incarcerated

24.

eddy was not happy, to say the least. his entire body ached already and now the new information about brett's transfer was making it much worse. he took a deep breath and told a co over the radio to send brett to his office.
the door opened much quicker than eddy expected, revealing a very out of breath brett. he shut the door and locked it before walking over to where eddy sat and climbing on his lap without saying a word. eddy bit his lip nervously and rubbed brett's back.
"i'm sorry," he whispered.
"i thought you left me," brett whimpered, clutching eddy's jacket in his fists. eddy shook his head.
"i would never leave you," he said, his lips forming a promise he knew he had to keep. there was no doubt about it.
"say that again," brett mumbled. eddy almost smiled.
"i would never leave you," he repeated. relief washed over brett and eddy felt his limbs become heavier as he relaxed, his chapped lips pressing a soft kiss to eddy's neck.
"what happened?" the question eddy had been dreading since he'd woken up in the hospital came out of brett's mouth, tinged with concern and a hint of fear. eddy cleared his throat.
"i drank too much. two of the officers came to check on me when i didn't show up, and they called an ambulance. it was kind of unnecessary, really. i could've just slept it off," the taller boy muttered, wincing as he felt brett's body trembling.
"i missed you," brett sighed. "it was scary without you."
eddy's headache worsened as brett spoke. he was already unbelievably stressed and the fact that he was going to have to tell brett that they wouldn't be able to see each other for awhile made it worse. he took a deep breath. he had to get it over with.
"brett?" he said softly. the other boy pulled away and looked into his eyes, heart breaking at the innocent look on his face. maybe ignorance was bliss. but it couldn't last.
"yeah?" brett said, eyebrows raised as he awaited eddy's answer, his small arms wrapping around his neck.
clenching his teeth, eddy raised his hands and pressed them to brett's cheeks, pulling him in and kissing him. this was going to hurt.
"i need to tell you something," eddy said after they pulled away, his face reddening as his voice broke midsentence. brett frowned.
"what's wrong?" he asked, his small hands running through eddy's soft hair. the warden sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
"before i tell you, i just want to make sure you know that i love you. and we can figure this out," he said. brett's bottom lip trembled in fear and his eyes widened slightly.
"eddy, you're scaring me," he whispered. eddy sighed again.
"they're sending you hours away," he finally said, his soft voice cracking yet again.
brett said nothing. he didn't even move. his eyes landed on eddy's shoulder and stayed there as he tried to process what had just been said, his heart pounding. that was not on the list of things he'd thought eddy might say. and it hurt.
"brett?" eddy asked, watching the other boy's eyes fill with tears.
when brett was silent yet again, eddy pulled him close to his chest and kissed the top of his head. brett finally broke down, grabbing fistfuls of eddy's shirt and burying his face in his neck.
"it's gonna be okay, brett. we can do this," eddy whispered, his shaky hand sliding up under brett's shirt to rub his back. brett shook his head.
"no it's not!" he argued, chest heaving.
"shh," eddy said softly, "breathe, bretty."
it took awhile before brett had stopped shaking, his small body gradually becoming still as he sat in eddy's lap. he finally pulled away.
     "what are we going to do?" he asked. eddy kissed his cheeks and sighed.
     "i can still come visit you, i just.. don't know if i can come every week. it might have to be every other week," he huffed, running his hands through his already disheveled hair.
     "are you gonna keep working here?" brett asked defeatedly. eddy sighed again.
     "i think so, brett. at least until you're out."
     brett nodded and stood up, pacing around eddy's office. the taller boy watched him go back and forth over and over, the wheels in his head turning rapidly.
     "i'll only see you twice before i'm out then," brett muttered, chewing on what was left of his thumbnail. he didn't stop when he tasted blood.
     "i'm so sorry," eddy stood up, walking to brett and pulling him in for a tight hug. brett barely hugged back. he felt numb.
     "how far is it?" he whispered, staring emptily at the wall behind eddy's desk. eddy clenched his teeth.
     "a little over four hours away," he whispered. brett nodded.
     "that's fine," he muttered. "it's fine."
     eddy frowned when brett pulled away and turned towards the door, eyes avoiding eddy's at all costs.
"hey," eddy stood up, putting himself between brett and the door. the smaller boy huffed and looked away.
"what are you doing?" eddy's brown eyes fixated on brett, concern visible on his face.
"when do i leave?" brett asked. a sigh escaped eddy's lips and the lump in the back of his throat grew larger.
"two days," he whispered.
a sad silence filled the room as the two of them stood there, close to each other but not touching. it was brett who finally changed that. sighing heavily, he wrapped his arms around eddy's waist and hugged him tightly.
"i'm so sorry," eddy muttered. "i promise i had nothing to do with it."
"i know."
"i love you."
"i know."
;
two days passed quicker than either of them could imagine, and soon it was the night before brett's transfer. the two of them had been lying on eddy's couch for hours that night. bodies intertwined, they exchanged soft kisses and final conversations as they tried to keep the tears from their eyes.
"i'm sorry i couldn't protect you," eddy whispered after quite awhile of silence, the fingertips brushing brett's cheek.
"you couldn't have known," the other boy replied, shaking his head. "i don't blame you for it."
"i should've done something after the first time," the warden's voice wavered as he spoke softly into brett's ear, sending shivers down his spine.
"there was no reason for you to think it would happen again. it's okay, really," brett shrugged, closing his eyes as eddy's hand ran down his neck.
"i'm still sorry."
brett sighed softly and placed his hand on top of eddy's, kissing the other boy's fingers.
"kiss me," he whispered.
eddy nodded and slowly closed the gap between their lips, resting his hand on brett's cheek once again. the kiss was slow and long, eddy's hands lazily running over brett's chest and through his hair. both boys sighed contentedly when they pulled away, looking into each other's eyes. brett smiled softly and raised up to press his lips to eddy's forehead. the warden's cheeks reddened and he shyly hid his face in brett's neck.
"what are you doing?" brett laughed, looking down at him.
"i liked that," eddy mumbled, his lips brushing the skin of brett's neck as he spoke.
"i like you," brett whispered, kissing eddy's forehead once again. their eyes met and the taller boy kissed brett's cheek, taking notice of the small smile that remained on his cheeks.
"we're gonna make it through this, bretty. i promise," eddy said. brett nodded.
     "i know. and then we can be together," he smiled again, resting his head on eddy's chest. "i'm just gonna miss you."
     "i'll miss you, too. i looked the prison up, though. it's a lot nicer. maybe you'll make friends," eddy offered, but brett shook his head.
     "i don't want to make friends," he muttered. "i want you."
     "i'm yours," eddy said reassuringly, his large hand rubbing brett's back. "i think you should try to make some friends, though. might make time go faster."
     "i doubt it."
     eddy nodded and pulled brett closer, planting kisses all over his face.
     "i love you," he said.
     "i love you, eddy," brett replied, glancing up at the clock on the wall. "i'm gonna have to go back to bed soon, aren't i? i can't stay here all night. and you have to go home."
     "i guess so," the warden said defeatedly, running his hands down his face. "i won't see you tomorrow, bretty."
     "what?" brett's voice trembled, his heart dropping to the bottom of his stomach and forming a pit there that would not go away for another month.
     "you're going early in the morning," eddy whispered. "and they won't let you come see me before."
     "no," brett sniffled, shaking his head. "you have to do something. i have to see you."
     "i can't do anything. i'm so sorry," eddy said, hesitantly kissing brett's forehead.
     "i love you," brett cried into eddy's chest, the reality of the situation hitting him all at once. tonight would be his last night with eddy until he was released. it would be the last time he'd get to even lay eyes on him for two weeks.
     "i love you," eddy whispered into brett's ear, stroking his hair gently.
     it took another half hour for brett to stop crying. the two of them held each other until he finally went quiet. eddy pulled away and kissed his forehead, sighing softly.
     "you have to go to bed, bretty," he mumbled. brett wiped his eyes and nodded, sitting up on the couch.
     "i'm gonna miss you," he whimpered, hugging eddy tightly.
     "i'll miss you, love. but we'll see each other soon, okay? and this is all temporary. it won't be long until we can spend every day together, yeah?"
     "okay," brett finally pulled away only to lean back in for one last kiss.
     "you should go now. you gotta get some rest before the big day tomorrow," eddy said once they'd pulled apart, his eyes still on brett's lips. the other boy nodded and kissed eddy's cheek.
     "i'll see you soon," he said as they stood up. eddy nodded.
     "i'll see you soon, brett. i promise."
     "goodbye," brett whispered, opening the door.
     "bye, bretty."