World Tour

Houston

Eddy woke up in yet another strange white bed, and for a moment he struggled to remember where they were. 
They'd flown yesterday, hadn't they? Hadn't they flown from Dallas? So they must be in Houston, now? 
The past couple of weeks had been a blur of travelling, arranging, practicing, performing. It had been awesome, but he could feel the tiredness seeping into every cell of his body. 
They'd also gone out way too much, although so far he'd managed to keep his promise to steer well clear of the Jägerbull. But all the partying wasn't helping their energy levels any. 

Fuck, he was feeling so stressed. He groaned softly, which woke Brett up. 

¨Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you.¨
¨No worries. You okay?¨ Brett asked, seeing Eddy's face. 
Eddy sighed. ¨Yeah, fine.¨
Brett shook his head. ¨Sorry, you're obviously not fine. Tell me what's going on, before I make myself crazy worrying about it.¨
Eddy looked at him in surprise. 
¨Bro! It's nothing to do with you! It's just a lot, I'm bone-tired and I feel I need a two week holiday in the Maldives or something, where all I need to do is lie in a hammock and make love to you on the beach.¨
Brett smiled. ¨Well, that last bit sounds pretty good, I'll have to admit. But... are you getting a bit overwhelmed?¨
Eddy thought for a moment, before he replied.
¨I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I'm very grateful we're here, but yeah, it is a lot. And the whole thing with my family is a lot too.¨
Brett nodded. ¨Yeah, I know it is. But you'll be okay.¨
He put his hand on Eddy's cheek, rubbing him softly with this thumb.
¨Hey, it's a calm day today, we can take it easy, get some rest and look at the venue. Let's just chill today, okay?¨
Oh fuck it. Why did Brett have to be so lovely and reasonable? If he wasn't careful he would burst into tears any moment now. 

His mum had in fact called him, last week. She had been perfectly polite, asked about their concerts, and had said absolutely nothing about what she had been told in their previous talk. 
Eddy knew what her cool politeness meant.
She wasn't okay at all, she didn't accept them at all.

He missed the warm contact they usually had so much, it hurt. And it ate at him, not knowing what he would be coming home to, a few weeks from now. 
He'd kept himself distracted. But it was never completely gone from his mind.
He'd lost his dad already. Would he lose his mum as well now, over love? 

He felt the sob coming before it even erupted. Fuck, mate, get your shit together! You can't go blubbering to Brett every time you're tired! But he was fighting a losing battle, he knew, and when Brett took him tenderly into his arms he started crying for real. 
¨I... I... I just want my mum to call and be normal¨, he sobbed into Brett's shoulder. 
¨I know, my love, I know¨, Brett's voice came, sweetly. ¨She will. I promise, she will.¨

Eddy couldn't remember the last time he had cried like this. It was like the sobs were coming from the bottoms of his feet, his whole body wracked with grief, tears pouring out of his eyes like a minor river. 
They lay there forever, or so it seemed, until he finally calmed down enough to open his eyes and look at Brett. 
There were tears in Brett's eyes, too. 
¨I'm so sorry I'm the reason behind this...¨ he whispered. 
Seeing his sadness almost brought back the sobbing again. 
¨No, Brett¨, Eddy whispered, his vocal folds thick with all the crying. 
¨Don't ever say that, don't ever think that. You're my world. My whole world. I wouldn't trade you for anything.¨
A tear rolled down Brett's cheek.
¨I wish I could stop feeling guilty about this... I wish I could fix it for you.¨ he whispered back. 
¨Well, ¨ Eddy said, his voice coming back, ¨I can live without my mum if I must. But I cannot live without you, it's as simple as that.¨
He pulled Brett into his chest, wrapping his arms around him, savouring the warmth of the embrace.