Long Away

Chapter 65

They stayed by the grave a little longer before Gwil called Ben's doctor- his sort of boyfriend? Joe wasn't sure what their relationship status was. He was leaning against the back of his car, nervously tapping his foot. It was hard not to get his hopes up, and yet he was almost certain they would be crushed again in a minute.
"Hey handsome," Gwil cooed into the speaker of his phone. Not exactly a word Joe would have used to describe the person on the other end, but Gwil was certainly committed to his bit.
"How's your day been so far?"
With growing impatience, Joe took out his own phone from his pant pocket while Gwil was making small-talk and sucking up to the doctor.

Rami had texted him a few minutes ago to check up on him.
Rami: "Hey, are you feeling any better yet?" - 2:45pm
They hadn't talked much the last few days. Mostly because Joe didn't want to reach out and worry his best friend.
Joe: "A little. I was just at Roger's grave with Gwil. Now he's trying to get us permission to visit Ben together." - 3:09pm
"Actually darling, can I ask you a favor?" Gwil had finally gotten through with the false niceties.
"Remember my friend Joe? Yeah, he is not doing so well. He really wants to see Ben. Do you think you could make an exception for him today?" Joe watched anxiously as his friend chewed his lip, waiting for an answer.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, don't worry about that, you don't have to be there with us. We're not going to mess with anything."
Joe locked eyes with Gwil, who shot him a promising smile. Immediately Joe's heart started to beat faster. He would get to see Ben. Finally.
"Yes, of course. Thank you, darling."
After a short pause, Gwil chuckled.
"What do you get out of this? Well, how about I treat you to dinner? My place, Friday at five? Perfect. I'll see you then."

Joe's phone vibrated in his hand. He got a quick glance at Rami's message before Gwil hung up.
Rami: "Oh? How does he want to do that?" - 3:10pm
Joe decided that Rami could wait until later and pressed the power button. He looked at Gwil with anticipation. A wide grin spread on his face.
"Ready to go to the hospital?"
A huge weight lifted itself off of Joe's chest. Without thinking twice, he leaped forward and threw his arms around Gwil.

"Hey!", he chuckled as he tumbled a step backwards before catching himself.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
A feeling Joe had almost forgotten flared up inside of his chest. It was weak, his brain wasn't used to positive emotions anymore. But it was there. A hint of optimism and excitement.
"Of course."
Gwil's arms wrapped around Joe's back.
"Anything for you."

Joe drove after Gwil to the hospital. Only now was it really setting in what was about to happen. Joe hadn't seen Ben for almost two months. Before that, both he and Gwil had to wait for permission from Ben's family to be allowed to visit him, which took a while, so in total Joe had only been with him three times after the accident. The image of his close to lifeless face was burned into Joe's mind. Each time it was an emotional battle to leave him behind, and if Joe had known last time how long it would be before he could return... Anxiety shot through his body, his hands clenched around the steering wheel. How long would it be this time? What if this time was the last? He struggled to push the thought away and focus on the traffic. Luckily it wasn't much further.

The look on his face when he got out of the car must have spoken volumes, judging by the worried frown on Gwil's face when he walked up to him.
"Did something happen?"
"Just got a little overwhelmed." He tried to laugh it off, but Gwil only seemed more concerned.
"Do you need a moment?"
Joe vehemently shook his head.
"I don't want to waste any more time."
"Promise you'll let me know if it gets too much?", Gwil asked.
"I'm just worried I won't have enough time with him." Joe's voice came out a weak whisper.
"I get it." Gwil sighed.
"Let's go inside then. Do you have your mask?"
Joe reached into his pant pocket and nodded.
"I do."

Joe followed Gwil through the building.
"We need Henry to let us into Ben's room. He says he'll meet us in front of his office in five minutes," he explained, eyes fixated on the screen of his phone.
"Alright," Joe said. "Did you ask him how long we can stay?"
"He said an hour max. We need to be out before the nurses check on him again."
Joe told himself it was fine. That there was nothing he could do other than sit beside Ben's bed anyway. That an hour was all he needed. But all he could feel was an overwhelming sense of dread for the moment that hour would come to an end.

They reached Dr. Hidgens' office and sat down on the chairs next to the door. Gwil was still on his phone, so Joe decided to text back Rami. He saw that his friend was also online.
Rami: "Oh? How does he want to do that?" - 3:10pm
Joe: "He's been going out with Ben's doctor to get special treatment. It's actually working, we're about to see him." - 4:21pm
Rami: "What?" - 4:21pm
"This is a joke, right?" - 4:21pm
Joe: "Nope" - 4:22pm
Rami: "Seriously?" - 4:22pm
"So... Does he actually like him or is he really just using him?" - 4:23pm

Joe frowned. He had not thought too much about it, as he had been too caught up with worrying about Ben. But Rami did have a point. He looked over at Gwil. It was hard to tell because of the mask, but judging by the wrinkles around his eyes, he was smiling down at his own phone as he was typing. Maybe there actually was something between them? Just because it started out as an excuse for Gwil to spend more time at the hospital didn't mean Gwil couldn't catch feelings eventually. After all, they had gone on quite a few dates. Joe didn't want to make any assumptions, much less gossip about Gwil.
Joe: "Maybe you should ask him that? I have to go now. I'll text you when I'm home." - 4:24pm

He turned off his phone and slipped it into his pocket.
"Gwil?"
"Hm?" He looked up.
"You and... What's his name again?"
"Do you mean Henry?"
"Yes, right. I was wondering, how do you feel about him?"
Gwil's expression became earnest.
"Well-", he began, hesitantly, but footsteps down the hallway interrupted him. The two looked around, just in time to see Dr. Henry Hidgens cutting a corner. He fastened his pace when his eyes fell on Gwil.
"Hello my darling. I'm sorry you had to wait, I came as quickly as I could."
"Hey! Don't worry about it dear."
Gwil stood up to embrace his - whatever they were to each other - and Joe awkwardly waited until Henry stepped back.
"Hey there." Joe stood up as well, and raised his hand to greet him.
Henry briefly nodded at him before turning his attention back to Gwil.
"Hey. So, I don't have much time like I said. If you two would follow me."

The three men made their way through the building to Ben's room. It wasn't the same as last time Joe had been here, and he wondered why they had to move him. Henry opened the door. Joe's heart skipped a beat, as it so often did when he looked at Ben. He didn't know how, but each time, despite having been unconscious for months, he looked even more beautiful and angelic than Joe remembered.
Henry cleared his throat.
"So... About Friday... It's gonna be the first time in a while it's just you and me..." Joe wisely decided not to pay attention to the rest. He walked straight over to the bed, carefully grabbing Ben's hand.
"Hey..." He choked. The sight of Ben's unmoving face wasn't something he would ever get used to. But he was here. Finally. His vision became blurred by tears of both hurt and relief.
"Benny, please. You need to wake up soon. You don't have much more time."

***

Hey guys!

I'm very sorry this chapter took so long to write. I can't promise the next ones will be done faster. I have some exams coming up and should focus on studying (if I will actually do that is a different question but wellp)
Anyway, I hope you understand if it takes a few weeks.

Tay