Haunted

Circle the Drain

Maddox left Adam's house early the next morning and it didn't sound like anyone was awake but him. He went over to the studio to get some work done before everyone else got there, figuring it was better if only a few people knew he and Brent were having issues.

Brent was the first person from the band to get to the studio that morning. He brought Maddox his coffee and set it on the table in front of him, not saying a word. Maddox turned to see him but Brent was already walking away.

It wasn't until everyone had gotten there and Maddox had to go over the edits with them that he really had to face Brent. Maddox had never been good at acting like everything was okay when it wasn't but Brent seemed fine, slipping his arm around Maddox's waist like he always did.

"Did you have a good night?" Adam asked while they were waiting for Jeff and Monroe to come in.

"What?" Maddox was confused why Adam would be asking that.

"Brent said you were watching TV last night, are you still obsessed with that one show?"

"Yeah, still obsessed," Brent squeezed Maddox. "Maybe you should watch it while Cole's gone."

"Right, no," Adam laughed but gave Maddox a look. Maddox just shook his head.

They made it through the day without any other awkward moments. Maddox wasn't sure how he managed to get anything done. All he could think about was how easy it seemed for Brent to put on an act for everyone, like nothing was wrong. How long had he been doing that?

At the end of the day Maddox was almost ready to leave when Brent came in to the mixing booth.

"Hi."

"Hi," Maddox repeated.

"You don't really look like you slept at all," Brent told him.

"I didn't really."

"Me neither," Brent sighed. "I'm used to having you next to me."

"Yeah," Maddox wasn't sure what else to say. He wanted to start asking questions and demanding Brent tell him the truth about everything but part of him just wanted to hug Brent and tell him everything would be okay, that they would figure it out together.

"Are you coming home tonight?"

"I don't think so," Maddox shook his head. "Unless you're ready to admit you need help."

"You said it was just one night," Brent protested.

"No, I said it was until you got help," Maddox reminded him. "We can't both be falling apart, Brent."

"I don't know why you think I have a problem," Brent argued.

"Really?" Maddox demanded. "Really, Brent?"

"I'm fine, Dax, just come home. You'll see, you don't have to worry."

"Show me your abs," Maddox crossed his arms.

"So you're mad because I lost some muscle? Whatever, Dax, you know it's not easy to keep up."

"It has nothing to do with that," Maddox protested. "Show me, Brent."

"I just drank all this water, you won't be able to see."

"Look," Maddox forced himself not to argue and reached for Brent's shirt. He ran his fingers up Brent's stomach. "There wouldn't be anything there even if you hadn't had water for a week."

"They'll come back, I just need to stop running," Brent pulled away.

"Brent, I could probably get my hands all the way around your waist. This has nothing to do with how much cardio you do."