CH. 51 -- PATRICK

"Shit." I hiss in pain as Pete runs a paper towel over my bleeding knuckles.

"I appreciate you protecting me, but I don't like you putting yourself in danger." Pete huffs, running his free hand through my hair. "But, fuck, if it wasn't hot."

I smirk, rolling my eyes at Pete. Before I can answer, my phone rings. Caller I.D. tells me it's Brent, which should be expected. I sigh, pressing the phone to my ear. "Before you go the fuck off on me, I'm not hurt. And you can get mad at me all you want, but no one touches my fucking boyfriend like that but me."

"Patrick, clam down." Brent laughs from the other side of the phone, and I give Pete a strange look. "I'm not going to go off on you. That's Ben's job. And, damn, do you have it coming for you with him? I even got a week off for all of this shit you caused."

"Did you call to gloat, Brent? Because I don't want or need that shit." I say, putting the phone down on the table after pressing the speaker button.

"No, not exactly. I called to tell you that your ass is grass if you don't get back to Washington soon. Let Pete enjoy some time with his dad. We don't need him until this weekend. Ben wants to see you like yesterday." Brent explains, and I sigh, rolling my eyes.

"You want me to fly to Seattle and leave my boy here, a thousand miles away from me?" I ask, almost frowning at the thought of Pete being so far from me.

Brent giggles. He actually fucking giggles. "Yeah, man, it won't be that bad." And I know he's drunk now. One hundred percent gone. "Think of the phone sex, 'Trick."

"Holy shit, he's wasted, isn't he?" Pete asks, wrapping my knuckles in a bandage. I nod slowly, pulling Pete into me. Brent isn't wrong about the phone sex part.

"It got quiet.. Are you guys fucking?" Brent asks, giggling again afterwards. Seriously, Brent is a grown fucking man, and he's giggling.

"No, Brent, we are not fucking. Goddammit, I thought you were supposed to be looking after us." I mumble the last part under my breath, smiling at Pete when he brings my knuckles to his mouth and kisses them. "Look, get a bottle of water and two Aspirin and set them next to your nightstand. I'll be there when you wake up."

"Yes, sir." Brent says, and Pete and I both roll our eyes. "I was serious about the phone s-"

"Goodnight, Wilson." I cut him off, and he laughs shortly.

"Goodnight, Stump."

--

"This was a bad idea." I mumble to myself, holding Brent's hair back as he vomits into his toilet.

"Remind me why you're here again." Brent says, resting his head against the toilet seat - which should be gross, but I can't be bothered to care at the moment.

"I'm here because you sounded like hell last night, and I'm tired of you always taking care of me." I say, and Brent manages a weak smile. "You want a Sprite? I picked some up on my way this morning. They're in the fridge."

"I could kiss you, Stump." Brent says when I come back with the cold Sprite. I wince, shaking my head.

"A thank you would suffice." I say, and Brent laughs, taking a big drink of it.

"Ben is pissed at you for dating Pete. He thinks Pete is a bad influence on you." Brent says after he swallows. He bites the inside of his cheek. "Two years ago, Pete got into some bad shit. He.. he went out after a big fight with Ashlee and got his ass kicked good enough to where he couldn't move. He slept outside in thirty degree weather, bleeding, for hours, and no one found him until the next day. He almost died."

"I'm sorry, what?" I say, my mouth dropping open and my eyes widening.

"I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but someone had to. Pete lost his scholarship for the rest of his freshman year because Ben thought that all he was was a spoiled brat that brought trouble wherever he went." Brent looks like he doesn't want to be telling me this, but I know he wants me to know so I don't make the same mistakes Pete did.

"So he thinks me getting into trouble is Pete's fault?"

"He thinks the two of you shouldn't be dating because Pete's judgement can be clouded sometimes. Especially when it comes to relationships. You and I both know Pete isn't the best at dating." Brent explains, and I nod. He's right.

"So in order to get Pete and I both out of trouble, we should .. break up?" I ask, and Brent looks down, taking a deep breath.

"Look, I don't want Ben to be the reason you break up with Pete. I know you're fucking crazy about him, and he feels the same. I'm just saying maybe think about taking a break? Just until season's over. Don't do it if you think it'll mess up your relationship, okay? Making Ben happy is not worth fucking your or Pete's happiness up, okay? Pete is, well, Pete, and he will always need someone to take care of him. You should know that better than anyone, considering you've been the one taking care of him since you were ten." Brent tells me, and I bite my lip. Pete and I can't take a break. It'll be more harmful for us than helpful for Ben.

"I'll think about it, okay? For now, I'm gonna go talk to Ben and make it known that Pete is the best thing that's ever happened to me." I say, and Brent nods, finishing his Sprite off.

"Thanks for the drink, dude. You're the best."

update central lmao

thx 4 reading this shit dudes

thoughts?