May 2020

(Follows on from previous chapter)

Will walked out of the ED doors, and was greeted by the welcoming afternoon sun. He looked at his watch; it was 6pm. Only 6 more hours of the day shift left.

This break lasted 15 minutes- he would have got a coffee but he planned to do something he hadn't done in possibly years- go to bed (and sleep) early. Of course, by the time he did go to bed, after he'd got home, had dinner and maybe watched some TV, it was likely it would be about 11:30, at least. But that was certainly early compared with 2am.

As Will stood outside, reflecting on recent weeks, he caught sight of Ethan. They weren't exactly back on 'best friend' terms yet, but they were speaking to each other. At least that was a start.

It was more than could be said about his ex girlfriend. She refused to speak to either Ethan or Will any more than was absolutely necessary. Will thought she was just being stubborn and slightly rude. He had no idea that she still loved him like he did.

He made his way over to Ethan, slightly nervous, but he wanted to rebuild their friendship and there has to be a starting point.

"Hey Ethan,"

Ethan looked up, surprised to hear Will's voice.

"Don't you hate me?" Ethan asked.

"Nah, course not. What's up, you look like you've seen a ghost," Will joked.

Ethan shifted nervously on his feet.

"C'mon, what's wrong? Ethan?"

Ethan opened his mouth, half hoping for the words to just fall out, half hoping that an excuse would instead.

Suddenly an ambulance pulled up, and Ethan and Will both sprung into 'doctor mode'. Thankfully, none of the paramedics were anyone either of them knew closely, and with that, the conversation seemed to have closed.

At 9pm, Will's shift finished. As he was closing his locker and preparing to head back to an empty flat, Ethan appeared beside him. Ethan had 2 hours left of his shift, so he was still in his scrubs.

"Hey Will, erm, I... I need to talk to you," he started.

Will nodded, "Go on..."

"Will I'm just going to say it. Just before you came out, I was talking to Fenisha, and"

"Mate, you really gotta stop that," Will joked. "But seriously don't worry if she doesn't want to talk about it. She won't... she won't get back with me, which I completely understand, so I'm just gonna give her some space, and then hopefully"

"She's still pregnant, Will."

It took a moment to sink in. Will searched through his memories, trying to think of how it could be possible.

Suddenly, it all clicked in.

"So that's why she's ignoring me? That's why she doesn't want to get back together?"

Will sighed. He was angry, but at the same time he felt a pang of guilt.

"So I guess we're all to blame, aren't we."

Ethan nodded.

"Will, I've got Huntington's."

His eyes widened considerably.

"What? Are... are you ok?" Then it clicked again.

"Wait... she doesn't know does she?"

Ethan shook his head guiltily.

"What about Cal?"

Ethan was visibly startled by the sudden mention of his late brother's name.

"Will, Cal... he died. He was stabbed."

Will was shocked. He'd never known Cal much; he was older than Ethan and him, but still, it hurt to know that one of your best friend's brothers had died.

"Ethan... I'm so sorry, I didn't know, it was"

"He didn't have it." Ethan interrupted.

"What?"

"Cal didn't have the gene. I did. What a waste of a life."

"Ethan, don't say that. I'm sorry."

And he pulled his best friend into a hug.

When Will finally got home to his flat, he just wanted to crawl straight into bed. He didn't want to be with anyone else; he loved her. But what could he do, when she wouldn't talk to anyone and he had said all those things. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad; he could still be with her even if it wasn't his... couldn't he? But what if the baby did have the gene... and she chose to get rid of it?

Then he realised, she didn't even know. He realised the guilt that Ethan would be feeling right now, the regret that he even slept with her. It was amazing how one small mistake could lead to massive problems.

He looked at the clock in the hallway; it read 10pm. Exhausted after his shift, Will walked to his bedroom and turned the light on. Getting out his phone, he scrolled down, pausing next to Fenisha's name. His fingers hovered over it, but instead he scrolled back up to Ethan's name. Clicking on the message button, he texted:

Hey mate. Just wanted to say I'm sorry. For everything.