the silence

seven.

brett was asleep when his phone rang loudly, interrupting his dream. he raised up and grabbed at his phone on the bedside table, groaning softly.

"hello?" he answered without even reading the name on the screen, only half awake.

he couldn't understand a single word the other person was saying, but he could tell who it was. he sat up and put his feet on the floor, pulling on his glasses.

"eddy, slow down," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. there was a long silence on the other side of the line.

"i don't know what to do. i can't stay here," eddy sobbed. brett, having known this boy for two days, was thoroughly confused.

    "what?" he asked, plopping his head back down on the pillow.

"mae. she hit me. i told her to get out and she punched me in the nose. i can't stay here tonight, brett. i don't know what to do," he whimpered, his voice shaky. brett sat up and pinched the bridge of his nose. he had no idea what to do other than to let eddy stay with him, but he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. he made a split second decision to offer anyways.

"uh.. come here," he stammered, shaking his head at himself. eddy sniffed loudly.

"are you sure? i don't want to be a bother, i—"

"i'm sure... uh, am i coming to get you?" brett interrupted.

    "no, no, you don't have to do that. just send me your address and i can drive. i'll stop by here tomorrow morning and change into rehearsal clothes," eddy said quickly. brett raised an eyebrow.

    "pajamas," he said simply, hoping eddy would get what he meant. the taller boy sighed.

    "i'm going to have to go back inside," he groaned.

    "don't hang up," brett whispered. he didn't want something to happen to eddy when he went back inside.

"i won't, but i'm not going to say anything once i'm inside. i don't want her to know i'm in there. she probably already fell asleep," eddy replied. brett didn't say anything.

"okay, here goes nothing," eddy whispered and opened the door.

brett chewed his nails as he listened to the faint rustling on the other side of the line. it was a few minutes before he heard a door shut and the sound of eddy's voice again.

"i made it. she's asleep. i got clothes for tonight and clothes for tomorrow so i don't have to come by here. text me your address, okay?" eddy said quickly. brett nodded.

"okay."

they hung up and brett texted eddy the address before cleaning his apartment frantically and texting jamie to tell him what was going on. he had never let a boy spend the night with him, let alone two days after meeting him. his heart was pounding and his phone started buzzing rapidly after a few minutes, texts from jamie coming through all at once.

most of the texts were him telling brett to try and seduce eddy and send him all the dirty details. brett rolled his eyes at those and read the rest, which basically just told him to be careful and safe in case eddy was untrustworthy. brett was about to reply whenever a gentle knock on his door startled him so badly he dropped his phone on the floor. he cursed under his breath and picked it up before opening the door.

eddy stood there with his arms crossed, his violin strapped to his back and a bag in his hand. dried blood covered his face and the sight of it shocked brett as he walked inside.

"hey," eddy mumbled, looking down. brett took his bag out of his hand and sat it on the couch. he tugged at eddy's violin case and the taller boy handed it to him, watching as he carefully placed it on the floor away from everything else.

brett didn't say a word as he grabbed onto eddy's sleeve, pulling him to the bathroom. eddy followed without protesting or asking what was going on. he was too tired and he trusted brett enough to keep quiet despite their short friendship.

brett rolled up the sleeves of his oversized jumper and gently pushed eddy down into a sitting position on the toilet lid. eddy leaned against the wall and watched brett as he opened the cabinet, pulling out a washcloth. he turned on the sink and waited for the water to get warm, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"hey," eddy said softly, looking up at the other boy. brett turned halfway around, his hand still under the water to test the temperature.

"thank you," eddy sniffled. brett waved his hand dismissively and wet the washcloth with the warm water. he wrung it out in the sink and turned around, leaning down and putting his hand on eddy's cheek.

"say if it hurts," brett mumbled as he pressed the cloth to eddy's skin, wiping the blood off. eddy closed his eyes and leaned into brett's touch. his hands were warm and he was so gentle that eddy thought there was no way he was making any progress. brett concentrated hard on cleaning eddy's face, trying not to be too distracted by how beautiful he looked. he found himself admiring eddy's jaw as he wiped his chin and shook his head. he was just too damn gay sometimes.

"all done," brett whispered as he finished, standing up and putting the wash cloth in the sink. eddy opened his eyes sleepily. he was absolutely exhausted. rehearsal had worn him out anyways and the arguing and crying had made it worse.

"brett?" eddy said, blinking hard.

"hm?"

"can i have a hug?" eddy asked. brett raised his eyebrows. he specifically remembered eddy saying something about hating hugs and being touched.

"you sure?" brett said warily, squinting at the boy sitting on his toilet seat. eddy nodded.

"i really need one," he mumbled, his voice breaking. brett sighed and nodded, leaning down and wrapping his arms around eddy's slender waist. tears streamed down eddy's face and he sniffled loudly as he hugged brett's neck, squeezing his eyes shut.

"i'm sorry.. i know this is.. uh, probably really weird for you.. but.. i just.." eddy stammered. brett shook his head.

"it's okay," he said softly, rubbing eddy's back. he really didn't mind it. having a cute boy hugging him in his bathroom was not something he ever would've protested. it was a little strange because they hadn't known each other for long, but brett felt like he'd known eddy for years and eddy felt the same.

it was awhile before eddy calmed down, his shaking frame eventually coming back to stillness. brett pulled away and gently wiped eddy's tears with his thumbs. eddy's cheeks reddened slightly and he managed a small smile.

"tired?" brett asked quietly, rolling his sleeves back down. eddy yawned and nodded.

"take my bed. better than the couch," brett mumbled, walking out the bathroom door. eddy followed him to his bedroom and looked around. his apartment was small and cozy, and eddy really liked it. it seemed like every room had sheet music strewn across it.

"i can take the couch, brett. i don't mind," eddy bit his lip. brett waved his hand dismissively.

"shh. too late for arguing," he yawned and grabbed a pillow and blanket for himself, walking past eddy to go to the couch. a strong, sweet smell wafted off of him and eddy raised his eyebrows. he'd never noticed that before, but he liked it.

"goodnight," brett said sleepily as he laid down on the couch, texting on his phone.

"goodnight," eddy said softly before going back to the bedroom. he crawled into brett's soft bed and pulled the blankets over himself, falling asleep almost immediately with brett stuck on his mind.