KISS: Road Trip

Ch 57: Eat Or Be Eaten (Bruce)

I knocked on the door, shifting the bag of food to my other arm and waiting for Gene to let me in. It was really tempting not to ring the doorbell, which still had a sign asking people not to, but after like five minutes Gene finally pulled open the door, giving me a smile.

"Oh Bruce you are a saint," he said, taking the bag from me. "Thank you so much for picking this up, Nick's been a handful and I really don't want to take him grocery shopping right now." I grinned, shaking my head. "Yeah, no problem! I was gonna have Eric get it for you but he complained so much I agreed to just pick it up after work."

Gene smiled, rolling his eyes. "Of course. What's it like living with him? Y'all are basically complete opposites. He's super bubbly and energetic and you've always been the more quiet and responsible one."

I nodded, grinning. "That is true. And of course he eats enough for like two people. And he'll just eat things straight out of the container. Like ice cream and cookie dough and peanut butter and milk and sometimes just like sauces? And one time he just took a bite straight out of the block of cheese. So that's a handful sometimes but it's fun."

"Oh gosh I can totally see him doing that," Gene said with a laugh. "Yep. He's really fun to live with though, I'm glad we're roommates. He's super clingy when he sleeps, it's kind of adorable. Like we watch movies a lot and we'll switch off who gets to pick the movie and he almost always falls asleep halfway through any time I pick one and he just like...grabs my arm in his sleep and doesn't let go, it's so entertaining."

"I'm honestly surprised it took you guys this long to become roommates. You guys hung out all the time in high school! And I'm assuming college, I don't really know." "Yeah, we did. I don't know why we haven't been roommates before. It's really nice to have him there too. Like a...like a support system, in a way. As much of a goof as he is, he also holds me accountable and I really appreciate that from him," I said with a faint smile. "Anyway, I'm gonna head home, good luck with your kid!"

Gene heaved a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah thanks, I'll need it. Thanks again for the groceries though!" he said, closing the door with a wave.

I unlocked the door to our apartment to find Eric sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep instead of cooking dinner like he swore he would. "Of course," I said, smiling as I nudged him with my foot. "Hey, you wanna go out to eat since you didn't make dinner?" He sat up, grinning, instantly awake. "Yeah! Where?" "How about a buffet? Like a Chinese one sounds good." Eric's face absolutely lit up and he leapt to his feet, grabbing his wallet. "Hell yeah it does, let's go I'm starving!"

We both paid for ourselves and grabbed a plate, heading for the buffet. For once I decided to just relax and not think about what I was eating and just eat what I felt like. Eric, per usual, went absolutely wild when exposed to copious amounts of food and piled his plate with everything. I sat eating my single plate while he tore through six platefuls of food, only starting to slow down when I went for seconds.

After I had finished two plates and he had finished eleven, we headed back home. "Oh damn I'm stuffed. That was some good food though, that was a good idea!" he said, giving me a smile before closing his eyes and leaning back in the passenger seat as I drove home. He fell on the couch as soon as we got back to the apartment, patting his stomach with a contented sigh. "Mm-hm. That was a good dinner."

I sat next to him, frowning. "Hey I have...I have something to talk to you about," I said slowly. He sat up, giving me a confused look. "Yeah sure what's up? You okay?" "Yeah, yeah, it's nothing like that, I was just...look, you eat a lot. You always have. And you've also always been skinny and I just wanted to make sure that you're not like...you're not binging and then purging. Cause when...when I did that kind of stuff I just purged, I wasn't binging, but I know that's how most people do it and I wanted to make sure you're okay."

Eric stared at me in silence before giving me a hug. "I'm okay. I haven't done that stuff, I never have. I just have a really fast metabolism. But thank you for caring about me, really," he said quietly. "I'm sorry you went through that." I smiled, hugging him back. "No, it's okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Because it wasn't fun and I didn't want you to be going through that too."

He gave me a sad smile. "I'm not, I promise."

I woke up early-ish the next morning, incredibly grateful that it was a Saturday and I didn't have to go to work, as much as I liked working as a physical therapist. I poured myself a bowl of cereal, eating quietly and waiting for Eric to wake up.

He shuffled into the kitchen area like an hour or two after I got up, hair a disheveled mess. He squinted at me through his glasses, face going red before he silently poured himself a mug of coffee. "I like your glasses!" I said cheerfully. "O-oh. Thanks," he mumbled. "Too tired for contacts."

I frowned, watching as he drained his coffee and poured himself another mug. "Hey...you alright? You look...worse than you usually do in the mornings." He sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "Don't worry about it," he said softly. I rose to my feet, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Eric, seriously, what's wrong?"

He turned around, looking up at me before giving me a tight hug, burying his face in my chest. "I'm sorry, Bruce I'm so sorry," he choked. I hugged him back, equal parts confused and concerned. "For what?! What's wrong?!"

"Y-you were dying and I knew it and I didn't--I didn't do anything t-to help you," he whispered. My heart sank and I hugged him tighter. "No, no Eric don't do this. Don't do this to yourself. You helped me, you saved my life, you know you did." "I could've...could've stopped it earlier an' then...you could've done so much more, like-like wrestling and you would've been okay an' you wouldn't have had to do as much and-and-and..."

He trailed off, shaking his head, and buried his face deeper in my chest. "No, don't say that, don't say those things! You saved my life, you know you did. I wouldn't be here if you didn't confront me, if you didn't get me help. Eric, please don't do this to yourself, please." "I-I know it's been years but like maybe if I had gotten you help sooner you could've--I don't know! Maybe you could've gotten a s-scholarship or something and I don't know, I just feel bad!" he mumbled, voice muffled by my shirt.

I hugged him, stomach twisting into knots. "Please, Eric, please don't say those things. You helped me, you helped me so, so much. You got me help and you held me accountable and you always called me on my shit. Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault."

He nodded, blinking back tears, and rubbed his eyes again. "S-sorry. I'm just glad you're okay." I gave him a smile, hugging him again. "I'm okay thanks to you, and don't you ever forget that."