incarcerated

8.

    the investigation process should've been simple. it really should have. but it seemed that everyone in the prison just happened to be willing to reveal absolutely nothing. eddy spent all night staring intently at the security tapes and trying his hardest to recognize those blurry faces, but it just wasn't going to happen.

in the early hours of the morning, the warden found himself bent over brett's file once again. there had to be something he could do. 6 months was not a very long sentence and an attempt to appeal wouldn't go anywhere. eddy wasn't stupid. he knew that the people he answered to were crooked and that no one besides himself cared whether or not brett deserved to be there. he read the transcripts from the court sessions over and over again. the sentencing made sense on paper, but putting someone like brett in prison would never be logical in eddy's head.

    of course, eddy had a bad habit of forgetting that not everyone saw brett like he did. there was something about him that was just so innocent and the taller man couldn't stand to watch his own facility steal that light from his eyes.

    but what was he to do? he slumped in his chair in an unending state of complete turmoil. leaving brett alone seemed to be his only option, but he just couldn't. he had to protect him somehow and that protection started with trying to find out who the hell had drug him out of his bed that night.

    as much as brett wanted eddy to drop the whole thing, he couldn't. it was a serious situation and the warden was responsible for dealing with things like that when they happened to any inmate, not just ones he happened to be strangely infatuated with.

it was 2:12 a.m. when eddy heard a light knock on his office door. he flinched hard and looked up from the pile of papers both from brett's file and from his other responsibilities strewn across his desk.

"what?" he said scornfully. there was a moment of silence before he heard the last voice he ever expected to in that moment mumble a reply.

"can i come in?"

"uh.. yeah."

brett opened the door slowly and shut it behind him with a gentle click, sitting cross legged on the couch in eddy's office.

"how did you get here? you're not supposed to be out of your unit," eddy said, an unfamiliar firmness in his tone.

"your guards are asleep, sir," brett replied. eddy paused for a moment before continuing with his paperwork.

    "of course they are. now, what is it?" he asked.

    the coldness from the warden was something that everyone else was used to, but not brett. his harsh tone sent shivers down the smaller man's spine and he hoped that he wasn't too angry at him.

"i wanted to say i was sorry," brett said softly. eddy paused again and raised his head to look brett in the face, his onyx irises boring holes in his skin. he was definitely a man of captivating gazes.

"for what?" eddy asked. brett shifted in his seat and glanced at the clock behind eddy's head.

"for snapping at you. i know you're trying and it's not that i don't appreciate it. i just think it's making things worse and we can't avoid that. it's not that you're doing anything wrong... i don't think. i just don't understand why i matter so much to you, um.. sir. i really don't."

a deep sigh escaped eddy's lips and he pushed his disheveled hair out of his face. brett could see the years of stress in the lines already worn into his young face. it made him sad.

"you're not the first person to be in prison that didn't belong here, brett yang," the taller man said quietly. brett frowned.

"that's not a very helpful explanation, sir."