Chapter Text
Tyler wasn’t answering his phone.
He’d been making the occasional tweet, but seemingly ignored Josh’s increasingly worried texts. It had only been about a week since they’d been together, but Josh was worried. Usually, he’d be okay giving Tyler space. Sometimes that was all he needed, just a little time to himself. But Tyler was on medication now, that should be helping with this sort of thing, and Josh had a nagging fear that his best friend might not be taking the pills. He knew Tyler had been having some…doubts about the medication, to say the least. Everything together, Josh was worried.
So he’d taken it upon himself to drive to Tyler’s place one morning, when he couldn’t take the silence any longer. He opened the door with his spare key, cautiously scanning the small rooms as he passed, eventually making his way into a cluttered living room.
“Tyler?”
Josh’s stomach dropped as his gaze settled on a curled-up body, hardly visible under the tangled blankets on the couch. He ran over, dropping to his knees.
“Are you okay?”
The man didn’t move, seemingly asleep. He was curled in on himself, almost completely still aside from slow, shallow breaths.
“Ty?”
Josh had a bad feeling about this. Tyler’s hair was greasy, and dirty plates and cups crowded the coffee table. At some point he must have discarded his shirt, as it lay scrunched up on the floor. He clearly hadn’t moved in a while. Josh shook the man’s shoulders gently.
“Hey, come on. Gotta wake up now.”
Tyler groaned, rolling over on the couch. Blankets rolled off him, revealing how skinny he was, pale skin showing far too much of his bones. Old scars littered his stomach, and deep bruises were visible under the rubber band on his wrist. That told Josh that the man had been overusing that coping mechanism, one of the worst ones he had. If he’d been doing it enough to bruise… His best friend looked terrible.
“Josh? ‘M I dreaming?” He mumbled, blinking slowly.
“No, Ty. I’m here.” Josh peered at him anxiously. Nothing about this situation eased any of his worries.
“You should just go. This is my fault anyway. Let me sleep a little longer.” He curled in on himself, skinny arms wrapped around his chest.
“Hey, come on. How long have you been lying here?”
Tyler looked down sheepishly.
“It’s okay, man. I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to help. Let me help.”
“Can’t help,” he replied stubbornly.
“Tyler,” he started cautiously. “Have you been taking your meds?”
“I’ve been taking pills. Headaches.” Josh felt nauseous.
“Okay. Have you been taking your antidepressants?” Tyler didn’t answer. “Ty. We’ve talked about this. They help you.”
“Don’t want the help. I’m not me when I take them. Don’t make me.” His voice was hauntingly empty.
“I’m not going to force you. But if you won’t take them, can you at least do one thing for me?”
“Fine,” he muttered.
“We’re going to have a proper meal together.” God, Josh hated the pained expression on his best friend’s face.
“No, no, I can’t do that,” he murmured.
“Why not?”
“I’m not hungry,” Tyler responded.
“That’s because you’re not taking your pills, Tyler. You need to eat. Look at you. I can practically see your bones, I’m worried.” Josh sighed, calming himself down. “How long have you been off your antidepressants?”
“Weeks or something.”
Josh’s stomach dropped. He’d seen Tyler about a week ago, he must have already been off them by then. Josh cursed himself for not noticing that the man was probably losing weight rapidly under all those layers. He should have noticed that his personality was different. God, he should have noticed.
“I suppose you’ve been like this for most of that time?” He gestured to the couch and the messy coffee table. Tyler nodded.
“Alright, Ty, here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna go take a shower, and I’ll order some food. You’re going to eat an actual meal, and then you can go back to sleep. How does that sound?”
“Sounds like more than I deserve,” Tyler pouted.
“It sounds like a good first step to me. Do you need any help?”
“I can take a shower by myself, seriously. I don’t need you for everything,” he snapped, guilt instantly flashing across his face. “Sorry. Didn’t mean it like that… please don’t… Please don’t go.”
Josh forced a soft smile onto his face and patted Tyler’s shoulder.
“I’m not going anywhere. You take a shower, I’ll be right here. Pizza sound alright?”
“Okay,” Tyler mumbled.
He moved slowly, letting Josh pull him to his feet from the couch. He didn’t say anything when Josh reached out to steady him. Tyler knew he would have stumbled to the ground without Josh’s help. Josh didn’t say anything about the deep indent in the cushions, or the fact that an empty bottle of sleeping pills rolled onto the floor as Tyler moved.
“Call out if you need anything.”