Neighbour

17.

The two violin cases hurt Eddy's back as he stepped onto the bus. He dumped onto the first available double seat, placing his violin in the seat next to him and his old violin in his lap. What he would tell people, if anyone asked, was that he was just bringing it in for a small adjustment at a luthier on the way home from work. It would be a small, white, lie. A necessary white lie in Eddy's opinion. 

Eddy knew Brett had no violin anymore. The sound of the splintering wood and snapping strings was unmistakable. He couldn't believe a person who claimed to love Brett would do something like that to him, honestly. It made him so angry and frustrated. Surely Brett would have to see that the man was manipulative and mean? Eddy just wished he could prove anything so he could tell the authorities what was going on. 

Sure, he could call the police when he thought they were fighting, but what then? Mike would be nice while the police were there, Brett would most definitely lie to cover for him like the good boyfriend he was and the police wouldn't be able to do anything about it. 

Eddy hated not being able to do anything about his situation at home, but at least he could make sure Brett still had the opportunity to escape it at work. If he would accept his help, that was. 

After stepping off the bus, Eddy ran into a nearby grocery store to buy some fizzy drinks, pre-cut bread and chocolate spread to have for lunch, figuring Mike would come look for them at lunch. If they had lunch in the break room, Mike wouldn't be able to reach them. The doors were locked for any outsiders. 

The only part of the plan Eddy wasn't sure how he'd fix was getting Brett to agree. Hell, he wasn't even sure if Brett would show up at work today after what happened the night before. What would he even be doing at work without a violin? 

Eddy felt nervous as he walked through the front door of the rehearsal hall and to the left through the coded door towards their rehearsal space. He gave a nod as he passed a person he thought maybe was a horn player on the way down the corridor, and the nice, rather handsome, principal clarinetist held the door open for him to enter the rehearsal space. 

It took him only a second to spot the concertmaster and Brett by the stage, and he found himself moving towards them before having consciously decided to. Brett had his back to him, but the concertmaster had a concerned frown on her face. 

"I understand that dropping your violin was an accident, Brett, but it honestly couldn't have been at a worse… Oh, hi Eddy," she said, interrupting herself as Eddy approached them. Brett turned quickly, eyes locking with Eddy's for a split second before turning his gaze down to the floor. 

"Hey! Did I hear that right? Dropped your violin?" Eddy asked, lying smoothly. He knew that wasn't just dropped, but he knew that neither Brett nor the concertmaster would be happy if he told the truth about it being purposefully broken. 

"Yeah, I uh…" Brett mumbled, scratching the back of his neck, clearly to give himself an excuse to lower his gaze all the way down to the tips of his own shoes.

"How bad is it, then?" Eddy asked, still putting on a show for the concertmaster so she wouldn't question what he was about to do. Brett glanced at him, but avoided eye contact.

"It's… it's not salvageable," Brett mumbled, shaking his head and taking a step back towards the exit. He looked like he was ready to cry. "I don't know why I'm here, I gotta figure this out. I can't afford to get a new one or anything, so…" 

Eddy stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder, but soon let it slide off as he saw how the smaller man flinched from the touch. 
"Hey, it's your lucky day. I've got my old violin with me for a minor adjustment. I don't really use it, so you can borrow it if you want," he offered, and the concertmaster sighed with relief. 

"Oh, you're truly a saviour, aren't you?" she said, getting her usual smile back on her lips. "That saves the concert, too. Perfect. Thank you."

She patted Brett on the back as she walked past and gave Eddy a grateful look. Eddy just slid his old violin case off his shoulder and offered it to Brett. 

"I put my spare bow in there, too, in case you need that too," Eddy said softly as Brett slowly reached out to accept the case, still with his head bowed. 

"Thank you," he said, barely audible. "I think it's best if I don't get it home with me, though. Just because… uh…" 

"I know, I heard," Eddy said, matching his volume. "I'll bring it for you until you figure it out, don't worry about it."