Rehearsal

Part XV

They have sat on the sofa for hours. It was already getting dark outside. "Thank you for telling me. I know this wasn't easy for you." Eddy nodded "Yeah. Did your memories came back?" Brett shook his head. "No. I think they never will."

There was a moment of silence. "Well, Brett, I think I should go home now. It is already pretty late." Eddy rose from his seat and felt a little bit dizzy for the first moment. "Are you okay?", asked Brett, worried about his friend. "You know, you can stay here anytime. Especially nowadays." - "no. no. It's okay. I just got up too quickly." - "Seriously. With everything you said, in the beginning, I am really worried about you now. Is there anything I can do for you?" Eddy laughed. "Actually I am feeling a little bit better now after telling you." That wasn't even a lie. As Eddy had begun to tell what had happened to them, it felt a little bit therapeutic and Brett had been a good listener. But now he felt so tired he even questioned himself how he would be able to drive home tonight. Brett had also gotten onto his feet. "Just sit down again. I bring you a glass of water." Eddy did as he was told. "Okay. But just 5 minutes then I will leave."

Brett went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass which he filled with tap water. He felt exhausted and saw that Eddy was pretty tired too. He really thought that it would be better if Eddy would sleep on the couch or in his bed. The thought of him being this tired behind a steering wheel made him uncomfortable.

As he returned to the living room he found a sleeping Eddy on his sofa. He smiled. He placed the glass of water next to him and a blanket over his friend. "I hope this night you won't have any nightmares and if you do I am right next door", he whispered as he left the room.

The next morning Eddy was still sleeping as Brett got up. So he quietly grabbed his keys and went out to get something for breakfast and maybe two cups of bubble tea. Today they wanted to film the very first new video for their YouTube-Channel that had been neglected for several months now.

As he sat in the car his thoughts wandered off to what Eddy had told him yesterday. He felt sorry for Eddy and that he had to deal with it kind of alone. Brett wanted to care for his best friend. He would work hard on making Eddy feel better. Maybe Eddy wanted to move in for a while just until he could sleep again and gained some appetite. He really wasn't looking so good in the last weeks.

Brett nearly oversaw a red light and hit the breaks as he saw a man crossing the street right in front of him. As the car stood still he could smell the rubber of the tires. With a bad conscience, he looked at the man he nearly had hit and froze. He knew the man. It was the leader of the hostage-takers. Brett remembered his face clearly now. His hands began shaking. He saw the man rose something from his pockets. A small black pistol which was now directly pointed at him. "Play for us!" Brett could hear his voice loud and clear. "Play or I will kill you!" Brett shook his head. What was happening? He looked around but of course, his violin was still at home. "Too bad." said the man and shot. The pain Brett felt was so familiar as he had felt it before. He tasted the blood in his mouth. His view was blurry from his tears. Fear was creeping from behind into his heart. He couldn't breathe. This was it. He would die now. A pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Brett, wake up." Brett looked around. What was Eddy doing here? "Eddy, watch out. He has a gun!" - "Wake up!" Brett didn't understand. Where was he?

Brett had screamed in his dreams.  Eddy was shaking him gently but it hadn't any effect. His friend was still moving around whispering his name. "Wake up, Brett. It is just a dream!" With a loud gasp, Brett woke up and sat up immediately. "Eddy. Where is he?" - "Who?" - "The.. ehm... I mean..." Brett looked around, realising where he was. Eddy knew what was going on. It happened to him too often. Actually this is what his mornings were like every day now. "It was just a dream, Brett. You are safe here." - "I think I remember now." - "What do you mean?" - "I remember everything!" Eddy looked in his friends' eyes. Guilt swept his heart. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. "I am sorry, Brett." Brett looked at him confused. Eddy sat down next to his friend and pulled him into a tight hug. After a little while, he felt how the man in his arms began to shake. He heard quiet sobs and felt the warmth of tears on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, Brett. I promise." - "No" Brett's voice was giving in. "It's too much" He sobbed and hugged Eddy more tightly. "You were right. I don't want to remember."