Sheet of Flame

“Just clockin’ in, Doc,” he says a little hesitantly.

“Think I might be able to get a little something extra this time?”

Gregory Faunt is an addict. Everyone at the clinic is an addict, or a doctor. The distinction is a fine line, or at least Dr. Romans thinks so. Dr. Romans is the newest addition to the clinical staff but he thinks he has it all figured out.

“You know I can’t do that, Gregory. You’re already near your limit for the week.”

“Oh, c’mon, you know that isn’t nearly enough, man,” Greg pleads with him.

“There’s loads of the stuff just sitting around, and I need it. I really need it.”

He doesn’t need it, Romans thinks. He just wants a bigger high. Or maybe he just wants to try and sneak some out and sell it. Who knows.

Greg shifts in his uncomfortable little seat, waiting for the answer. Dr. Romans flips open the chart and pretends to examine it. Greg has been having increasingly larger doses since his admission, he notices. There are a few notes from his previous attending nurses about him begging them for more. Each time he’s here, he begs for more.

It occurs to Dr. Romans that we’re all addicts in some way. If he didn’t have his morning coffee, or perhaps if he no longer consumed soft drinks, then he could say differently. Not that caffeine in those doses is going to kill you, but it’s surely enough to make you have a strong headache when you need it. It was with this mentality that he opened the cabinet behind him and located a bottle that was nearly full.

“I will deny this all, you know.”