Neighbour

30.

When Eddy woke up, of course Brett was gone. The pillow was placed neatly, the tea cups and plates from the night before were cleaned and placed neatly on the counter. He didn't know if Brett would be driving today or not. Was he even fit to drive?

He didn't take long to get dressed, and didn't take long to eat a bowl of cereal. He was just about to pull his jacket on when he heard him. Mike.

"Where the fuck are you going?"

Eddy froze, feeling his stomach twist with worry. He leaned against his door, listening.

"To work. Like I have to if you want a roof over your head, Mike."

Brett sounded a lot firmer than normal. Almost annoyed, even. Where did this bravery come from?

"Work, my ass. You're literally just going to see that skinny wimp and let him fuck your ass."

It was indeed true that compared to Mike, Eddy was quite skinny. That was beside the point, though, as he heard Brett's footsteps pass his door.

"I don't have time to argue with you right now, Mike. Please, can we just talk about this when I get home? I gotta drive now."

"We can talk alright."

The sound of a soft thump against the wall and a door slamming was heard right after Mike's cold voice, and Eddy carefully opened his own door right after. Brett jumped away from where he stood with his back against the wall, clearly having been pushed into it a moment prior. His eyes were widening and glancing back at his own apartment door with fear and worry. Then he held his fingers in front of his lips to tell Eddy to please be quiet.

Of course Eddy would be quiet. He carefully slipped his shoes on and picked up the two violin cases. He locked the door as quietly as he could, timing it with the 'ding' of the elevator. Then they both slipped into the elevator.

"Oh my god," Brett squeaked once the doors had shut and they began their journey down the tall building. He sunk down against the wall, visibly shaking and hyperventilating. Eddy knelt down by him, carefully taking his hand.

"Oh Brett, you did so good. Let's get out of the elevator and take a second, yeah?" he said softly. They were approaching their floor, and it would be bad if they stayed in the elevator and it went back up to their floor.

Thankfully Brett wiped the tears that ran down his cheeks and gave a small nod. Eddy stood up, offering his hand for Brett to take and helped him to his feet. His stomach tickled ever so slightly when Brett didn't let go as they stepped off.

"I'm so sorry, we're gonna be late and it's gonna be my fault," Brett sniffled, shaking his head slightly. "I just… I don't know what came over me, I was just… just so annoyed with him and… I… I feel so bad that he keeps saying mean things about you a lot and… and…"

"Heyheyhey," Eddy said softly, trying to soothe him as he very carefully pulled him into a hug. "You did good. It's okay if we're late. That Finnish asshole can go fuck himself if he says otherwise."

Brett snorted when Eddy added that last bit, smiling just a little bit and Eddy’s heart skipped a beat. He loved that laugh, he loved that smile.
"I guess so," he said softly, sniffling quietly. "Thank you for being so good to me, Eddy. I really appreciate it."

"You deserve it. You really do," Eddy said softly, stroking the smaller man's back. The poor guy deserved the world, yet he was stuck with nothing but the worst of it.