Wren

Part 11

"Hang in there, Wren." Dace rushed through the halls of the mansion, Leo right behind him. He had bandaged Wren's legs, but his hands hung limply and Leo could see that the palms were scorched. But the urgent issue right now was his labored breathing. Smoke inhalation could be very bad, and especially for as long as Wren had been breathing it and how thick it had been.

"Leo, his breathing is getting worse," Dace warned as their mad dash came to a halt at the infirmary door. Leo flung it open, and ushered Dace inside. They laid Wren on the bed and Leo dug for the oxygen mask while he directed Dace to get the tank set up. 

"Here, I found the mask. Can you put it on him while I get it hooked to the tank?" Leo asked, handing Dace the mask. 

Dace gently fitted it over Wren's soot-streaked face, watching his ragged and unsteady breaths fog up the plastic. He heard hissing behind him as Leo turned on the oxygen tank, having gotten it attached to the mask. 

It seemed to be helping. After about five minutes, Wren was taking normal breaths as he slept.

"I think we're in the clear," Leo let out a shaky breath as he flopped down into a chair. Dace sat gingerly on the edge of the foot of Wren's bed, not taking his eyes from him. 

"Where's Matteo? He didn't follow us?"

"No," Leo said. "I think he's in shock. He told me it was his fault. Maybe you should go find him? I have to stay with the kid."

Dace hesitated, then nodded. He didn't want to leave Wren, (he'd grown quite attached to the boy, as had Leo,) but Leo was a doctor and needed to stay with Wren, he supposed. He sighed and hauled himself to his feet. "And how am I supposed to deal with him? You know how he is. . ."

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. But you need to distract him somehow, get him out of that room if he's still there. But I don't want him in here until I get Wren cleaned and patched up."

Dace left, and Leo got up from his seat to start working on Wren. He'd been shirtless when the incident happened, but the sweatpants he'd been wearing  had mostly burned away, only the top half hanging on. Leo removed the tattered remains and slipped Wren into a new pair of boxers he had as spares in the infirmary lockers, then started to wipe the ash from his face and upper body. 

As he bandaged Wren's hands, he thought about how if Matteo and Dace hadn't come when they did, Wren could've died. But. . . How did that fire start, anyway? Did it have something to do with the cigarette burns on Wren's collarbone that hadn't been there before? 

Leo sank back into his chair, still pondering. He was extremely curious about how the fire started, but judging by Matteo's reaction and what he'd said earlier, it was something Leo couldn't ask about right now. He'd have to wait.

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Dace quietly stood in the doorframe to Matteo's smoke-smelling room, taking in the damage. The fire hadn't spread very much, just burned a large semi-circle around Wren's corner. It had completely burned the carpet down to the wood floor underneath, and some of the curtains that were closest to the corner. Sitting in the middle of the burnt floor, hunched over and unmoving, was Matteo.

He was right where they'd left him. Dace hesitantly creeped over, clearing his throat so he didn't scare him. Matteo didn't move.

"Hey, . . You okay?" Dace asked.

Matteo sighed, lifting his head from his hands to look at him. His eyes were red. "No. I'm not okay. It's my fault he's so hurt--" his voice broke.

"How is it your fault?" Dace asked gently, trying to figure out what happened without making Matteo think he was blaming him.

"I was angry at Father again. . . I came in here and hurt Wren. Burned him with a cigarette. I guess-- I guess I dropped the butt in here and it caught fire on his cranes," He picked up a light blue paper crane, the only one that had escaped the blaze. He examined it closely, with a broken look in his eye. "it's my fault." He whispered.

Dace didn't say anything. He didn't want to lie and say it wasn't, but Matteo was his friend and he was already feeling guilty enough. 

"I don't know, man. But Wren is hurt, both physically and emotionally. And he needs someone to help him. You need to fix this, Matteo. Your Father wants the two of you together, but Wren doesn't even want you near him because he's so scared of you. It'll take time, but you have to make this right. Show him you're not the monster he thinks you are." 

He patted Matteo on the back, the hauled him to his feet. "Leo said he doesn't want you in the infirmary until Wren's better, so he doesn't get scared if he wakes up and sees you. Okay?" 

Matteo felt another wave of guilt wash over him. He nodded. He knew he'd given Wren every reason to be terrified of him, but he was filled with regret. Why had he hurt an innocent kid just because he was mad at his father? Just because a woman had left him broken? He was a grown man and needed to take responsibility for his heinous actions. He'd make it up to Wren, no matter what.

                           Part Twelve Coming Soon