Wren

Part 34

Wren felt. . . heavy. Like his every cell weighed a million pounds. It was an effort to open his eyes, but he immediately closed them because of the pain. 

Leo had been watching him, and saw his eyes flick open for a split second. He felt his heart pick up pace in his chest; this was the first time Wren had woken up since they'd brought him home two days ago. 

"Can you hear me? Wren?" Leo asked quietly, trying not to scare him. He held a thermometer to his forehead. 99.5-- high, but not a fever.

Wren squirmed a bit, swatting lazily at whatever was touching his head. Leo pulled the tool away, again trying to coax Wren awake. "Hey hey, it's alright. Can you open your eyes again?"

Wren's eyes flew open and he sprang up, scrambling backwards until his back slammed into the wall. He winced, but made no sound. 

"Relax, Wren. It's me, Leo. Are you okay?" He stared at Wren's wild eyes that roved around the room, frantically looking for an escape. "Hey. Can you look at me? Wren?" Worry leaked into his voice as he started to realize that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

He fished his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his contacts with a shaky hand, tapping Matteo's name. It didn't even ring twice before he picked up. 

"Matteo, he's awake. . . but he's acting really strange. You need to come--"

The line hung up. Only five minutes later, Matteo was stumbling through the doorway, disheveled. He was shirtless and his hair was dripping, his jeans crooked on his waist. He froze when he saw Wren hunched against the wall, panting and unable to find their faces. 

Matteo took a few hesitant steps forward, only continuing when Wren didn't move. "Puppy. . . are you okay? Can you hear me?" 

"I don't think he really can," Leo whispered, stopping Matteo from going any closer. "His eardrums are definitely busted, so he's probably only hearing ringing and maybe muffled voices."

"Why won't he look at me, though?" Matteo asked, his voice hitching like he was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Matteo. . . his eyes are damaged. They should heal, but. . . it'll take a while. We have no idea what they did to him, but I think it was way worse than we imagined. He's completely unaware of who we are right now. I don't know if that's just because his senses are damaged, or if he's so broken from whatever they did to him--"

"Stop." Matteo demanded. "He'll be okay. He has to be." He reached out hesitantly, lightly brushing Wren's arm. He shrunk away like the touch had burned him. Matteo pulled his hand back, the gravity of the situation finally making it's way into his heart. "What have they done to you, puppy?" He asked in a whisper.

"What are we going to tell Sophie?" Leo asked quietly.

"I-- I don't know. She's dying to see him."

"Let's just try to stall for a day or so, until we find out the extent of. . . whatever this is. She won't understand."

Matteo didn't respond, but a tear slipped down his cheek. He wasn't that worried about Sophie right now; she was safe and mostly happy. He needed to focus on Wren.

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"Gentle," Leo cautioned as they guided Wren to the shower. He hadn't made a sound, but had tried to get away from them when he felt their touch. After a struggle, he'd wilted, defeated. He was completely resigned now, letting them pull him wherever. He kept his eyes shut.

"Why won't he open his eyes?" Matteo wondered aloud, adjusting the shower temperature. 

"They hurt." Leo stated.

"Yeah, but why?"

"Hmm. I'm not sure, actually. They looked. . . burned, almost. Bloodshot and irritated."

"Burned?" Matteo whispered. What hell had Wren had to go through, all because of him?

They took off the grimy clothes, noticing the way Wren tilted his head toward their conversation, almost as if he was trying to listen. Leo stepped away and stood by the door, looking on to give Wren some privacy. Matteo guided him into the shower, and Wren flinched at the warm spray, but then just stood there. 

"He's just frozen in place," Matteo said to Leo, unsure what to do. 

"You need to get in with him and wash him then." Came the reply.

Matteo hesitated for a moment before removing his own clothes, stepping in behind Wren. He placed his hands on his shoulders to let him know that someone was there, so he didn't scare him, but he flinched anyway. Matteo gently started rubbing Wren 's back with his bare hands, not using soap or a cloth because of the many wounds. Wren's tense slowly relaxed under the warm water and gentle touch.

Matteo took his time, making sure to get every inch of Wren's sandy skin. He was careful around the wounds, he knew Wren was hurting even though he didn't make a sound. He talked soothingly the whole time, hoping he could hear even just a tiny bit.

He called Leo over, who held up a towel and swaddled Wren as Matteo guided him over the shower ledge. He got out himself and wrapped a towel around his waist, following them out of the bathroom. 

It'd been about three hours since Wren had woken up, and they'd moved the operation to Leo and Dace's quarters, where they'd be staying for a while. Matteo had wanted to take him home to their own room, but Leo had reminded him that Sophie was there, and this room was right next to the infirmary. So it was better this way. 

Leo left for a few minutes to let them get dried off and dressed. Matteo took care of Wren first, toweling him off and slipping his trembling limbs into a soft pajama set a maid had fetched from their room, along with clothes for Matteo. He watched Wren as he dressed a few feet away-- he didn't move. Just sat on the edge of the bed, still as a statue. 

Matteo sat down beside him, slowly pulling Wren to lie back with him. Wren tensed and seemed scared, but after a while he relaxed into the warmth, his exhausted body dragging him down into sleep.

Even though he knew he couldn't hear it, he sang Wren's lullaby to him.

                Part Thirty-Five Coming Soon

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