Untitled — Choose Your Own Romance — Chapter 16

Gabe headed back to the hospital, in spite of everything Mrs. Gibson had said. First, he was nowhere near his apartment when he’d got out of Kira’s car. They hadn’t made it that far from the hospital. Second, in the last few weeks, no matter how stressful school had been, or how frustrated with Kira he’d got, there was one person that melted everything away, and just made him feel… not loved exactly? But… something. When he was with Wyatt, it just felt like everything was right. Everything was natural. While Gabe still couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to kiss Wyatt, or curl up on his lap while watching a movie, he realized that wasn’t the most important thing. If he never got to kiss him, or lay his hand on his chest, or slide his hand around his hips, he could live with that as long as Wyatt was near him. Wait! Then… was that love? Maybe it was love, exactly. Maybe his confusion was the assumption of Wyatt being straight, which limited what his definitions on how far this could go. He was after all, clearly more romantically interested in Kira. But some of the comments he made when they last talked made it sound like…
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need to define this. I just need to be next to Wyatt,” Gabe told himself. He kept making his way back to the hospital. He was sure he could see the emergency landing lights for the helicopter’s landing pad, so he couldn’t be far.
As he got closer, he thought he could see through the trees surrounding the hospital, emergency crews were rushing around, but there was no helicopter on the pad. Just people that seemed to be rushing around, decked out in scrubs. He looked up, and could see the moon, now three quarters through its nightly travels.
He walked through the door, wondering what time it was. He saw a digital clock that was flashing 12:00, so that was clearly no help. His phone was dead, and that was the only thing he normally relied on for the time. He moved to Wyatt’s room, and forgot to even check for a clock. He walked up to Wyatt’s bedside and looked down at him.
“What is it about you that got me twisted up so quickly?”
Wyatt groaned and slowly turned his head to face Gabe.
“I’m pretty cute, so that might be it,” he croaked out. Gabe jumped like a corpse had just start talking.
“What is it about YOU that makes me wonder where I actually fall on that Kinsey scale we’d talked about on that first date?” Gabe just sat there with his mouth open like a dying fish.
“You’re AWAKE!” Gabe started to shout, then lowered his voice on the last syllable, remembering it was nighttime in a hospital.
Wyatt smiled. “I’ve kind of been awake for a while. It’s you guys that were asleep.” Gabe gave him a quizzical look. Wyatt shook his head a little, laughing at himself and explained, “It’s just what I told myself. I could hear everything going on, and all the conversations. I kept trying to talk back, and nobody could hear me. I was shouting from inside my own head. It was driving me insane. So, I started thinking, ‘Who says I’m not the one standing there awake, and all of these people aren’t the ones unconscious and that’s why they can’t hear me?’ I mean, it seems awfully assumptive to think it’s my problem they can’t hear what I’m clearly saying. Of course I know that wasn’t the case, but when you have nothing to do but think yourself around in circles all day inside your own head, you have to do something to make it sorta fun!”
Gabe was shell-shocked.
“So you think you might like guys then?” Gabe said hopefully.
Wyatt had an amused look on his face. “Ok, so someone you like, is in an accident, in a coma, wakes up and tells you he’s been turning reality inside out in his own head, over and over, and… the biggest moment you got out of all of that is I sometimes question if I’ve slid down the Kinsey a few notches?”
Gabe felt so embarrassed. He just started stammering, “I’m… I’m so sorry! I… of course! Yes, that was so stupid of me. I’m just glad you’re ok! I didn’t want you to be alone tonight, and you threw me WAY off!”
Wyatt sat up, laughing. “It’s ok. There’s no rules for how anything goes. I just found that particularly funny.” He started to get out of bed. Gabe went over to grab him.
“I don’t think you should move yet. Let me get a nurse first,” Gabe said, his eyes searching for a call-button.
Wyatt shook his head, “That’s ok. I’m fine.”
“No you are not fine! Don’t you move until I get someone! And I need to call your parents! And Kir… well.. maybe not her right now. But don’t you move!” Gabe was frantic.
Wyatt looked completely calm. “Don’t worry Gabe. I’m fine…” He swung his legs over and was on the floor, steady as ever. He started to move over to Gabe. “Maybe you healed me. Maybe my need to figure out what ‘this’ is between us got me out of bed.”
He’d moved over to Gabe quite quickly. In fact, he didn’t remember seeing Wyatt’s legs move. He looked down and Wyatt was not standing on the ground at all. He was hovering about an inch above it. He grabbed Gabe and moved back over to the hospital bed. Gabe had been led there, but felt like he’d floated. Wyatt said, “Don’t be afraid of me. I wonder what it would be like to kiss you too.”
Gabe started, “Wait, how’d you know I…” Wyatt shushed him, and brought his lips near Gabe’s.
Gabe woke up.
“No!” he yelled. It all came back to him. After he’d got out of Kira’s car, he’d wanted to go back to the hospital, but he was worried what Wyatt’s family and Kira might think. Yes, he was not happy with her right now, but he also wasn’t trying to make things worse. He’d demanded some space, and that’s all he wanted from her right now. He’d come home and went to bed. So much fell apart when that reality came crashing in. He’d felt so much relief that Wyatt was awake. He’d felt so much hope that Wyatt was saying things he’d only (literally now) dreamed of. He felt it was all so real. But now, everything was the same as yesterday. Wyatt was in the hospital, and nobody knew if he’d be ok. Wyatt wasn’t ready to test the boundaries of himself because of how amazing Gabe was. It was all fake. He’d never been so mad at his own stupid brain.
5 miles away Kira was sitting in the hospital room, next to Wyatt holding his hand. “I’m so sorry I was so cold to you. I can’t explain everything, but my feelings have been wrapped up in someone else nearly my whole life. I never seriously considered anyone else. I told you I called you “Puppy” because you were following me around and too eager to please. Maybe that’s why, but mainly I did it because I’m a bitch. Still, like a puppy, you’ve worked your way in, and I’m so brokenhearted I can’t make explain all this to you. To just tell you that it wasn’t you. I drive everyone away, acting strong. Even the strongest break when they get a puppy, right? Large truckers are reduced to sobs, and burly mountain men squeal in delight when a puppy dances around their feet? You are still my puppy. I’ll show you how that’s a good thing now, once you wake up. Just know I’m sorry that I hurt you, and if you wake up, I’ll show you how I’ll never hurt you again.”
She sat in silence. She’d left Gabe halfway back to town and hadn’t known where else to go. She didn’t want to be alone after her admission and then fight, with Gabe. So she’d circled back to the one person that made her feel when she was with him, everything was right. She’d denied it at first, but she realized at the times she could keep her mouth shut, when they were side by side, everything felt so natural. She stood up, still holding his hand. She kissed it. She thought for a moment about giving him a real kiss, but then felt creepy about it. She didn’t want to be the only one to remember their first kiss, nor did she want to rape-kiss him. They hadn’t got that far. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. “Come on puppy… Wake up, and I’ll make you so happy.” She laid down his hand, and turned to walk out.
All of a sudden alarms were filling the room.
