incarcerated

23.

they'd tried calling, but there was no answer. everyone unanimously decided to just go about their day and hope that he'd arrive soon with some logical explanation for his lateness and yell at someone for something. their day went on as if nothing was wrong.

brett, however, was terrified. he shouldn't have known that eddy wasn't there, but he did. the warden had made a habit of casually strolling by brett's block every morning, but he hadn't been there. brett tried to ask a guard for permission to go see the warden and they'd denied him, which he knew eddy had told them never to do. he also knew that eddy never missed work. something had to be wrong.

eddy remained on the floor of his kitchen, his tear stained cheek pressed against the cold tile. his phone was upstairs, but he wouldn't have heard the calls from the prison even if it wasn't. the battery was dead.

it was 5 p.m. when eddy's eyes finally opened, a loud groan escaping his lips. the groan was followed immediately by vomit, spewing out of him and onto the floor before he could even attempt to get up. the pain in his head was unbearable and tears fell down his cheeks as he lifted his hands to his forehead, barely able to remember where he was or what had happened.

trying to lift himself from the floor would be useless. his thoughts were racing and he knew his job would be in more danger than it already was if he didn't at least call, but he couldn't move. it took all his strength to roll onto his side and he threw up again as he did, his throat burning. his breathing was alarmingly slow.

"fuck," he groaned as he wiped his mouth, grimacing as he realized he was covered in the contents of his own stomach.

he threw up once more before losing consciousness again.

;

meanwhile, brett was still in a state of panic. eddy was the only thing in the prison that kept him going and he had yet to hear his voice. he was also terrified that eddy had just left and wasn't coming back. he hadn't eaten all day and had barely left his bed. he'd tried to read to take his mind off of things, but it just wasn't working. he settled for staring at the wall.

had eddy been at work, he would've been there to answer the phone call about brett's transfer. maybe it was better he wasn't.

;

by nightfall, eddy's staff had become concerned. they debated on whether or not someone should go to his house to check up on him for awhile, but eventually decided that someone should despite the fact that they were all afraid of him. he may have been intimidating, but he was respected and most people liked him. even if he didn't like them.

officer taylor and officer carmley stood outside of eddy's dark house, staring up at it nervously.

"what if he's just blowing off work?" taylor asked as they approached his front door, running his fingers through his hair. carmley shook his head.

"you know he wouldn't. especially not now. he hasn't missed a second of work since yang set foot in the door," he said. taylor nodded.

eddy did not hear their knocks on his door, despite how close he was to the origin of the sound. he remained on the kitchen floor and his eyes remained shut.

"he's not coming," carmley sighed, turning away from the door. taylor stopped him.

"i'm going in. something's wrong with him, i can feel it. this isn't like him at all," he muttered, putting his hand on the doorknob. it was unlocked.

the two officers were not prepared for the sight of their superior lying on the kitchen floor in his own vomit. they gasped as their eyes scanned over the scene—the vodka bottle, the small amount of blood on the back of eddy's head where it had hit the cabinet, the deathly slow rise and fall of his chest. the two men rushed to his side and attempted to wake him.

"jesus christ, he's cold," carmley shuddered, hands recoiling back from eddy's clammy skin.

"call an ambulance," taylor said. "now."

as the other officer picked up his phone, taylor put his arms on eddy's shoulders and lifted him into a sitting position.

"eddy? can you hear me?" he said, voice soft but firm. the warden did not respond.

"they're on the way," carmley announced, returning to the kitchen. "do you think it's poisoning?"

"yeah, i do," taylor muttered, one hand on eddy's pale cheek and the other firmly against his neck.

"eddy, you need to wake up," he continued to speak close to eddy's face, his own pulse quickening as he felt the other man's weaken.

taylor wasn't sure if he felt better or worse when eddy groaned softly and threw up once more, tears leaking out of his eyes.

"help.." he mumbled, his head falling onto taylor's shoulder.

in another situation, it may have been amusing to the officers to see their warden in a state of weakness. but this was terrifying. the two men stayed with eddy until the ambulance arrived.

;

when the warden missed his morning stroll by brett's block for the second day in a row, the smaller boy knew that something was definitely wrong. he decided that it was time to investigate.

the officers working brett's block knew exactly what he wanted as soon as he approached them. they shared a knowing glance and listened as he spoke.

"is ed.. the warden here?" he asked, barely trying to hide his concern. the taller officer sighed.

"warden chen is in the hospital. he should be back tomorrow," he said.

brett's heart dropped to his feet and it was all he could do to nod before walking away. he chewed his bottom lip as he made his way to the bathroom, quickly going into a stall and slamming the door. the bathroom was empty and he let out a sob as he sunk to the floor, a place he was all too familiar with.

where was his eddy?

brett spent his entire day chewing at his thumbnail and tapping his foot, eddy being the only thing on his tired mind. he couldn't focus during work duty and the only thing he ate was half of an apple at lunch. the idea of eddy being hurt or in danger made him nauseous, especially when he had no idea what was wrong and no way to help.

that day was one of the longest of brett's life.

;

eddy did return that morning, after awhile of being monitored by hospital staff as his alcohol levels dropped. he wasn't feeling much better at all, but the last thing he wanted was to scare brett for another day.

unfortunately, the first thing on his agenda was a staff meeting. he had to stand in front of all of his officers and explain himself, as well as thank taylor and carmley for their help. it went surprisingly well, with all of the officers giving him their support and well wishes. but he was still glad when it ended.

as soon as he sat down in his office chair, head pounding, his phone rang. the sound made the pain worse and he picked it up quickly.

"warden chen," he said, discomfort obvious in his voice.

"edward, you're on thin fucking ice. i warned you. you want to explain to me why you've been ignoring my calls for days?" said the man on the other side, whose voice eddy recognized immediately.

     "mr. owens," he replied, sitting up straighter. "i'm so sorry. i assumed someone would've told you . i've been in the hospital."

     "oh," joseph replied, clearing his throat. "sorry to hear that. it's good that you're back."

     he hung up. eddy rolled his eyes and groaned loudly, stretching his arms. he intended to call brett into his office as soon as possible, but he needed to check his email and voicemail first for any information about the transfer.

     and when he did, he wished he hadn't. his eyes fell over the words on the screen over and over again, hoping and praying that they would change. but they didn't. he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to think of how he'd give brett the news.

     he was being transferred to another state.