It was 8 pm, right after dinner...

LXVII

Just do it!

Just do it! Brett told himself, as his index finger hovered above the name he considered most beloved: Eddy.

Just do it! And he did. He pressed the contact, disregarding that it was in the middle of the night and that the last thing he wanted was to wake up Eddy.
And he wouldn't, if he wouldn't be so fucking desperate.

It rang, once, twice, three times. And just when Brett wanted to hang up, touch the red button, he heard a raspy, sleepy, quiet voice:
"Brett?"
That little word, carried by a low timbre, produced by the vocal chords which had the power to turn Brett's world upside down was enough to make Brett want to flee the hospital and run straight into the speakers arms. It took his breath away.

"Brett, is everything alright?"
"Eddy...", Brett finally croaked after an embarrassingly long time.
"Brett... What's going on?"
"I just...", Brett breathed, "I just needed to hear your voice... I'm sorry for disturbing you..."
"It's okay" Brett heard some rustling on the other end, probably caused by Eddy sitting up on his bed. "What's up? You sound worked up."
"I... Eddy..." Another set of tears threatened to spill over. "Can you... Can you just keep talking? Just tell me something... anything..."

How Eddy was able to remain so calm, so soothing was beyond Brett, but the next words were like a lullaby, putting Brett's mind at ease almost instantly.
"Bretty, I'm here. I'm going to pick you up tomorrow and if you want, I can stay on the phone until I can actually come and get you. Don't worry, okay?"

"Okay..." He took a couple of deep breaths and was finally, finally able to relax a bit and put his head back onto the way too soft hospital pillow.

Ray had been right, as expected. Calling Eddy had been the most brilliant idea that man had ever had... besides from becoming a soloist, of course.

"Do you remember our trip to Taiwan like three years ago?", Eddy mused, "It was crazy, we had the world tour going and there were so many fans in Taipei watching us."
"Yeah", Brett made, just to show Eddy that he was listening, still very much relying on his best friend's voice to calm down.
"Remember, how we went to the nightmarket? I think it was the one in Shilin, 士林夜市 (Shilin nightmarket) or something ... We were looking around for food and roaming all the clothes and souvenir thingy stalls, before you finally had the guts to ask someone, where all the food went to. I was so sure it was right at the beginning of the nightmarket, but they had moved everything underground to some big hall."
"Yeah..."

"And then, we finally got the 蚵仔煎 (oyster omelette) you wanted so badly. And it was sooo delicious!"
"Yeah..."

Eddy went on telling him about their adventures in Taipei, the enormous bubble teas they got there for close to no money, before he moved on to the other Asian countries they had visited on that tour and all the great dishes they had tried all over the world. Sometimes, there was a yawn interrupting the flow of Eddy's tales which stabbed Brett with a small knive of guilt for keeping his friend from his well deserved rest.

And with Eddy's low voice in his ears and sweet, joyful memories from past world tours flooding his brain bit by bit, the anxiety and panic had no space anymore. Brett got quiet, peace washed over him and he finally drifted off to sleep.

In the morning he found out, that Eddy had never hung up. The light snoring of his best friend had accompanied Brett the whole night.
Brett smiled, as he plugged his almost dead phone in to charge. Ray had not been able to call him, of course and had sent like ten worried messages like he was some mother hen. Brett quickly typed an update, thanking him for his support and help and kept his phone nearby, so he could continue listening to Eddy breathing.

Eddy was still sleeping when the doctor came in to check on Brett, when they announced he could go home in the afternoon another two hours later. And Brett felt, as if Eddy was with him the whole time, the steady, calming rythm of his breathing the very antidote of anything that threatened to scare Brett or make him uneasy.
Once again, he was forever grateful for having this friendship. And it was almost funny, wouldn't it be so fucking scary, how Eddy was both the cause for his panic and the cure.

Around 11 a.m., there was some rustling and a big yawn audible from the other side of the line.
"... Brett?"
"Morning, sleepy head", Brett quipped, his heart jumping as he heard the other's voice after hours of simple intakes and expirations of air.
"Moorning... God, what time is it?", Eddy asked raspily.
"Around eleven I think. So the normal time you usually get up."
"Hah! It's not! If it hasn't been for you calling in the middle of the night."
Brett felt a pang of guilt again and immediately muttered a quiet "Sorry..."
"Noo, noo! Brett, I'm just messing with ya!... Oh shit!"
Brett's eyes widened. "What?", he yelled into his phone.
"Battery's almost gone... Wait..."
"All that panic just because of your dying phone?" Brett shook his head and sniggered.
"Well, don't wanna hang up on you, you know?" He heard a semi loud click, indicating Eddy's device being connected to a power source.

"Okay...", Eddy said after a short intermission, "how are you?"
"Fine, really... Thanks to you! And the stuff they put in me." And it was true. Brett felt way better than yesterday, even after the short night. Apparently, the IV drip was working it's magic... finally...
"Always at your service, Sir. So, did you sleep well?"
"After I called you, yeah. Thanks again..." Brett suddenly felt a nervousness creep up on him and fidgeted with a corner of his blanket.
"No worries. Do you want to tell me what freaked you out last night?" Eddy's tone wasn't pushy. There was only concern and a tad of curiousity woven in there.
Brett hesitated. There was simply no way he could tell Eddy the real reason for him losing his shit, but he didn't want to lie either.
"Uhm... I just..." Great start. Very convincing. Brett rolled his eyes hard, cursing himself.
"I couldn't sleep. And I actually called Ray first. He told me you'd be better at calming me down."
"Ray?", Eddy asked, and Brett was pretty sure he was frowning, "Why Ray? Why didn't you call me first?"
"I didn't want to wake you up. You're so tired and busy because you have to take care of me all the time." Also, there was the tiny detail that Eddy had been the very subject of his little panic attack, of course, but that was left unsaid for obvious reasons.

He heard a deep sigh, before Eddy said: "Brett I told you. There is nothing else I'd rather do at the moment than taking care of you. And if that involves late night phone calls to tell you bedtime stories, I'm happy to oblige."
Eddy didn't sound irritated one bit, as Brett would have expected. Hell, him being all needy and apologizing for it all the time was annoying himself to the max. Eddy must have been a saint for not just hanging up on him.
"Okay... Yeah. Sorry! And thank you! You truly deserve the best friend award, bro!"
"Right? Get me a medal made as soon as you're good."
Brett laughed. "'Kay. Will do so!"
"Did the doctor say anything? When will you get discharged?"
"I can leave around three p.m.. But no limousines this time! We can take the metro, if you want."
"No way! I can't drag you through the whole metro system of Singapore if you'd faint!", Eddy exclaimed. Brett heard soft footsteps in the background, probably Eddy walking towards the bathroom.
"Don't think I'm gonna. I do feel much better, you know", Brett tried to convince Eddy (and himself).
It didn't work.
"Nah! The memories of my last metro trip are still too painful. If we get lost again and you feel like shit, it'd be hell!"
"Haha, yeah okay", Brett admitted, and added shyly, "As long it's you who's picking me up, I'm good with every form of transportation."

It was quiet for a few seconds on the other end and Brett already thought, he'd lost signal, when Eddy said: "Oh, okay... I'm good enough for picking you up then? No Ray needed?"
Brett furrowed his brows. That was odd. Also, Eddy's tone was off.
"Wha..."
But Eddy cut in before Brett could ask what that last comment was about.
"Forget it! Sorry. That was stupid."
"Bit strange for sure... Eddy, are you okay? I can come home by myself, you know?"
"No, no... It's not about that."
"What's it about then?" Brett actually had an inkling, but there was simply no way that it was anywhere near the truth.
"Forget it! I'll see you around. Need to pee like a racehorse. Bye!" And he hung up.