Le choix du coeur (6/?)
Title: Le choix du coeur
Author: KittyBlackCat
Disclaimer: Luke and Reid aren't dating and going at it like bunnies so obviously, I don't own ATWT or its characters
Rating: PG-13(to be safe)
Summary: Post episode of May 20th. Luke is left at the bar with a constricting heart and confused mind. Can he figure things out and make the right choice?
Chapter summary: uhm...I don't really know how to describe it. Well, there's Reid and KAtie in this chapter and a certain phone call.
Word count: 2367
Previous chapter: chap1/ chap2/ chap3/ chap4/ chap5/ chap7/ chap8/ chap 9/ chap10/ chap11
AN: Finally! My writer’s block has left! This chapter is a little different from the previous ones since it doesn’t focus on what’s written in Luke’s journal. You’ll know later on what he wrote in it about Reid, but not right now.
Chapter 6
Reid Oliver was walking through Memorial’s halls much like a zombie. He hadn’t harassed or insulted a nurse’s intelligence in days. His out-of-character behaviour had gotten so bad that even Doogie Hughes had stopped by his office to ask if he was okay…and had gotten more than a little traumatized at the “I’m fine….But thanks for asking. Chris.” It didn’t take ten seconds before Dr. Chris Hughes was on the phone with Katie Snyder about the potential alien abduction of the real Reid Oliver. It didn’t take Katie Snyder ten seconds to jump on Reid and ask him how he was when he got home that night.
- Seriously Reid. You know you can tell me anything. Talk to me.
- There is nothing to talk about Katie.
- Really?
- Really. I’m fine.
- Then why did Chris call me in a panic talking about Alien abductions or severe depression or cloning or…
- Alien abduction? Reid interrupted incredulously. Seriously what in the world was wrong with Chris Hughes? On the other hand, Reid really didn’t want to know the answer.
- Well you haven’t been mean to anyone in days! What else are your colleagues supposed to think when you stop insulting their intelligence using your incredible sarcastic powers? It’s either the Aliens or a sign of the Apocalypse. Personally, I’d prefer the Aliens.
Reid smiled at that. Katie always knew what to do or say to cheer him up. Alien abduction…Lord this town is full of idiots. Sadly, it wasn’t full on the only idiot he wanted to be here. When Katie had told him about Luke’s decision to leave to clear his mind out, he never expected to miss him that much…or to be so terribly worried about what Luke would decided in the end.
- You’re scared Luke won’t choose you, aren’t you?
Reid really hated when she was being perceptive. That always meant he’d end up having to admit something to himself and denial just felt sooooo much better.
- You know, if it affects you so badly, maybe I could call Luke on his cell and see how things are going. This way, we could at least have an idea of when he might get back to clear things up.
- I don’t know. Is that a good idea? Wasn’t the whole point of leaving Oakdale to figure things out on his own?
- I won’t give any advice, I swear. No interference whatsoever. But wouldn’t it make you feel better if you knew whether he’ll be back soon or not? This way you’d know how much time you have to prepare yourself before talking to him.
- Prepare myself for what? I’m fine. He’s the one who has to come up with a decision.
- Uh huh. And you do sooo well in conversations involving feelings, Katie said sarcastically, or involving Noah for that matter. Because you know he’ll probably come up in the conversation. Are you able to handle that now? Because I don’t think you are.
Katie was right. Reid didn’t feel up to having this kind of conversation with Luke right now. How could he? Every time he spoke to Luke, things just got more confusing. He kept saying one thing at one point, then saying the opposite later on. How could he know if what Luke was saying the real truth? How could he know if Luke had really figured things out or not?
************************
After the 8th day, Luke Snyder had decided to change town. That little place had been nice and all, but it had been boring as hell in the last few days and it kind of reminded him of Noah with the pond and all. He wanted to figure things out about Reid in another place than where he had figured things out about Noah. And he had figured things out about Noah, on the second day actually, but it had taken him time to cry things out, make peace with the situation and himself and then simply relax because really, thinking and analysing things so hard was exhausting. So he left the small town in direction of Oakdale, not knowing where he would end up next but getting closer to home nonetheless. Stopping in a town with a nice looking hospital and a hotel that strangely reminded him of the one in Dallas had seemed like the perfect resolution.
The next days had been much calmer than the others. In a way, writing entries in his journal about Reid was much easier. Thinking about Reid made him smile instead of cry. However, it was also quite hard because the more he wrote about Reid, the more he missed him. He wanted to see him so badly. It had come to the point where Luke spent two days alternating between going to the movies, shopping at the mall and annihilating some poor kid at Dance Dance Revolution at the Game Corner in order to distract himself from thinking and missing Reid like crazy. At the end of that second day, Luke couldn’t take it anymore. He wasn’t ready to go back to Oakdale yet. He wasn’t ready for the discussion he would need to have with Noah and was still quite confused about how and what to say exactly (should he tell Noah about Reid or wait? Which one is fair to Noah? And what if what’s fair for Noah is the opposite of what’s fair for Reid?) But Luke really, really needed to hear Reid’s voice….and to know that he wouldn’t be coming back to hidden-behind-a-hundred-icy-walls-Reid. So he picked up his cellphone and for the first time since leaving Oakdale, turned it on. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see over 25 missed calls. Nor was it a surprise that almost all of them were from his mother. He supposed she didn’t particularly like her son leaving town without telling her about it beforehand. He listened to a part of her first message then deleted it and all the others without listening to them. He knew his mother well enough to know exactly what she was saying in those messages. He was surprised however when a message from Katie came up.
“Hey Luke! It’s Katie. I know you’re probably off figuring your love life but I wanted to take some news. You know, knowing if you’re alive and well and returning to Oakdale one day so I don’t get stuck living with BizzarroReid for the rest of my life. Anyway, you probably won’t get this before returning to Oakdale. I’m sure your mother’s been calling your cell none stop so it’s probably always turned off, but if you do get it beforehand, can you call me and tell me that you’re doing ok? It would really reassure a certain someone in love with my couch pillows. Thanks!”
Luke smiled at Katie’s message. It was good to know that Reid wanted to know if he was ok, although he was a little confused about the whole BizzaroReid and couch pillows things. Luke called Katie back immediately. Maybe he could ask her to find a way to make him listen to Reid’s voice without him knowing about it?
***************
Katie Snyder sported once again a look of utter disgust at her roommates eating habits. How someone could eat a sandwich that has peanut butter, pickles, cucumbers, pepperoni and who knows what else, was beyond her. And she had been pregnant!
- What? Reid asked his mouth still full.
- Nothing. Just wondering if I should throw up or simply throw that thing in the garbage where it belongs.
- Why thank you for calling my stomach garbage or was that referring to me in general?
- That’s not what I mean and you…Katie started saying until the phone rang.
She gave Reid her “you haven’t won this round yet mister. Just you wait”, and picked up the phone.
- Snyder-Oliver residence. Katie speaking. How may I help you?
- Uh…Luke said speechless at how good Snyder-Oliver residence sounded. Hey Katie. It’s Luke.
- Luke!
Katie had to keep herself from laughing out loud at Reid’s reaction to Luke’s name. He immediately straightened up and dropped his sandwich back on the plate. He didn’t even try to feign not being interested for once.
- How are you doing Luke?
- Good, good.
- But?
- No but, it’s just…oh god this is gonna sound kinda crazy. Euh...I know that it’s not a good idea to talk to Reid before coming back you know, ‘cause we need to talk about this face to face, but do you think that you could arrange it so I can hear his voice without him knowing? Like pretend to hang up with me but really put me on speaker phone so I can hear him talk?
Katie didn’t know how to answer that. She was standing there in the middle of the living room with her jaw wide open and a giddy feeling appearing in her stomach. ‘OMG…that is so CUTE!!!’ Katie thought. ‘He can’t wait until he comes back to hear Reid’s voice! I knew Luke was romantic but that…aaaaaaawwwwwwwwww’ Katie figured that her internal awing must have reflected on her face because her roommate was now looking at her like she had loose a couple of marbles just now.
- argh. You know what? Forget it. It was a stupid idea. Just…Just tell Reid and my mom I’m okay.
- No wait! Don’t hang up! I think it’s a great idea. Except I think he should know about it. Here let me give him the phone.
- What? No Katie wait!
Katie looked at Reid, smiling with all her teeth and told him to pick up the phone. Reid hesitated. He wasn’t sure this was a good idea. “Come on!” Katie whispered stomping her feet on the ground. She was literally bouncing in excitement right now. ‘That woman needs to get a life!’ thought Reid. She just wouldn’t be able to stop interfering in everyone else’s love life until she had one of her own. ‘Although in a town like Oakhell, who could blame her for staying single?’ Reid reflected.
“ Hey” Reid said, rather timidly. He was feeling a little embarrassed and shy for some reason. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Katie was looking at him like the cat that ate the canary, the fish, licked the cream and pinned it all on the dog.
“Hey” Luke answered back after what seemed minutes of silence.
- So…how are things at the hospital?
- Good. Things are good.
- Great…
- …
- Look Reid. If this causes a problem for you just hang up ok? I didn’t call to talk to you
- Then why did you call? Reid interrupted rather abruptly.
- …to hear you voice. Luke whispered, embarrassed.
- What?
- I wanted…no I needed to hear your voice ok! I just…I told Katie to fake hanging up and to put me on speaker so I could hear you without things getting all awkward like right now.
- You…You wanted to hear my voice. Reid repeated rather incredulously
- Well yeah. I mean, it’s been a while since we talked and I know I can’t tell you what’s going on with me right now ‘cause we need to be face to face when we ash things out but…I…well… I miss you.
- You do?
- Yeah.
- So… what did you want to hear my voice talk about?
Katie smiled at her roommate. Yeah, things would be alright in the end. She just knew it. Reid spent the next half hour telling Luke about random anecdotes from the hospital and about the sandwiches he made this week that provoked the biggest reactions of disgust from the biggest amount of people. He did all of the talking, which was incredibly unusual as he hated small talk, but he did it anyway because Luke needed to hear his voice and really, that was all Reid needed to know to go out of his comfort zone.
The next few days were much better for Reid Oliver. He was able to concentrate on his work much more, was less stressed and Doogie had stopped looking at him like he was the Lochness monster. Yes, things were much better. Well…except for Oakdale’s memorial’s nurses and interns that is. They had started to cry in the bathroom again.
As for Luke, he couldn’t stop smiling the entire day after talking to Reid. He felt like someone had boosted him with way to much energy. He had his answer. Completely. There wasn’t any doubt anymore. He started thinking about going back to Oakdale but knew it was still too soon. It had been a long while since Luke had taken a break from everything and did things by himself and for himself. When he went back to Oakdale, he would be back in shape, and with his head on straight. He figured registering for the hotel’s forest walking and rock climbing activity would help him clear his head some more and the spa treatment offered by a clinic closed by would help him relax like he needed. He would go back to Oakdale soon. Once he finds out how in the world to talk about what he find out to Noah and Reid? He wasn’t worried though. He’d figure it out. From now on, things would be just fine. Hard, he had no doubt about that, but in the end, they’ll still be good.
AN: Finally!!! One week of writers block! I couldn’t take it anymore. And inspiration just had to come today when I had a huge headache now turned full blown migraine that makes me feel nauseous. But I had finally started writing again I just couldn’t stop. I will now though. I wanted to write chapter 7 too but if I don’t go to bed with ice on my head soon, I think I might actually throw up. Anyway, hope you like it! (and that it doesn’t have a billion mistakes ‘cause headaches and spelling/grammar don’t go hand in hand)