the silence

eleven.

warning: nsfw content

brett noticed eddy's bruises immediately the next day, and he knew exactly where they came from. the taller boy looked significantly embarrassed to even be out in public. he kept his head down and his jacket on as much as possible in an attempt to hide them, but brett knew better.

whether or not he should say anything was a decision brett struggled with all day. eddy was much quieter than usual and didn't talk unless he had to, even on their ride to lunch. brett was actually unnerved by the silence because of the implications it had. it implied that his suspicions about the bruises were true, because eddy would've told him how he got them if they weren't. it also meant that he was in a bad mood. brett hated it.

"eddy..." brett began as they sat down to eat. eddy put his hand up.

"don't. please. i know," he said simply, his voice breaking. the marks on his skin looked worse than they'd been the previous night. brett sighed sadly and bit his lip.

"come stay with me."

the words escaped his lips without any thought. it startled him when he heard them in his own voice. eddy looked up at him and shook his head, running his hands through his hair frustratedly.

"i can't. it's complicated. she won't let me," eddy laughed bitterly, laying his head on the table. "i'm stuck."

"where is she?" brett asked. eddy lifted his head.

"right now?"

brett nodded.

"she's at work. she gets off a couple of hours before we do. why?" he frowned. brett took a long sip of his drink.

"eat fast. you're not going home tonight," he mumbled. eddy squinted at him.

"brett, i don't know what you're—"

"we're going to your house after we eat and you're getting things to s-stay at my house for at least a few days. i'm not letting you go back to that," brett blurted, his voice shaky. it was the most he'd ever said to eddy at one time.

"brett, you don't have to—"

"stop," brett said firmly, interrupting the other boy's sentence. eddy didn't say anything for awhile.

"okay," he mumbled, blushing slightly. he definitely was not used to anybody trying to take care of him. he wasn't even used to anybody caring about him for any reason other than needing something. brett nodded with satisfaction and smacked the table.

they finished eating and went back to eddy's car. brett was strangely nervous about going to eddy's house. it may have been because he had an underlying fear that mae would be there or it may have been because he was going to someone else's house for the first time in a long time. he'd never gotten this close to someone so fast and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

    brett's hands were shaking as they pulled into eddy's driveway. he stared up at the large house in admiration, raising his eyebrows. it put his small apartment to shame.

    "it's messy," eddy warned as he unlocked the door. brett scoffed and waved his hand.

    when eddy opened the door, brett wanted to call him a liar. he found the inside of the house absolutely gorgeous and much cleaner than anywhere he'd ever lived. he looked around as they walked inside, biting his lip. the spiral staircase immediately caught his attention and he walked over to it, putting his hand on the wooden railing.

    "what?" eddy asked, watching brett look around his house. brett smiled softly.

"i like it," he replied. eddy shrugged.