Neighbour

21.

Eddy was slowly getting pulled out of his restless half sleeping state by a knocking sound. As he slowly regained consciousness he realized he had fallen asleep on the couch. There was another light knock, and this time Eddy was awake enough to realize the knocking came from his apartment door. 

He quickly got out of the couch and rushed over. The handle came down, and he opened the door as quietly as he could. 

"Brett..?" he asked quietly, but was shushed as soon as he had opened his mouth. After a quick, nervous look around, Brett pulled him inside, closing the door behind them. 

"I'm sorry I'm bothering you so late, I just… I don't know. I had a fight with Mike and…" Brett began, his voice trailing off. It was kind of dark by the front door, but even in the dim light Eddy could see the bust lip and the swollen cheek. It honestly made his blood boil, but showing it would definitely not make the fragile man in front of him feel any better. 

"Don't worry about it, I told you to come to me if you needed anything," Eddy assured him, not really sure what to do now that Brett actually had taken him up on his offer. "Wanna come inside? I'll make some tea, maybe?" 

"I don't know, I… I shouldn't be here…" Brett stuttered, trying to turn back as he realized what he was actually doing. "I'm sorry for waking you, I…" 

"It's okay, I was awake," Eddy lied seamlessly, wanting to assure him. "Come inside for some tea, you're already here anyway." 

Brett hesitated, staying in his position half turned towards the door. Was he shaking? Eddy thought it looked like it, but it was difficult to tell in the dark. 

"Okay," he whispered after a bit, looking back at Eddy. "Tea sounds nice, thank you." 

Getting Brett out in the light in the living room made Eddy feel almost guilty. The bust lip was only one of the many cuts the guy had and the swollen cheek was actually a bruise on the upper part of his cheekbone. Had the poor, sweet man gone through this because Eddy lent him the violin before? 

He knew that wasn't true, of course. Brett had been through the injuries because of Mike. That asshole should have been in prison ages ago, in Eddy's opinion. 

"How are you feeling, Brett?" Eddy asked softly after Brett had taken a few sips of the tea he had made for him. The shaking had slowly passed and it got easier for him to hold the cup. 

"I'm okay, I just hate fighting with him," Brett said quietly, shaking his head a little. "Mike has a tendency to be a bit rough when he's angry, but we're working on it and it's gotten better." 

Eddy already knew he didn't want to know how Mike was before if this was 'better'. 

"You've gotten some cuts… do you want me to rinse them out a bit and get you bandaged up?" Eddy asked him carefully, but Brett shook his head quickly. 

"They're just scratches, don't worry about it," Brett mumbled, sipping his tea again and avoiding to say anything more by doing so. 

"Okay," Eddy said softly, taking a careful sip of his own tea. It was difficult to know what to do to help the guy. He just knew that he would stay up with him all night if he had to. 

They drank their tea in silence, Eddy occasionally looking over at Brett's shaky hands. At least they were okay so he could escape the monster at work. God he wished he could protect him better. 

"I should probably head back…" Brett began saying once the cup was empty, though it looked like he definitely didn't want to. 

"You don't have to if you don't want to, you can borrow the couch," Eddy offered softly, definitely not feeling okay sending Brett back there. His gut hurt just from the thought. 

Brett hesitated, clearly not wanting to go back but also looking like he didn't think it was a great idea. 

"What… what if he wakes up?" 

"Does he normally?" 

"I… I guess not…" Brett mumbled, running a hand nervously through his hair. He looked over at the door and then back to the couch he was sitting on. "He normally sleeps until noon when he's been drinking." 

"It'll be fine then, no?" Eddy asked carefully. He didn't want to make Brett do anything he didn't want or feel safe to do, but he couldn't in good conscience send Brett back to his apartment alone. 

"I guess it will… I'd like that then. Thank you, Eddy." 

"It's no problem at all. Let me get you a blanket and a pillow," Eddy said, feeling relieved that Brett at least would be safe for the rest of the night.