Breathe Anew
Observed
Since I finished my essay, I figured I could type this chapter up.
Disclaimer: Crime, j'ai chaud!
Breathe Anew
Observed
For the following week that came, Gilbert called the office and took a few days off. They let him take the time, once they heard what happened. Every morning, he would be the first visitor in and he would be the last visitor out. Every day, he hoped that Matthew would wake up and every day, he would be disappointed, but it didn't mean that he lost any hope that the next day would be the day.
During the first week, Arthur was there every afternoon. Whether he was there because he was worried for his brother or whether he was there to make sure that Gilbert was supervised, he did not know, but he was glad that when the week was over, the older man reduced his visits. Arthur still visited frequently, and when he couldn't, he made sure that Francis went.
Gilbert didn't mind Francis. The two of them met one summer in camp and even though Francis was in the older group, the two bonded over their mutual love to wreck havoc for their counsellors. Eventually, Francis became a counsellor of his own and fate had it that Gilbert ended up in his group.
He had no idea how their friendship worked, but it just did. Most of the time, Gilbert never acted his age and had always been brighter than the other children. His mind thought up of plans ten year olds would come up with when he was only seven.
The irony of ironies was that his friend met Arthur through him. Gilbert always teased Matthew's older brother that he either needed to get laid or that he needed to find someone who could match him up with his attitude or something like that. It just so happened that Francis had broken up with his current flame of the month.
Somehow or other, Gilbert hooked the two of them together and they clicked much to the surprise of everyone. He never let Arthur live it down and a month or so after Francis and Arthur became an item, Gilbert feared that he would lose his best friend to the one person who hadn't fallen for his charm, but much to Arthur's chagrin, Francis remained good friends with him. It just served to prove that he was irresistible.
When Francis would come to the hospital, he would help him stretch Matthew's legs and arms. Since he was in a coma for a while now, the nurses had to make sure the younger man's limbs got some exercise, before they completely deteriorated. For the first few days, Gilbert was scared to do it, but now he wouldn't let the hospital staff do it, unless he was not there when it was time for the exercise routine. He arranged his work schedule so that he could visit when it was that time of the day.
Now that Gilbert returned to work, he made sure he came an hour before he started; he always tried to make it at lunch if he didn't have any meetings and then he would return after work, until he was practically kicked out. By now, all the staff knew him and they knew not to mess around with him in regards of Matthew.
As much as Gilbert liked spending time alone with Matthew, since it allowed him to speak the thoughts he kept confined inside of him, he also liked the company of others, every now and then.
Francis never judged him for whatever he did, from the moment they met and to this day, he still didn't. Gilbert felt that he could be completely at ease around the Frenchman and he didn't have to guard himself.
When they would happen to be visiting at the same time, both Francis and he would sit by the hospital bed and talk about trivial little things. Gilbert suspected that his friend prepared a list of topics to keep the conversation flowing, so that Gilbert wouldn't dwell too much on what was going on, but even if he tried to get involved into the conversation; his mind was always thinking of Matthew.
Still, Gilbert appreciated the effort and tried his best to participate actively. Francis would bring up subjects from their past and he would try to avoid mentioning the younger man in their conversations. Gilbert would recall tales from their childhood and after a while, they would return to the matter at hand.
Gilbert would then get up and start the stretching exercises. Francis would watch him for a moment and observe the dedication and patience that his younger friend put into his work. For his sake, he hoped that Matthew would wake up soon.
OWARI 4
TO BE CONTINUED
Not a line of dialogue…
I know when Matthew is going to wake up and you don't ~ haha, I'm evil.
I do accept anonymous reviews.
Started writing: April 26th 2010, 9:52pm
Finished writing: April 27th 2010, 1:20pm
Started typing: May 2nd 2010, 2:22pm
Finished typing: May 2nd 2010, 2:49pm