Bryce awoke the next day in a daze. The events of the last week or so had put him into a strange mindset. His father had no friends that he could think of and his burial plans were already taken care of past the second day of his death. There was nothing left of his father but the small amount of possessions that he left behind. Bryce's father, Joel, had a small place before he became ill but had managed to sell it while he was still cognizant in the hospital. Joel had left a lot of money to his son and there were no other beneficiaries in his will.
But that didn't seem to matter to Bryce now, all he could do was numbly go to work, blindly go to class... stay occupied so he didn't feel anything. Whenever he wasn't occupied with responsibilities he went out, like tonight, to a club with his best friend Taylor. Taylor stood shorter than Bryce and was darker than him in both complexion and hair color. His eyes were just as light as Bryce's, making a stark contrast onto his caramel-like skin. The short hair on top of his head went in many directions, unruly as the starting point of curls could be. Taylor's smile was gorgeous and constantly on display. The music playing in the bar was upbeat and there were a few dozen people on the dance floor grinding into each other by their hips.
"You know what your problem is?" Taylor said with the right side of his face upturned into a grin.
Bryce raised an eyebrow, "No, what's that?"
"You're lonely. Your Dad has passed, you haven't got laid in awhile... I'm practically your only motherfucking friend..."
With his hand wrapped around his glass, he raised it and pointed his index finger at Taylor, "Well, that's because you're the only one that can put up with me Talyor"
"I don't think so kid, you're just out of your game. Who was the last person you were with?"
"Elizabeth"
Taylor threw his hands in the air, like he was praising a diety, "ELIZABETH!"
Bryce looked around quickly, as if the entire bar would turn to look at how raucous his companion was.
"And before Elizabeth?"
"Was Robby."
"So you're telling me, you haven't slept with anyone for almost a year?"
Bryce blushed, "Why does it matter? I don't need to sleep with someone to feel companionship, What about us?"
"We're soulmates," Taylor said grinning, "and soulmates don't need to sleep together"
"Amen to that!," Bryce said lifting his glass to clink to Taylor's
"Bartender!," Taylor said, pointing two fingers straight up, "Another round and two tequila shots!"
* * *
Brett was in the foyer with his pajamas draping off his slender body. The fire was going and he had a blanket strewn across his lap. Brett tilted his head a little to the right to shift the hair in his gaze from between him and his book. The book seemed to captivate him, unlike many books that had come across his way. It wasn't so much that Brett wasn't a reader, he was more of a snob when it came to literature. This book, about a young man who had fallen in love with a nymph, had captured him. Brett looked up to see his brother turn the corner with two mugs in his hand.
"Get your feet off the table," Blake said, gesturing a mug his brother's way.
Going from a reclining position to a sitting position he took the mug graciously and noticed an absurd amount of marshmallows in the cup.
"Thanks," he said, "where have you been all night?"
"I put in a couple more hours at work, my friend needed some help."
Brett smiled, "So you got stuck in office at 4:30 on a Friday and you got ambushed in the corner again?"
Blake laughed, "I wish I wasn't so obvious... Did mom call?"
Brett's smile faded. He shook his head, "What do you think happened?"
"I'm not sure, she's never done this before"
Brett stared at his brother and narrowed his eyes, "At least not for awhile..."
"Brett, that's not fair, that was before you were born, I hardly remember it"
"And Dad never got over it. Even when they got back together you could see something was wrong with him."
"Our parents aren't perfect, kiddo," Blake said emphatically "Look, she'll come back, we're just on edge, that's all"
Brett hesistated, and collected himself, "...I suppose you're right, I'm sorry."
"You know what would cure that," Blake smiled, "...hold on a second"
Brett closed the book he was reading and placed it on the table, he could hear his brother tinkering around in the kitchen. Taking the blanket and placing it on the back of the chair as he stood, he moved towards the kitchen. As he entered his brother had finished cutting a lime on the counter.
"What are you doing?" Brett asked with a quizzical look on his face. "Shots. We definitely need one"
"Blake, I'm not twenty one yet"
Blake took the tequila from a cupboard above the refrigerator while shooting a nasty look towards his little brother. "How naive do you think I am?"
All Brett could do was smile. He strode across the kitchen and stood next to his brother who was now pouring generously into the shot glass. Brett poured salt onto his hand and picked the glass closest to him and raised it as his brother did.
"To brothers"
"I can drink to that," Blake smiled
As if in a synchronized competition, they took the salt with their tongues, threw the drink back quickly and bit into the lime. The fire barely reached down their esophogus when a flood of light poured into Brett's head
"Thanks for taking me out Taylor, you're like an angel"
"If I didn't, who would?"
The alleyway was dark leading out the back door of the club and the two boys seemed very intoxicated. As they walked from the back of the alley into a poorly lit street, they were confronted by four men.
"Hey faggots, You here all by yourself?"
The shorter boy in the pair put up his hands, "Hey man, we don't want any trouble"
"Well, you found it," and he threw a punch.
Brett snapped his eyes open, gasping for air as if he hadn't took a breath in an hour. "Oh my God," he shouted
Blake smiled, "Take it easy, it wasn't that bad, was it?"
Brett shook his head, "No, it's not that... I had some sort of vision..."
Blake's face twisted into one of concern, "What? Brett, you're starting to scare me."
"I'm not joking, I'm scared too, Blake"
After a brief pause, "What did you see?"
Placing his palm on his forehead, he opened his mouth, "I'm not sure, I think I saw two guys getting beat up. They were down this alley and they looked like they were drinking by the way they were walking. I couldn't tell, it looked like there was a sports bar across the way or something."
"...wait, was there a chinese restaurant across the street?"
"I'm not sure," he said shaking his head, "I wish I could help them"
"We're not even sure that it's real, what you're seeing"
"I know it's real, I can feel it. It's like they were punching me"
"A dark alley out of a club..."
Brett nodded.
"C'mon, let's go," Blake said, grabbing his keys off the wall, "I'd rather you be wrong than me"
* * *
The concrete felt cold and uninviting. It was harsh, just as the encounter he had before he woke up. Bryce groaned as he turned to look at Taylor who was still out cold. Bryce sat up slowly, clenching his eyes tightly as if it would dull the pain.
"Tay" he said weakly, "...Tay..."
A moan came in barely audible from Taylor, who was lying facedown on the concrete.
"C'mon, we gotta get home." Bryce got to his feet and walked the few paces to Taylor. An extended arm forward greeted Taylor's hand and helped pulled him to his feet. Bryce pulled Taylor's arm over his own shoulder and started walking forward.
"I thought," Taylor coughed, "I was supposed to be your guardian angel?"
"Well, now I guess I'm paying it back"
The cold air stung the areas that were hit, some of the places leaking blood. Bryce's mind was running, something his brain hadn't really stopped doing but now there was nothing to distract him. Taylor fell silent, something he rarely did and the events of the night weren't processing as they should. Bryce wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or if it was his mind bouncing around everywhere but the pain was barely noticeable. As he looked up he couldn't discern the stars from the sky as the ambient glow from the cities skyline blotted out the shine of the stars. Bryce looked back and they had only passed three blocks, though it felt like a mile.
"...Bryce"
Bryce looked forward where Taylor's voice was coming from, four men stood in front of them. One of the men walked forward, "Hey fag, looks like we didn't do our job right."
"Leave us alone, you did what you needed to do." Taylor said with no power but full of conviction.
"Oh, no, I don't think so. See, you're still walking."
A croney behind the man in front called out, "Fuck him up, Samuel"
"God," Bryce said, "A name like Samuel and you're calling us fags?"
And all at once a flurry of noise as Samuel raced towards the two, Bryce lifted his hands to guard his face and braced for impact and closed his eyes. The impact didn't come, instead Bryce looked up and saw his attacker near his group, on the ground. Samuel looked up and stared at the boys in what looked like shock.
"What the hell are you?"
Bryce looked over to Taylor who still had his eyes shut, then back to the attacker, "What are you talking about?"
The group of men started to walk towards the pair again. Bryce backed slowly away with Taylor and they turned around to run, hearing the patter of foosteps behind them. Bryce didn't look back to see how close they were but he could hear that if they faltered even once, they would be attacked again. There was a terrible screeching noise behind them, to which Bryce and Taylor couldn't resist turning to see a convertible up on the sidewalk between them and the attackers, two striking boys in the front seat got out and walked to the other side with a baseball bat and a tire iron.
"Get the hell out of here if you know what's good for you," The tallest said
The men looked at the two saviors as if they were negotiating if it'd be worth it. All of them turned on their heels and walked away and turned down a corner out of sight. The two waited a moment before turning around, walking around the car and joining Bryce and Taylor
"Are you guys alright?" the shortest said, "Well, I mean, obviously you're not alright, but..."
"What my brother is trying to say, is 'Would you like a lift?'"
Bryce and Taylor looked at each other, "That's very nice," Bryce said, "but we live across town and you've already helped us as it is."
The shorter chimed in, "Well, stay with us for the night, we have a ton of extra room and we'll take you in the morning"
Bryce hesistated, "I... don't know about that"
Taylor elbowed him in the ribs, causing more pain to Bryce than he intended, "He's joking, it's very generous, thank you."
"I'm Brett", he said, extending his hand, with his other hand making a hitch hiking thumb point to his brother, "This is my older brother Blake"
"My name's Taylor and this is my not brother, Bryce", Taylor said, placing emphasis on the 'not' as he shook Brett's hand.
The four walked back to the car and made small talk on the drive home. Nothing too serious, not that Bryce was paying attention; Taylor was doing enough of that for the both of them. Bryce kept looking at the brothers like he had known them... they looked so familiar. But why? The rest of the night was uneventful aside from the obvious flirting that Taylor was laying on the youngest. When they pulled up to the house, which was two stories and imposing on it's street, Taylor couldn't help mentioning how great the neighborhood was and how the garden was kept so well. It continued inside with how clean it was and how modernly the house was decorated. Bryce didn't much agree but he didn't care. Blake, as if reading his mind, gave him a change of pajamas and a towel.
"It's the second door on your right when you get up the stairs," Blake said, "And the water line is switched so hot is cold and cold is hot."
Bryce made sure to turn it all the way to 'cold' as he craned his neck forward letting the water ease the pain with it's heat. He saw the breaths his abs drew as he inhaled the steam into his lungs. It was if not just the night was melting off his body but so was the rest of this terrible week. He wasn't sure who these people were but he knew that they had cared for him more than most in the last week. No knowledge of whom each other is, yet still willing to put themselves in danger to help. It felt good, that there were more good people out there than just his Father and Taylor. The shower pulled to a close and he stepped out, feeling the shocking cold tile beneath him. A towel was wrapped around his waste but it hung low on his hips as he walked across the hall to his guest room. Taylor had already jumped in the shower and was on the bed far sooner than he was.
"Jeez, you were in there for what seemed like ever," Taylor remarked, "needed to get a little more tension out than we thought?"
Bryce noted the sardonic tone in his voice, "Very funny, but no. Just thinking"
Bryce dropped his towel and put on his pajama pants. Being naked around Taylor wasn't really a big deal, they established a long time ago that nothing would happen between them, and since then it's always been very casual.
Bryce continued to put his clothes on as Taylor spoke, "About what?"
"Just how lucky we are that Brett and Blake were in the right spot at the right time," Bryce said, getting up to shut the door. Taylor turned off the side table light by the bed and could feel Bryce slide into the bed with him. Bryce came up behind Taylor and held him as they closed their eyes to sleep, "And how lucky I am to have someone that cares about me like you."
* * *
Blake knocked on the door frame of Brett's open room, "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Brett was sitting up in his bed, reading the book he was trying to read earlier, "Of course,"
Blake walked in the room and shut the door behind him sitting on the bed perpendicular to Brett's body, "I'm sorry I doubted you I just...."
"I know," Brett interupted, "It's freaking me out too."
"But you were right, you very well could've saved their lives tonight."
"I just did what I felt was right, I'm glad that you supported me."
Blake looked Brett in the face, "Do you think we should say something to them?"
"Maybe," Brett said, "But not right away, we'll bring it up if it comes up."
"What worries me," Blake hesitated, "If this vision was real... wasn't the last one too?"
Brett looked like he had been slapped, "I think about it all the time"
"Don't," Blake cut him off, "You couldn't have done anything."
Brett lay there a moment and Blake got up, kissed his brother's forehead and walked back to the door frame to open it. Before he walked out he turned one last time to look at Brett, "I'm very proud of you and what we did tonight."
Blake shut the door behind him and Brett turned off the lamp by his bedside. The darkness covered the room and provided a respite from the evenings tumultuous journey, yet he couldn't bring himself to stray his thoughts from the boy across the hall.