the silence

twenty-six.

the idea that jamie would have to return home to brisbane had not crossed brett's mind until that morning. realization smacked him so hard that it woke him up and he sat straight up in bed, jolting eddy awake, too.

"what's wrong?" eddy asked frantically, looking his boyfriend up and down for any sign of pain or injury. brett did not reply. he wasn't in the mood for talking. instead, he climbed out of bed and began to get dressed silently. confusion was clear on eddy's face as he watched the smaller boy, scratching the back of his neck.

"brett?" the taller boy sighed. nothing. brett continued to pull his clothes on (which weren't even his, they were eddy's) without even making eye contact. he wanted to go see jamie and he wanted to do it now.

    "baby," eddy said, exasperated. brett finally stopped and turned to face him.

"jamie," he said simply before walking to the kitchen.

"ah," eddy nodded.

figuring out brett's one word answers and strange mannerisms was somewhat of a science. he was both very predictable and the exact opposite, making him a perfect storm for wild emotions. but eddy didn't mind. he understood that all of brett's actions, no matter how strange, had underlying reasons and explanations. it was just a part of loving him. and eddy would always love him.

    the taller boy pulled on a pair of pants before following brett into the kitchen, watching him intently as he prepared himself a bowl of cereal.

    "hungry?" brett asked without looking up from what he was doing. eddy shook his head.

    "you will be later if you don't eat," the older boy replied. slightly amused, eddy smiled and began to fix himself food as well.

    the two of them ate in comfortable silence, listening to the soft pattering of the rain on the windows and roof of eddy's large house. it was relatively early in the morning and eddy silently wished the two of them could go back to sleep for at least a few more hours, but he knew it would be unwise to mention the idea. brett was set on going to see jamie and eddy knew it would be ridiculous of him to protest.

after they finished their small breakfast, brett pulled his phone out of his pocket and called his best friend.

"hey, babe, what's up?" jamie answered.

"where are you?"

"i'm still in the hospital, love. i'm getting discharged later today."

"are you going home with nicolas and your dad?"

the silence that followed served as an answer. brett nodded and bit down hard on the inside of his cheek. he had known that jamie would have to go home sometime, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"i'm sorry, bretty. i wouldn't leave you if i didn't have to," jamie said. tears burned brett's eyes and eddy hugged him gently, only having half an idea of what was going on.

"i know. i'm going to come see you now, okay? is that okay?" brett sniffled, leaning into his boyfriend's embrace. eddy rubbed his back slowly.

"of course it's okay. stay safe, sweetheart. i'll see you soon."

"i love you."

"i love you, too. bye,"

"bye, love."

a deep sigh escaped brett's lips as he dropped his hand from his ear, wrapping his arms around eddy's waist. the two violinists stood there for what felt like an eternity, swaying back and forth.