Chapter
2- I Wanna be Sedated
I've
decided to name the chapters after Ramones songs now. Any of the Ramones, not just Joey. So there can be Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, Marky, Tommy, CJ, and Richie
Ramone and some other band. The only
one I won't use is "KKK Took My Baby Away." Joey (or Johnny) and Pearl Jam did together. Unless of course, I run out of Ramones songs and have to use it…
Previously: Dave meets a teenage punk rocker, Joey, with
whom they share a common interest in the 70's punk band, The Ramones. Soon into the exam, Dave realizes the two
have a lot more in common than music tastes.
Joey
sniffled a little. "Your dad beat you
too, huh." He said. "Yeah. It was horrible. Every single
time he would drag me and by big brother Scott into the bathtub, as to catch
the bloody mess, and he'd beat the shit out of us. He even…he killed my eldest brother, Matthew." Dave said, crying openly now. Joey didn't know what to do, except for hug
the doctor. "He just beat the hell out
of him, until there was so much blood in the tub that he clearly would have
died of blood loss, but he didn't. He
drowned in a pool of his own blood. That motherfucker drug his body out into an alley and poured some blood
into his face, all while we watched him. He drug us home and told us the same thing would happen to us if we told
anyone about it." Dave took a breath. "The next day police found his broken body
in the alleyway and they came to dad. Dad pretended to cry really hard about the death, saying that if he ever
caught the bastard that killed his son, they'd die by his hands. I wished I was Matt then. At least he didn't have to endure the
'punishments' that the deadbeat dealt." Dave said. "Oh. Wow." Joey said. "You had it worse
than I do. I shouldn't complain." "NO! You have to complain. No one has
to take abuse, no matter how little the abuse is!" Dave said. Joey's eyes
widened in fear. "I can't tell, he'll
hurt me!" He said. Dave, a champion liar, told him, "Then we
won't. Right now, I had better fix
those wounds. Let me step out and get
some antibiotic and gauze, and I will be right back!" Dave left the room. "What's taking so long?" Kerry
asked. "Look, Chief. That boy is being abused. We have to tell authorities." Dave told her. "Dave, it isn't our place to take the law into our own hands. You have to let him do it." "NO, GOD DAMNIT!" Dave screamed. The entire
ER fell silent and Kerry froze still. Mark came along and pulled him into the lounge. "What the hell has gotten into you,
Malucci?" He asked. "My patient is being beaten by his father. He needs help, and he needs it now!" Dave said. "Dave, remember the last time we got into this fight?" "Yeah, but Mark, I know this type of
kid. I know what he's going
through." Dave said. "The hell you do. You came from a respectable family. I've met your family at the County picnic." "Yeah. My adoptive family." Dave said,
walking away. Mark grabbed him by the
scrubs and pushed him back into the wall. "Adoptive family? What the hell
are you talking about?" Mark asked. "My birth name, up until I was ten, I was
known as Dave Armato." Dave began. Mark looked at him. Armato? Dave Armato? That's…odd. "Anyway, I lived with my dad and two older
brothers up until 1974, when my eldest brother Matt, was murdered." Dave said, tears forming. "He was murdered?" Mark asked. "Yes. My father beat him, drowned him in his own
blood, and then threw him into an alleyway, and lied to the cops, saying it was
a crowd he hung out with." Dave
said. Mark's face softened. Now he knew the reason behind Malucci's
fights with child abusers. "Dave,
I-" "Let me finish. Anyway, My brother, Scott mustered up the
strength to tell someone, and we were immediately taken away and put in foster
care. Eventually, we ended up being
adopted by a different set of parents, and we haven't seen each other since." Dave said. Mark let Dave go and hugged him. "God, I'm sorry." Mark
said. Dave hugged back. "We need to help this kid, before he ends up
like Matthew." Dave said, remembering
the sight of his brother, skin purple with bruise, eyes swollen shut, blood
encrusted all over his body. "Let's
go." The ER fell silent as Dave came
back out. "I hope you're
feeling-" "Shut up!" Dave said. Mark put a hand up to stop Kerry from speaking again. "*I'll explain Later.*" Mark mouthed to her. Dave went back to treat Joey and Mark went
up to Kerry. "We have to help the boy."
Mark said. "Why? Wasn't it you who
told Dave to 'let it go' last time an abuse case came up?" Kerry asked. "Yeah, but that's before I knew about Dave's past." Mark said.
Dave
finished bandaging the wounds on Joey and looked up. "We have to call the police." Dave told him. Joey shook his
head. "I can't. They'll send me to an orphanage." He said. ""Not if someone's willing to take you in for foster care." Dave said. The kid looked up, eyes wide with fear. "Yeah. I'll bet the foster
parents that take me in will tell me to get rid of my 'hawk, throw away my
makeup, burn my CD's, and everything else that is dear to me." Joey said. "I'll try to take you in." Dave
said. Joey looked up. "But they might not let you. I mean, you are only the doctor that got me
out of the mess." "Yeah, but my
adoptive dad's a lawyer. He'll help
me. He fought on my side at the
bastard's trial." He said. "Really?" He asked. Dave nodded, and wiped
the runny makeup off of Joey's face. "Sure. Why not?" Dave asked. For the first time, Joey smiled, a wide smile that couldn't be matched
by anyone else.
A few minutes later, Joey was escorted to the lounge by Dave, where they called the cops. Everyone looked at the pair. Joey had begun to cry again, and Dave was holding him in a fatherly way and rocking him back and forth. "It'll be okay. I promise." Dave whispered. Soon enough, investigators arrived. Joey told his story, of all the times he had been beaten and punished for minor things, such as missing the bus, or tipping a beer over. In the end, Joey was hysterically crying, and wanted nothing more than for everyone to stop asking questions for a while. Finally the investigator just gave in. The kid was a wreck, and half the things he said were so distorted by sobs that you couldn't understand them anymore. "We'll let you know how things work out. We have to go and arrest your father…Eh, what's his name again?" The fat cop asked. "Sean Ofarim." Joey blubbered. "O-f-a-r-i-m. Gotcha." The guy said walking out to find information on this guy. "Look, we need to keep this kid out of his father's reach. Do any of you know of an extra place where we can put him until tomorrow?" The investigator asked. "I'll take him." Dave said, before anyone else could even open their mouth. "I've taken care of my teenage sister before, and so I can take care of Joey for a night." He said. The cop looked at him. "Ok. Sure. Whatever." He said. "Need yer stats, doc." The fat cop asked. "Dave Malucci, Regal Apartments, 5A, Pine Ave." Dave said. "Okay-doke." The cop said, following his buddies out the door. Joey looked up. "Thanks, Dr. Dave." He whispered, falling asleep on the doctor's shoulder. Dave smiled. Kerry walked forward. "Go home Dave." She said. "I'll give someone the ass end of your shift, now go home and take care of Joey." She told him. "Thanks Chief." Dave said. Kerry sighed. "Anytime, Malucci. Anytime." The doctors watched as Malucci carried the teenage boy, with his pink hair and leather jacket. They wondered what the hell was going on, and then the rumors started, half true, half lies.
