Broken String

CXI

The door closes heavy behind his friends. Another half hour alone, but this time Eddy knows there's no helping the panic because it's there already, encroaching on him, rushing in, driving out any peace he's ever felt. 
"No." he whispers, but he's powerless because they can't even have left the building yet and the first tear is already falling. Oh, how he wishes he could get to the bed by himself, let himself drop down so he can cry for real, into his pillow like any self respecting guy. 
No such luck. 
The sobbing begins and he sits on the couch, powerless against the grief that overtakes him. Oh, Brett, come back, no, stay away, you don't need to see this, even less with how cold you've been. He is crying out loud, breathing in huge gulps of air between wracking sobs, the tears streaming up from his toes and out of his eyes in rivers of loneliness, rivers of fear. 
"He's going to leave me." he sobs out loud to himself. "He's done with me already. Why wouldn't he? I'm nothing. Nothing."
There's nothing he can do, nothing to help himself, nothing to stop the quick, quick breaths. He turned away from him and ran to the shower. 
He must have hated the romance last night, it must have been too much. 
How could it already have been too much?

His sister takes one look at him as she opens the door and she rushes to his side.
"Jesus Christ, Eddy, what the hell is going on?"
I mean, who is he kidding? He's going to tell her that it's nothing? Just he's sore, or something? Plus his filter has never returned from its impromptu trip to Alaska and the words bubble. 
"Brett. It's Brett." he pants as she sits down and throws an arm around him. He leans into her shoulder and weeps, just like he did sometimes when he was tiny and she was a little bigger and he'd fallen or something. 
"Brett? What did he do?"
He almost grins at her tone. Big sis to the rescue, he knows very well she'd have Brett's balls if he wanted her to. Too many tears are drying on his cheeks though, to grin. 
"We've been... oh Jesus, sis. I don't know..."
She lets him go with such a shock that he stops crying, and looks at him incredulously. 
"You've been... what?"
He shrugs. 
"Eddy. You've been... something romantic?"
His heart stops, then stutters back to life. How did she instantly jump to that? He stares at her with wide eyes as the moment freezes around him, then swells up to monstrous proportions. How did she... is this... oh my God, is this his first coming out? Maybe his last, too, based on how Brett has been?
"Um. Yes." he rasps.
She jumps up, eyes wide, mouth open. Eddy is frozen to the couch, a stalagmite once more. Oh God. Is she mad? Upset? Oh, no, is she disappointed? But then she grins incredulously and sits back down. 
"You've... whoa. Finally. How long has this been going on? And why the tears?"
What is it about his sister and her presence? It's almost as soothing as Brett's, he thaws instantly, the tears have gone, the fist is gone, his breath is calming. 
"Finally? Why does everyone keep saying finally?"
"Everyone who?"
"Well, John, Lily, you. The only people who know."
She smiles.
"Eddy... I'm your sister. Come on. I've thought this from day one, but somehow it never quite worked out, I don't know why. Why the tears, though?"
He takes a deep breath and looks down at his legs. Some things can't be said with eye contact, especially not to your sister. 
"Um. Last night he took me to a nice Italian place. It was perfect. Then last night... well. That was perfect too. But this morning... God, sis, I think he's... I think he's already over me."
Now the tears are back, of course they are, and her arm is around him again, soft, gentle, powerful like the woman herself. 
"Why do you think that? Tell me everything."
And he does. How could he not? He leaves out the sordid details but he tells her about the night, about how distant he was, about how he ran. 
Oh, how he ran.
After he's finally finished his monologue she is quiet for a long moment, then sits back and gets up with a shock.
"Okay, some topics need tea." she says as she walks to the kitchen and puts on the kettle. "Wow. Look, Eddy, is it possible that he's just being a guy about this?"
"What else is he supposed to be?"
She picks up the green tea and spoons some into the filter.
"Don't play dumb with me, you know exactly what I mean. Men can be... very oblivious."

Eddy is quiet for a moment. 
"Maybe. Not Brett though."
He opens his mouth again to say more when his phone buzzes. He grabs for it faster than is decent.