Always (Boyxboy)

Chapter Seventeen- Pierce

"Let me show you out," he offered in a kind voice. "I'll give you money for a cab".

"Sure..." she trailed off, looking between them, and then down at Tyler for the first time, her eyes widening. "Is he alright?!" Gently, Garett placed a hand on the woman's arm and gestured his hand toward the front door. She looked in that direction. "Alright. I just left my phone and ID in the bedroom".

It was less than a minute before Garett was ushering her through the front door as she said, "I left my number on your nightstand if you want to meet up again sometime". The door closed then, and Pierce squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the guilt eat his stomach.

"You alright?" Garett asked, moving back over to them.

"Yeah," Pierce said quickly, opening his eyes. "I have to be alright right now because he's not". This seemed to surprise Garett, but Pierce didn't ask why. "I'm going to take him into the hospital. He probably has a severe concussion".

"Want to take my car?" Garett inquired. "It has a bigger back seat".

"Yeah," Pierce agreed, shifting to get his arms under Tyler in a way that he'd be able to carry him. "Would you be willing to drive us? I don't want to just leave him in the back seat by himself".

"Yeah man, sure," Garett agreed quickly, and Pierce shot his brother an incredibly thankful look. Garett had probably slept even less than Pierce had. "I'll go pull it around when you're getting situated".

"Hey," Pierce said quickly. "Are you sober enough?" It hadn't been long since Garett returned from the bar, but he nodded his head anyways.

"Yeah. I barely drank". Garett waited for Pierce to nod his head in understanding before moving.

Garett left the apartment, pausing only to pull on a coat and grab his keys. Gently, Pierce lifted Tyler off the ground, holding the boy against his chest as he rose up on his knees and then slowly stood fully, groaning at the strain in his legs because Tyler was so fucking heavy. A time long ago came to mind, carrying a sleeping Tyler through the halls after one of his father's parties, but he pushed those thoughts back for the moment, focusing on what was truly important.

Pierce moved towards the door at a far slower pace than his brother had, grabbing his spare coat– because Tyler had his good one– off of the back of the couch and draping it over Tyler the best he could.

They took the elevator down to the lobby, since Pierce thought he would probably do damage to his knees by taking the stairs. The second the elevator doors opened, Pierce was greeted with the sight of his brother waiting for them by the doors, his cheeks pink with the bite of early October nightly chill. "Ready?"

Pierce just nodded, shooting a look at Tyler's face to see if he had come to yet– he hadn't– before moving towards the door, which his brother held open. Garett's silver car was pulled right up to the door, the door to the backseat already pulled open to make it easier for them. "Thank you," Pierce said, shifting his eyes from the car to his brother, who just nodded. On the way back, his gaze got caught on something else in the parking lot, and he squinted to make sure he was seeing things right. When he was sure he was, he shook his head.

"Fucking idiot," Pierce breathed, ignoring the strain in his arms supporting Tyler's. Garett's eyebrows raised.

"What?" He asked. "What's wrong?" Pierce nodded his head in the direction of Tyler's car the best he could, and his brother directed his attention that way. "That shitty parking job? I think they're still in there. I'm pretty sure it's running."

"That's Tyler's car," Pierce grumbled. "He left it running".

"Ahh," Garett hummed before frowning. "He drove here? Shit man, he's lucky he didn't pass out while driving". The thought made Pierce pull Tyler tighter against him. "Okay, you get him in the car and I'll move his car and put it somewhere he won't get a ticket.''