Closer 2

13.

"Eddy!" Brett whined upon seeing him enter the little area he had been given closed off by curtains. Tears flowed quickly as Eddy came over and took his face carefully in his hands and kissed his forehead. Neither of them acknowledged Leonora in the chair next to the bed.

"Oh Bretty mine, I was so worried about you, what happened?"
Eddy's eyes ran over the bandage they had wrapped around his head.

"I'm so sorry, Eddy, I didn't mean to make you worry," Brett sniffled, gently kissing one of Eddy's hands that still rested on his cheek. "I'm okay, please don't..."

"You're clearly not okay, Bretty, what's going on?" Eddy interrupted him, taking his hand between his and squeezing it. "Please talk to me, please let me help you."

Brett shook his head slightly, but whined when it hurt.
"I'm sorry, Eddy," he whispered, tears flowing more heavily now. "Please please don't worry, I've got it under control, I..."

Eddy shook his head slightly, pulling another chair next to the other side of the bed and sitting down.
"Please, Brett," he pleaded, kissing his hand. "Let me help you."

Brett got really quiet for a while, looking at their hands. His head felt like it was pulsating with pain and he felt slightly nauseated. Luckily, at least in his mind, Leonora spoke before he could.

"He fainted due to low blood sugar. Hit his head in the fall, got a light concussion," she informed Eddy softly. "I'm sorry if I scared you on the phone."

Eddy knew of course why he hsd low blood sugar. The guy hadn't been eating, and Eddy knew that. He knew that and hadn't done anything about it.

"Not at all, Leonora. Thank you for taking care of him," Eddy said quietly, slowly realizing Brett wasn't going to tell him anything. Of course he wasn't, he had never shown himself to be someone Brett could lean on, had he? It was always the other way around, and now the pressure of taking care of him was becoming too much for Brett.

"I gotta head out, though, I have to get to work," Leonora said, slowly gathering her things. "Let me know how it goes, and maybe let's meet for coffee? If you want?"

Eddy nodded slightly, feeling almost trapped in his own head from his own thoughts now. Had he caused Brett to be like this?
"Sounds good, we'll call," Eddy told Leonora, and she gave a nod before heading out, leaving the two of them alone.

"I'm sorry, Eddy," Brett said quietly after a while, tears still running down his face. "Please don't be mad at me."

"Why would I be mad? You should be mad, Brett. I'm clearly not someone you feel you can tell things, and yet I keep leaning on you," Eddy said quietly, shaking his head slightly. "I'm sorry."

"No, please don't think that, please Eddy," Brett said, getting all choked up from the crying. He reached over with his availabile hand to try and wipe Eddy's tears that ran slowly down his cheeks. "Please, Eddy, I just didn't want to worry you. I'll tell you anything, just please don't cry. Please."