Wake Up

Part 4

Ren wakes up the next day to an empty bed. He doesn't move, still reeling back from the previous day's findings. He had some time to process what Doc told him but he still couldn't really believe it.

He didn't know what to think or do about it. A while ago, he would have immediately told Doc that he loved him back, but now? He just wasn't sure.

Ren gets up, getting ready for the day and meeting Doc downstairs.

"Good sleep?"

Ren's thoughts go back to the night before.

"No! Please no, Doc!"

"Please don't leave me, please wake up."

"Doc didn't wake up this morning."

"It's going to be okay, right X?"

"Please wake up, I miss you."

"Ren?"

Ren snaps out of his thoughts, realizing Doc was staring right at him. His voice falls short, all the emotions he felt back then rushing through him. The disbelief, the pain, how lonely he felt, all of it.

Tears welled up in his eyes. "Memories," he choked out. "Not good ones."

Doc motioned for him to sit next to him. "What happened?"

"It's when no one would wake up," Ren says, referring back to when he had told him before. "It still hurts."

"It's okay for it to hurt," Doc places his arm around him, holding him close. "Things that suck still keep sucking."

"Please never say it like that again, Doc," he said with a sniff.

"Doesn't make it wrong."

-.-

Ren didn't know who he could go to. Before, he would not hesitate to go to Iskall, but now, he's not so sure. He wanders, not knowing who to go to, feeling lost.

He doesn't know how but he ends up in front of a tree house. He doesn't recognize it at first but finds Etho there.

"Ren? Hey, man!" he greeted with a smile. "Been awhile since we've seen each other, Pamela been good?"

"Uh yeah," Ren finds himself at a loss for words.

"Something wrong?"

Etho knew Doc. Doc had said it himself, they were close. While he didn't know Etho himself, Doc knew him so he must be trustworthy enough and know something to help him out.

"I-" Ren hesitated, still a little unsure if he should tell him. "You and Doc are close, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Etho says. "He's one of my closest friends, and I've known him for quite a long time. Did something happen?"

"Doc, he-" Ren stops. Was Doc going to be upset that he told Etho about how he felt? And if he did tell him, Etho's going to want to know why Ren was so against it, and would he judge him like everyone else had? "Nevermind, it's stupid." Ren decided against it now that he was able to think about it a little more.

"It can't be stupid if it's bothering you, Ren."

Ren still looked reluctant to tell him.

"If you're worried if I'm going to tell anyone, I won't," Etho put his hand over his heart as a promise. "I wouldn't betray Doc's, or your, trust like that."

"Doc told me he loved me," Ren blurts out before he could stop himself.

Etho's eyebrows rose, the look of shock on his face. It was clear that Doc hadn't told him that. "Oh?" he says curiously, trying and failing to hide the smile on his face. "Honestly, I shouldn't be so surprised, he spends a lot of time with you and talking about you," he says the last part as an afterthought.