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“Ze?”
Regect’s broken voice echoed through the dimly lit bedrock corridor as Ze finally broke free of the illusion that had kept him trapped for the past—fuck, he didn’t even know how long he’d been down here. He broke into a run for the door when that mysterious voice told him to leave, not wanting to wait for whatever it was to change its mind. He took a deep breath to steel himself and opened the door, half expecting to see more of that endless corridor. It was just the cave he had entered through, of course.
Scrambling over the rocks, Ze could hear Moe frantically honking her horn inside the house.
“Ze? Where are you?”
“I’m here,” Ze tried to shout, but it came out as barely more than a whisper, his voice cracking. He was barely choking back tears now, relief mingling with panic and paranoia. He glanced over his shoulder as he boosted himself out of the hole and onto the grass of the lawn. Ze dragged his hands over his face, the sunlight almost blinding after so long underground.
“Oh my God, Ze, there you are,” Regect said, running over to him. Huh. Ze hadn’t noticed him come outside.
“Regect? Is it really you?”
“Of course it’s me, dude. Where the fuck were you?” Regect bit out. “I thought you’d left.”
“No…I couldn’t—” The tears had started flowing now and Ze shook as he clung to Regect’s arms hard enough to bruise. “I couldn’t get out.”
“Get out of where?”
If Ze didn’t know any better, he would think Regect sounded almost concerned. He knew it was stupid, crying in Regect’s arms like this, and he had almost made up his mind to pretend nothing had happened at all when another wave of sobs wracked his body. To be honest, he wasn’t even sure it really was Regect anymore, but the thought of it just being another hallucination terrified Ze.
A minute later, he took a deep breath and wiped his face. “Whatever, it’s nothing,” he finally answered. “It doesn’t matter.”
Regect stared at him blankly—at least, Ze assumed he did by the deafening silence that met his words.
”Well, asshole, if it was nothing, then were you just straight up ignoring me? That’s such a dick move,” Regect spat.
”I wasn’t—“
”Whatever, dude.” Regect turned around and went back into the house without another word, leaving Ze alone on the grass with a terrible pit in his stomach.
Moe’s horn dragged him back to reality. Ze had gotten pretty good at understanding her lately, and what she was trying to communicate was clear. Go talk to him, she told him. He worries about you, he just doesn’t know how to say it. He cares about you a lot, Ze.
”I don’t know, Moe,” Ze replied. “He’s the one who was being an asshole to me. Why should I apologize for that?”
More honking. You don’t have to apologize, but you should stop dancing around the fact that you clearly like each other. At least tell him whatever happened to you while you were down there. He’s a better listener than you think.
Ze considered it for a moment. “Fine,” he said finally. “Fine, you’re right. I’ll talk to him.”
***
”Regect?”
Regect didn’t respond at first, seemingly too focused on whatever he was doing on the computer.
”I’m…I’m sorry, Regect. I was defensive and rude when you were just worried about me. So I’m sorry for that.”
More silence, but then Regect finally spoke.
“Do you want to talk about it now?”
Ze hated the way Regect read him so easily, like he was an open book. But he had promised Moe, and there was no going back now. He opened up about the cave, and the bedrock corridor, and about the hospital with the alliums surrounding the bed. Regect flinched slightly at that, but Ze kept going. He told Regect about the things they had done together, the things that had turned out to be an illusion from that mysterious eye entity.
”I don’t even know if this is real, man,” Ze whispered. “I believed it all for so long.”
”…I didn’t know…I’m sorry, dude.” It wasn’t much, but it was so heartfelt that it threw Ze for a loop.
“Uh, thanks.” Ze shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. He hadn’t considered what he would do if Regect actually apologized that the understanding that hung in the air between them felt foreign and wrong.
Regect turned away slightly. “Do you want to watch a movie? We can put on your favorite,” he said carefully.
Ze tensed. The last time favorite movies had been brought up, the fake Regect had gotten it wrong. Ze didn’t expect that he would remember what he had mentioned offhand that one time but if he got it right then Ze supposed that meant it was the real Regect once and for all.
”We can put on A Bronx Tale if you want. Or not. I don’t care either way. Uh. Yeah, man, it’s up to you.”
Holy shit. Ze stood there with his mouth agape for a moment. He actually had remembered.
”Ze?”
”Yeah, uh…that would be nice.” Maybe they would be okay after all.