Closer

16.

"Hey," Eddy mumbled after opening the door, and Brett's jaw dropped at the sight of the guy. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, his hair was standing up all over and he was still in just a pair of sweats and a worn out t-shirt. The worst was the bag under his eyes and the hoarseness in his voice. "Sorry, I uh... I'm not ready yet. Just come in, I guess."

Eddy moved to the side and Brett stepped in past him, but he was still keeping an eye on Eddy. All the alarm bells went off in his head seeing him. This was not normal.

"Dude, are you okay?" Brett asked as he kicked his shoes off. "You look like you've been hit by a truck."

"I just need a shower. I'm sorry, I guess I overslept," Eddy mumbled, and the tone really worried Brett. He could feel Eddy avoiding to look directly at him, he could feel the change in Eddy's mood, he could see the bags under his eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay, Eddy?" Brett asked, touching his arm to get his attention properly, but Eddy flinched at the touch which Brett found strange. "You absolutely do not look okay. Did something happen?"

Eddy shrugged and moved away from Brett's touch, making more distance between them than he normally would.
"I'll take a shower. Just... Take some coffee or food or... I don't know, whatever you want."

And then he disappeared to the shower, leaving Brett standing by the entrance for a bit. The gut feeling was bad, and while it hadn't been this bad before, it had been bad for a while. He could tell something was wrong, he could tell he wasn't fine and it was so frustrating that he wouldn't tell him what was going on. Weren't they supposed to be best friends?

Brett figured he'd make some coffee for him. He didn't know what else to do to make whatever Eddy was going through better for him because he had no idea what it was. If only he would say something he could help. He wanted to help.

Brett had just put the cups on the kitchen table and sat down when Eddy came back from the shower. He looked pretty much the same except now his hair was wet and it was obvious he'd been crying from how red his eyes were. It hurt seeing Eddy like this.

"I made coffee," Brett said with a smile, hinting towards the coffee cup he had prepared for Eddy while warming his hands on his own cup. Eddy nodded and sat down. He tried to set a positive tone, to maybe cheer him up at the very least.

"Thanks," he mumbled, looking down into the cup of dark liquid. Brett took a sip of his own coffee, but the heavy aura Eddy was emitting made Brett feel like he was suffocating. This wasn't the cheery Eddy he really knew he could be. He wanted his Eddy back, he just didn't know how to give it to him.

"You sure you're okay to do work today?" Brett asked, eyeing up his best friend. It hurt that he wouldn't talk to him about what was going on, made him feel like the worst friend, but he couldn't make him talk. He wished he could sometimes.

"I'm fine, just uh... sat up late watching a tv series," Eddy lied, not even looking at Brett as he spoke. Brett knew it was a lie, of course. Eddy had always been a horrible liar.

"Yeah? What series? Anything new?" Brett asked, sipping his coffee, challenging the lie. Eddy shrugged.

"Why don't you tell me about your date instead?" he suggested, taking Brett by surprise by meeting his gaze. His intense eyes were unexpected. "Your two days long date."

Brett felt the blush creep over his cheeks at the last comment. He hadn't expected Eddy to bring up his date at all, never really seeming to take an interest in his love life.
"Well, I mean... I didn't plan for two days, obviously, but it felt right."

Eddy nodded and he smiled, but the smile didn't feel right. It was like something about it was missing.

"Was she good then? In bed, I mean?" Eddy asked, and the sting in his voice was obvious. Brett furrowed his brows, realizing something.

"Is that what this is about? About our thing?"

"I'm just asking, you don't have to answer," Eddy shrugged, grabbing his coffee and taking a huge gulp. The eye contact was broken, and Brett didn't really know how to react anymore. Reading Eddy was impossible when he acted like this.

"If you actually want to know, yes she was good," Brett said, not sure what was the right response anymore. Eddy's eyes shot down to the table and he visibly made himself smaller.

"So you're gonna continue being with her, or?" he asked quietly, fiddling with the handle of his cup. So it was about that.

"I mean, I hope so? She's really nice, I really like her. Not just... Not just the sex, but in general?" Brett admitted with a sigh. He could tell Eddy didn't actually want to talk about this.

"Good, good. I guess you won't be needing to fuck me anymore, then," Eddy said, putting on a smile. The smile kind of hurt. "I'm happy for you."

Brett stared at him, seeing how fake the smile was and hearing how his tone faltered at the end. He didn't understand what was causing this. What they had was just casual sex, nothing more. Eddy could just find someone else, he was a good looking and sweet guy after all.

"But, you're not happy for me, are you? Wanna talk about it?" he asked, receiving a shrug in response.

"It's nothing, Brett. Just drop it, I'm fine. Just tired," Eddy insisted, downing the rest of the coffee. "Let's just work so I can go back to bed. I don't really feel like being awake more than I have to today."