Nobody hurt me, I s-s-swear on it."

Needless to say, the doctor was far from impressed. Lies tended to get quick to notice once you were surrounded by lying people on a daily; whether it was people who refused to acknowledge their mistakes, patients that tried to cover up the stories behind their injuries, or colleagues who were too proud to admit that their competence could be debated, it was all the same to her.

Getting up to her feet again, Evelyn peered coldly down upon the woman and regarded it as her top priority to get the answer out of her through whatever meant necessary. "I'm no fool, Mrs. Rodriguez, let me make that clear. In order for me to do my job, I require an answer. A truthful one. If you fail to deliver, then I will be forced to have one of my colleagues take a look at you and make a conclusion themselves, someone I doubt will be as docile as me, considering the circumstances surrounding your injuries."

Her threat, albeit a subtle one, did not pass the older woman's notice. Mrs. Rodriguez's face peered up with what could only be fear. Her skin paled, her bottom lip quivered, and her eyes twitched as terror overcame her. She seemed torn between retaliating or staying silent, but the latter would undoubtfully produce dissatisfactory results on her end.

"Y-You ca-can't do that, Ms. March."

"I can if I deem it necessary."

"T-That's monstrous!" her voice shook with terror at the same pace as her hands did. "Don't you care about what your patients think?!"

Evelyn's expression dulled, but frustration was increasingly building up inside her. "My job is not to care, but to save. Keeping critical information away is keeping me from fulfilling my responsibility as a doctor."

She was unable to comprehend the neighbor's reluctance to admit the truth behind her wounds, even though it was already obvious. Why make things so much more complicated than they needed to be? Because she saw no point in clinging onto ridiculous answers for compliance. All she needed was a simple answer, an affirmation that what she suspected (and knew to be genuine) was correct.

Her neighbor opened her mouth, plausibly to object against this sort of verbal treatment, but she held her tongue and her face contorted into a more saddened look. She wanted to answer, yet an invisible leash was wrapped around her throat and threatening to kill her on the spot; snap her neck and keep the words from being pronounced aloud.

Fortunately, it seemed as though she had enough will to be able to free herself. "D-Dennis had a little too much to drink, that's all." She uttered, clamming her hands together. "I-It's my fault though, honestly." A weak smile contorted across her lips and her eyes met the floor like a long-lost lover. "I forgot to prepare the eggs in the way he wanted them. He has always been a picky eater."

The words were quickly processed and verified as genuine. Evelyn had dealt with countless lies and had worked up the ability to easily distinguish them from the truth over the years. She was content with knowing that Mrs. Rodriguez was speaking honestly, which saved her a lot more trouble. It was good that her speculations were proven to be correct, and now that she had proof, keeping her neighbor from being subjected to any more physical injuries.

Dennis Rodriguez; prominent congressman in association with the US House of Representatives, well-beloved in the neighborhood for his generous donations to the area. He was a saint, from the perspective of ignorant onlookers. He knew what string to pull, what measures to take, and what means to make sure that his extravagant activities remained concealed from the world.

On few occasions had Evelyn seen him in person. Even though she had little contact with her neighbors in general, infrequent interactions were inevitable. There were times where her neighbors would come over to her in order to have brief medical evaluations done in exchange for petty things like gifts or small sums of money. It was more convenient on their part than to go to the hospital.

However, she almost always rejected these payments.

Amongst these situations, Mr. Rodriguez was one of those said neighbors. He had once come in order to have his breathing tested, seeing it as his addiction to chain-smoking had cost him restricted inhalation. However, upon being told that he would have to go to the hospital as well, he grew irritated and threatened to have her license taken away. Though no case ever happened despite his threat, Evelyn never underestimated his ability to do more than just make threats.

Just like she never underestimated anyone's ability to keep things from escalating beyond a vocal note.

"Be that as it may," Evelyn said, closing her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. "Allowing this to continue will go against my duties as a physician. I will report this to the authorities and have appropriate measures be taken to ensure that–"

Before she could finish her sentence, Mrs. Rodriguez abruptly got to her feet and snatched her hand, keeping a firm grip on it as if letting go would mean the end of her. The older woman's eyes overflowed with tears as she desperately shook her head.

"No, you can't! Please, don't do it!" she cried, unable to contain herself any longer before the tears flowed down her cheeks. "You can't let them take my Dennis away from me! You can't let them take my babies' father from them!"

For the first time in a long one (even though it was actually a short one) Evelyn felt a sense of irritability column within her. "Why are you objecting? Your husband is deliberately afflicting injuries upon you that are in need of medical assistance. Reporting him will be–"

"No! He may be rough sometimes, but he loves me! I know he does!"

Evelyn was not impressed with her defiance, but rather ... confused. "He regularly subjects you to abuse and inflicts lingering injuries. How is that an act of love?"

Then Mrs. Rodriguez proceeded to glare her way, hostility growing apparent on the old woman's features as the young woman said this with uttermost equanimity. "Have you ever been married, Ms. March? Have you ever been in love? Do you know what it means to love someone?"

The words came out as more antagonistic than she elderly woman had intended, and a piece of her regretted saying them. She was a guest in the doctor's home and had just been treated without being demanded payment. How did she have the audacity to be this rude?

She held her face in shame, not daring to look the doctor in the face. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to–"

"I have not committed myself to love in the same way you have, Mrs. Rodriguez, so, therefore, I am unable to evaluate what such would involve from a personal perspective."

To her shock, Mrs. Rodriguez looked up and saw nothing which indicated melancholy with Ms. March. Her face had not changed from the moment she looked away, and it seemed as firm and void of emotions as it had always been.

But then the doctor's eyes became cold again. "However, a relationship where one party takes advantage of the other one without regard for the consequences is not one worth holding onto. Such should be discouraged. What you're doing is putting your physical well-being in danger and as such, it is my responsibility as a medical associate to report it to the authorities."

There were no ill intentions as far as Evelyn knew, nor were there any particular good ones either on her account. It was her responsibility to keep people from being subjected to physical violation in her notice, and now that she had all the evidence she needed, she wasted no time walking past the elderly woman to reach her cellphone on top of her living room table.

But she never made it that far before something intervened.

Mrs. Rodriguez clasped her hand around her wrist as she tried to reach for the phone, not nearly enough to prevent her. Mrs. Rodriguez was a lady well beyond her fifties, nearing her sixties in not too long, and her strength could easily be compared to that of a child.

Still, Evelyn turned her face around to face the woman, eyes narrowed. "May I request that you let go?" she asked calmly, not deterred in the slightest.

But the old woman's face did not reveal submission for once. She violently shook her head, hands trembling more now than ever.

"P-Please don't call the police," she pleaded desperately, eyes aimed to the floor. Even with her left foot partially incapacitated, she showed incredible balance now. "They'll take him away. They will take my Dennis away, and then I will be all alone. I hardly see my children and I have no one left if he's gone."

But the doctor showed no signs of giving into her demands. "Regardless of your solitude, your husband is deliberately violating you and is therefore required to go into police custody. Understand that if I allow this to continue, it will interfere with my work. I request that you stop complicating things."

Yet the older woman did not let go of her that easily. "Please, Ms. March. Please don't let them take my husband away. I – I don't wish to be alone."

Evelyn failed to understand these words much less than she understood that black organism back at the Life Foundation. Even that was a concept she could comprehend to a certain degree, but the things this woman was spewing made no sense to her.

Were injuries preferable to separateness?

Would this woman deliberately put herself in harm's way just because she could not bear the thought of being in an empty home by herself?

A life where one's own existence was dependent on another's seemed like a miserable existence altogether.

A parasitic bond.

"Humans are filled with flaws."

If these weaknesses were part of human flaws, then they were truly a dying race.

Nothing was gained without a price.

If Mrs. Rodriguez safety could only be attained by separating from her husband, why would she foolishly decline such an offer?

What sort of fool would not sacrifice something in order to achieve something else for the better good?

Evelyn let these words sink into her before she finally decided that this was getting her nowhere. Other measures would have to be taken.

"If that is what you wish," she said calmly, her eyes meeting Mrs. Rodriguez's with the uttermost composure. If this could convince her to let go of her and make things easier, then she would have to do whatever she deemed necessary in order to handle the situation.

Mrs. Rodriguez' eyes lit up with hope and her grip lessened. "Y-You won't report him?"

"I won't," Evelyn verified, feeling the woman slowly let go of her.

"Whatever it takes."

People had called her a lot of names throughout her life, few of which she bothered remembering. They were more than often produced from the fact that she did not care about personal opinions, as long as she got the job finished. She was not above using whatever means necessary, nor was she disgusted by the prospect of breaking promises.

As someone who knew how to distinguish lies from the truth, she was an exceptional liar herself, though she seldom spoke them. That hopeful glimmer than shone in her neighbor's eyes as she said that her husband would be spared the penance of being taken into custody was something she did not take into consideration as she reported the incident the next day at the hospital to the authorities.

When she arrived home that same day, she witnessed Mr. Rodriguez being escorted to the police car in handcuffs by officers whilst cursing their names and making blatant threats that failed to reach her ears from across the road. What she did notice was that Mrs. Rodriguez was desperately trying to detain the officers, even though the new marks on her face were plain from a mile away.

The older woman was wailing at the officers, getting to her knees and begging them to cease their "assault" on her husband. The officers gently kept her from interfering, which caused quite a scene for the other neighbors nearby. Watching a congressman get taken into custody for domestic abuse against his wife was quite a scandal. Most of them were appalled by it, keeping their children from going out while this was happening and taking pictures with their phones to put out on social media.

As for the doctor who had been the one to cause it all, her reaction was merely a nonchalant one as she stepped into her home, not casting a second glance in the general direction where the scene was taking place before she shut the door behind her. From her perspective, she had done nothing wrong. She had done what she was supposed to do, as a doctor. She had done her duty, nothing more and nothing less.

Evelyn March had been called many names throughout her life, but one that seemed to repeat itself came on her doorstep from a furious Mrs. Rodriguez. She had been crying and her hands had been clenched into fists as she shouted one word to the doctor's face.

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

"You're despised for your practical approach towards what most people would deem inhuman, because you are willing to take risks towards the greater good. Dr. Janine Skirth could not see it, your colleagues are unable to open their eyes towards your achievements, and your patients are incapable of appreciating the decisions you make because they think of you as evil because of it."

If people didn't wish to be saved, then what good were they? Accepting death was not something she considered a virtue, and it was not something she herself would accept. Therefore, as she stepped into her living room after Mrs. Rodriguez's expected (And brief) visit, Dr. March's eyes fell on top of the business card belonging to the Life Foundation and she experienced a sensation she seldom felt.

Interest.