Two Weeks In Hawaii

Day Twelve

Ryan wasn't all that surprised to wake up alone the next morning. Disappointed, yeah, he was hoping that Brendon would leave William and come upstairs, but he honestly didn't expect it was going to happen. Still, when he opened his eyes to discover half the bed just as cold and empty as it was when he went to sleep, Ryan couldn't help but sigh miserably into the pillow. He wanted to be selfish and have Brendon all to himself though he knew that maybe William needed him a bit more. Maybe.

For probably ten or so minutes Ryan laid there, twisted in the sheets, staring at the beam of warm light that slipped in through the joining points of the curtains over the balcony doors. The house was silent, it was pretty early by Ryan's guess, and the momentum to leave the bed wasn't terribly strong. He was comfortable and warm and had little reason to get up and do anything.

One such reason being the increasing urge to pee. Ryan was able to ignore it for awhile, but it didn't take long for the pressure on his bladder to become unbearable and force him from his bliss to the bathroom like practically every morning. It was nice that there was a bathroom about ten or so feet from the bed because Ryan was lazy and waited until he absolutely couldn't hold it any longer.

After he was done, Ryan went to the dresser where his clothes were, yanking the top drawer open. Brendon had given Ryan his own drawer, it was one of the middle ones, but it was too early to think straight and all Ryan wanted was a shirt. He hated exposing his overly thin body. Ryan grabbed the first shirt he saw and slid it on, not caring whose it was, because it fit him just fine. The color was brighter than Ryan would normally wear, namely because it was yellow, but Ryan wasn't too concerned about that at the moment either.

Ryan opened the bedroom door with every intention of going downstairs to see if Brendon or anyone else was up yet, when he looked to that same closed door where Gabe was hiding. Curiosity, being the bitch it was, took control and, before he knew it, Ryan was tip-toeing across the floor to it. He was curious to see what Gabe was doing, he figured still sleeping, since he hadn't seen or heard the man since the previous afternoon.

Upon reaching the door, Ryan pressed the side of his head flat against the wood, listening for any sounds within. All he got was silence though, and Ryan quickly found his hand on the doorknob, twisting it with a soft click, and pushing it open just enough to look inside.

The room was dimly lit; the curtain on the window having been left open. A burst of cool air hit Ryan from a fan or air conditioner blowing into the room, and Ryan involuntarily shivered. Sliding halfway inside, Ryan saw Gabe lying diagonally across the large bed on his stomach; fully clothed. He was on top of all the blankets, Ryan guessed he just passed out, with the smell of alcohol filling the air. That wasn't much of a surprise.

The thing that surprised Ryan was wrapped tightly in Gabe's arm, pulled firm against his body, was a teddy bear; dressed in what he made out to be a skeleton costume. Ryan wanted to laugh, so he bit his tongue to keep silent—not wanting to wake Gabe. He never imagined Gabe as the loving-stuffed-animals type, to each their own, and found the sight as amusing. The expression on Gabe's face was sad, pained even, and the amusement on Ryan's face died.

Perhaps he was thinking about William. And the bear could be a reminder of his cuddly boyfriend.

Or, maybe, Ryan's just looking into this way too much. Frowning himself, Ryan backed from the room and pulled the door shut again, inhaling clean air. Ryan felt bad for Gabe, worried about him some, but in a way, the older man deserved to feel regret and hurt and other emotional pains. While Ryan didn't know the whole story, he knew quite a bit. Gabe didn't need to treat William so harshly for being good friends with Travis—even if the two had a history. He deserved to feel what he made William feel.