when word spread to the warden that brett was not present at work or in his bunk for the nightly count, worry inevitably washed over him. he sent two guards on a search for him and paced around his office, chewing on his nails. there was no way brett intentionally missed count and work. and that meant he was either in danger or he was hurt. eddy couldn't deal with either.
it took fifteen minutes for the guards to find brett unconscious in the bathroom stall. he resembled a corpse as he laid on the floor, body crumpled into a helpless ball. his body was covered in bruises and blood had stained the back of his pants and his shirt.
"shit," the older guard mumbled, crossing his arms as he stared at brett in the floor.
"yeah, shit." the other one replied.
"you want to carry him to the warden's office first or just take him to medical?"
the second guard paused for a moment and contemplated both of their options. he decided to ask eddy over the radio.
"co kirk for warden chen," he said. his voice was shaky. the radio crackled and eddy's rough voice came through.
"go for warden."
"we've got eyes on yang. he's pretty busted up. unconscious. should we take him to medical or to you first?"
the line was silent for several seconds.
"take him to medical."
eddy slammed his radio down on his desk and took a deep breath. anger flooded his veins and he paced around again, the veins in his forehead bulging.
yes, he was angry that brett was hurt. but he was more angry that there was nothing he could do about it. he had no idea who had done it or the extent of brett's injuries, and any further investigation would put brett in more danger. the best thing he could do for brett was the absolute last thing he wanted: leaving him alone.
how could he do that? how could he let an innocent man live in his prison without helping him out?
all he wanted was to go see him. despite the brevity of their friendship, or whatever their relationship was, and the intensity of brett's dismay towards eddy, the warden cared deeply for the prisoner. but, just like helping him, going to see him could make things worse.
eddy took a deep breath.
"i'll just stop by," he told himself. "i do that for severely injured prisoners anyways."
he headed towards the medical unit with a scowl on his tanned face, hands shoved in his jacket pockets. no one spoke to him. fury radiated off of his tall figure in waves and he made no effort to hide it. eddy chen was pissed.
upon walking into the unit, eddy discovered that he had hugely underestimated the severity of brett's injuries. the sight of him unconscious in that unstable bed made eddy's blood boil. he clenched his fists and searched for the doctor.
"what the fuck happened here?" he demanded when he found him. the man in the white jacket raised his eyebrows and sighed.
"well, we can't know for sure until yang wakes up and tells us. but, based on his injuries, i'm going to assume that it was rape and assault."
eddy froze.
"rape?" he repeated, his face paling. the doctor squinted at him, suspicious of his emotional reaction.
"yes, sir. his anal cavity was ruptured and we found semen inside of him. it also appears that he hasn't been eating, but that's not surprising."
there were a million thoughts in eddy's head as he stared at brett's bruised face and his sickly pale skin. he thought of processes to investigate what happened, punishments, ways to make brett feel better.
and he still couldn't do a damn thing.
"just take care of him—please. for fuck's sake," eddy sighed, pushing his hair out of his face. the doctor squinted at him again.
"what?" eddy asked.
"you care about him," the other man said softly. eddy's cheeks reddened.
"it's my job."
he gave the doctor no time to reply before turning and walking back to his office.
;
brett's entire body ached when he woke up. his vision was blurry and his head refused to stop pounding. it took him way too long to realize where he was with his sluggish thoughts, and he wished he could forget again as soon as he remembered. memories of the previous day in the closet flooded his head and he shuddered, pulling his knees to his chest.
as much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to see eddy. the sight of the other man's face had become a comforting one and brett couldn't help but crave it. after all, eddy was definitely the most handsome man brett had ever seen. but he was the warden and brett was just another face in the sea of criminals, even if he hadn't committed a crime.
after visiting with the doctor, brett begged to be let out of medical. the longer he stayed, the longer people had to make up rumors about where he was. his legs hurt badly as he walked back to his bunk and the other inmates made no attempt to hide their stares and whispered judgments, but he was too tired to care.
in addition to being tired, brett was angry.
he couldn't help but put some of the blame on eddy despite the fact that he'd only been trying to help. but the more he tried to help, the worse it got. furthering their strange relationship was not worth the danger it put brett in.
the next day, brett was approached by a guard during work duty.
"yang, the warden wants to see you."
brett took a deep breath and didn't look up from the books he was putting back on the shelf.
"no."
the guard frowned and squinted in brett's direction, but the smaller man continued to refuse eye contact.
"what did you just say, inmate?" he asked. brett sat a book down forcefully on the shelf and stood straight up, turning to face the guard. his name tag said hernandez.
"i said no. and i don't care if you tell him i said no. what's he going to do, give me a shot? extend my sentence? i'm not going. i don't care what he says. i'm not afraid of him," he said decisively, crossing his arms. the officer raised his eyebrows.
"i really don't think you want to do that, yang," he said, his tone threatening. brett shrugged.
hernandez was stumped. he wasn't exactly sure what went on between brett and eddy in their little meetings, but he figured from brett's reaction that it wasn't good. technically, brett was not allowed to refuse a warden's order. but all of them knew that this was different.
all hernandez could do was tell eddy what brett said and pray that his face didn't get ripped off by the other man in a fit of anger. each of the guards was terrified of eddy for a different reason, but all of them were valid. they'd seen him in his coldest and most furious moments and none of them ever wanted that powerful anger directed at them. his hands shook as he knocked on the door to eddy's office.
"what?" his voice sounded hostile.
"yang said no, sir."
there was a terrifying silence behind the door for an uncomfortably long time before it opened slowly, revealing a disheveled and very tired looking warden.
"he what?" eddy asked quietly, his intense eyes gazing into his inferior's. hernandez inhaled deeply.
"i told him you wanted to see him, sir, and he said no. also that he doesn't care what you say and he's not afraid of you, sir."
eddy was baffled. the last thing he'd expected was a refusal to see him. it would've hurt his feelings if he had any left.
"alright," he said simply. "that's fine."
he turned around to recoil back into his office, but hernandez grabbed the door.
"sir?" he said shakily. eddy turned around once again, eyes like slits as he stared the officer down.
"what?"
"do you want me to do anything to him? should i give him a shot?"
"no," eddy said defeatedly, "leave him alone. but keep an eye on him for me."
the warden slammed the door in the guard's face before he could utter another word.