Swell (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Four (Part One)

"And now I'm staying here, waiting up, why can't I shake it?
Weighing up everything that I've been chasing
Slipping right through my hands,
Now I'm just gonna let it, I'm just gonna let it land."

....

Brett grunted with Gus as they worked together to lift him from his wheelchair into his bed.
The fabric mattress felt instantly better than the rubber covered ones at the hospital.
He had been there for a week and a half and it had been the worst time of his life, not so much the pain when the medications began to wore out, but because of the immobility.
Being unable to socialise and play sports, to play the guitar. Being away from Adora.
He closed his eyes and let his body slump into his pillows.
"How's that feel?" Gus asked, moving the wheel chair to the side and wheeling Brett's guitar stool over to the bed.
"So much better." He sighed and opened his eyes.
"Good." Gus smiled and started to look over Brett's posture and pillows.
It had been hard to hide the jealousy when Gus had said he and the girls had gone to the falls on Sunday.
Brett had been able to fake medicated exhaustion to avoid conversation, and his jealousy had dissipated when Adora had called and said she would be visiting after school. His hair was longer and the curls were looser because of the length, the whiskery growth on his jaw was thicker than he liked but for some reason he was hesitant to trim or shave.
"Hey you!" Adora's voice broke into his room like sun through a window on a cool day. His fingers stopped stroking his jaw and he couldn't hide the grin behind the whiskers as she bounced around the bed and came to his side.
"Hey. You're looking happy." He felt his chest expanding as he took her glow in.
"Yea, well..." She looked from Brett to Gus and then back as she put her backpack down. "You're home, out of hospital. What's not to be happy about?"
"That's true." Brett nodded.
"I'm going to go get a drink, do you guys want anything from the kitchen?" Gus stood up.
"Some water would be great, Gus, thanks." Adora nodded.
"I'm fine." Brett shook his head and felt Adora itching for Gus to leave. It was a weird excitement he sensed, and as soon as Gus was gone, she moved around to the stool and took a deep breath. He frowned at her. "What's wrong?"
"Well, a lot's happened, kind of, and I miss you at school." She scoffed.
He felt his face soften. "I miss you too. Has there been any word from the person who did this?" He gestured to his plastered legs.
Her smile fell as she looked over at his dead weight and he felt his heart drop with guilt. She had been happy, and he'd gone and snatched that away without even thinking about it.
"Yea, kind of." She reached out and stroked the plastered leg closest to her. Brett was desperately imagining what her hand would really feel like on his thigh. "I got another card, Monday, but I threw it out. It was dumb, but I just..." She closed her eyes and wheeled the stool closer to his bed. She leaned awkwardly on his shoulder and he silently begged her to climb onto the bed with him as he put an arm around her.
"Are you alright?" He closed his eyes and took a deep whiff of her hair.
"I think I will be." She paused. "I kissed Will."
Just like that the words were out of her mouth, on his chest, as heavy as the plaster on his legs.
"What?"
She pulled back and looked at him, a shy smile melting his ribs together. "I kissed Will, and asked him on a date."
"What about Tom?"
"He's been with Debbie over a week now, and barely paid any mind to me. I've told Marti and she's fine."
Brett swallowed a thick, hard lump, but it didn't move. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. The things he had missed while being in hospital, he could feel his face pinching.
"Are you alright?" She could see his change and she put a hand gently on his forehead as if feeling for a temperature.
"Yea, just... Is it a good idea? I mean... This happened because someone thought I was some kind of competition... Right?"
Maybe it had been Will?
Not Tom, not a stranger, but Will trying to get Adora this whole time?
The short three weeks the Taylors had been in Wheeler Falls suddenly stretched out like years.
"Well..." Adora put her hands in her lap and he watched solemnly as she started to push the short nails into her skin. He watched her look down and closed his eyes.
What had he said?
"Hey, what happened? When I left a few minutes ago there was sunshine in this room, now it feels like there's a thunderstorm brewing." Gus held a glass of water out to Adora and moved over to Brett's desk and leaned against it.
"Adora asked Will out on a date." Brett said quietly.
"Wait, what?" Gus straightened up and Brett frowned. His reaction had been as strong as his own.
Adora looked from her hands to Gus and Brett could see her trying to hold back emotions.
She was cornered, accidentally, but they had cornered her none the less.
Brett folded his arms over his chest and started to stare at his white casts.
"I thought someone was creeping you? Is it really a good idea to go out with someone you barely know?" Gus frowned.
Adora looked at Gus and anger flashed across her fair face. "I feel safe with Will." She stood up. "Which is more than I felt with you on Sunday." She snapped the words and left the room.
Brett looked after her and then slowly looked to Gus. "What did she mean by that?"
Gus' lips parted and he leaned back against the desk and looked down at the glass in his hands. "She and I had a thing." Gus mumbled.
"What?"
Suddenly there was a cave of secrets in his bedroom and Brett felt overwhelmed.
"Over summer, Adora and I..."
"You shit." Brett hissed between clenched teeth and straightened up away from his pillows of support.
"Yea, I know. Well, I thought it would help me keep an eye on her if we could rekindle..."
"Get out." Brett couldn't believe Gus would do that, Adora had had a crush on Gus for years, an obvious one, and Gus knew how Brett felt about her, yet he'd taken advantage of her crush...
"Brett..."
"Get the fuck out." Brett's fists were clenched so tightly his upper body was trembling from the pressure.
Gus left the room wordlessly, his head hanging in shame. Once alone, Brett tried to slow the racing of his heart.
He gently started to hit one cast with his fists and then gradually increased the power behind his hits.
"Fuck."
How had this all fallen apart so fast? So heavily?
Tom asking Adora out, Brett silently wishing he was the outgoing twin.
The relief when Adora had denied Tom, the party, the attack...
"Dammit."
Adora kissing Will, Gus admitting to some kind of relationship with Adora, behind his back.
How had they kept that from him?
Gus hadn't come back to help him recover, Gus had come back to have another go at Adora.
The anger suddenly dissipated into sadness.
But Adora had asked Will out. She had no interest in Gus, she had no interest in Tom, and she had no romantic interest at all in Brett.
Yet Brett had nearly died because of their friendship.
How was this so messed up?



Adora let go of a shaky breath as she rocked on the chair. She was alone in the garage, surrounded by guitars and amps, trying to pretend the shock from Brett and Gus hadn't stabbed like a knife.
She had instinctively taken a guitar from the stand when she'd walked in and now she was nursing it as if it was her own heart.
It felt good to have been with Will, even if just the one kiss for now. The thought of going on a date with him made the chill of the cards and Brett's attack less freezing.
Gus had no right to react as he had. No right at all.

She didn't know how long she sat, leaning overthe guitar until she started to pluck at the strings.
Maybe Brett had a point though, maybe instead of trying to make friends, sheshould be trying to lose them so nobody else got hurt.
Not just hurt, Brett had nearly been killed.
No, she wasn't going to let the psycho distance her so she was alone. She wouldjust have to tell everyone to be careful.
She let go of a long breath and decided to go back to speak to Brett.
She knocked gently on his door frame before she stepped in; relief filled herwhen she didn't see Gus still there.
Brett looked at her guiltily. She felt as guilty as he looked.
"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time.
Small laughter filled the room and she sat down on the bed beside him, crossingher legs and putting her hands into her lap.
"I guess I got a bit jealous when you said you asked Will out." Brett muttered.
Adora frowned at him. "What? Why?"
"Cause I'm stuck here, like this." He gestured to his legs.
She nodded slowly. She'd be jealous of escape too.
"Did you and Gus really have a thing?"
"Yea. I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, but he..."
"He's a selfish asshole." Brett was angry, he couldn't hide that.
"We didn't want you to feel left out over summer."
He shook his head. "No, it's more than that Adora."
The confusion must have been obvious on her face.
"What?" Her heart started to race when he stared at her in silence.
Oh gosh, had Gus done something?
"I was going to ask you to the dance." Brett whispered and lowered his face.
Adora frowned. "What does that have to do with summer?"
"Gus didn't want me to know cause he knew I wanted to go out with you."
Adora laughed a little, it sounded like a joke until Brett looked back up toher. Her small laughter died in her throat at his pained expression.
"Oh." There wasn't even a tone to her sound. It was just a breath, nothingmore.
She had become a character in a teen romance movie.
The one where the best friends fall in love.
Except, she couldn't see Brett that way.
She didn't know how to react, or what to say. Thinking back over the summer,she could now see times Gus had gone out of his way to make sure Brett didn'tfind out about their fling.
"I..." How could he have done that to Brett? She didn't know how long Brett hadfelt this way, she had no idea... "I'm sorry."
"So am I."
Adora felt her face pinching as he apologised again. Would this make theirfriendship hard? How long had he been ignoring it? "What do you want to do?"
"Nothing. I would rather keep going as I have been than lose your friendship."His voice was so sure she almost felt like she was going to cry.
He frowned at her as she stuttered a laugh.
"What did you think? Adora, we're best friends, I've known for ages that's allwe could be. I could see the crush you had on Gus, and well, I've neverimagined you to make the first move on someone before, so... I guess you reallylike Will, and I don't want to stop you from being happy. I'm just... Angry atGus, because he knew how I felt."
Adora wiped her forehead. "I am so sorry, Brett."
He was perhaps the best person in her life, and he had been the first attacked.
Would Will become a victim too?
"Adora, I love you, and I'd rather love you as a friend than ever lose you assomething more."
Their eyes locked and Adora felt her eyes burning. "Oh Brett, you're the bestperson I know." She closed the space between them carefully and wrapped herarms around him.
"I know." He chuckled as he returned the hug. "Now, tell me, what did Gus dothat made you say what you said before?" He pulled back a few moments later andAdora looked down guiltily.
"Since he came back he's tried twice, both times I've said no. Sunday was thelast straw." She shrugged.
Brett frowned and nodded. "He always did have more desire than brains. I askedhim here to help, but I think it was a mistake."
"Oh, Brett, no, if he's going to be able to help you heal faster..."
"Adora, until I get the casts off, all he's good for is upper body exercises,which I can do myself."
Adora tilted her head at Brett and the guilt about his attack twisted in herstomach. She was lost for words again. "If you need him to get better fasterBrett, or not... it's all up to you."
"It is." Brett nodded.
Adora sighed and lay down on the pillows beside Brett's.