WARNING - MENTIONS OF SELF HARM


After playing with Bruno for a bit in the field behind the kennels, Kyle sat against the fence, smiling as he watched Bruno lying to the side of him as he watches birds flying between the trees. For such a curious little puppy in the beginning, he had grown to be a dog that understood when Kyle needed him, picking up on his emotions and when he needed cheering up. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with Bruno before leaving, that was until someone familiar got his attention from behind him.

"Brax?" Kyle frowns, standing up to face him. "When did you get here?"

"An hour ago maybe." Brax says as Kyle walks out of the gate with Bruno trailing behind him. "Pete's been filling me in on your progress, recons you're ready to come home."

"In a week or two?" Kyle asks, not even noticing Brax was holding something.

"No, today." Brax smiles. "Your things are already in the ute."

"Right." Kyle sighs, glancing down at Bruno, who sat at his feet.

"Come on, that's great isn't it?" Brax asks.

"I don't feel like I have a home anymore." Kyle mutters, knowing they needed to have a good chat about everything.

"Of course you do, Kyle, with us." Brax frowns. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you left me here." Kyle lightly shrugs, desperately blinking back tears, which Brax of course noticed.

"Kyle… I never wanted to leave you like that, for you to think I abandoned you… You needed help and if I didn't send you here, they were going to put you on a strict mental health ward. This was the best place for you, and we all agreed on it. And you should thank Casey for being put here with dogs cause the other option was with horses." Brax says, lightly smiling.

"I'm sorry… I just didn't want to be here in the first place. Bruno's great though." Kyle smiles, it saddening as he looks down at him.

"Come on, let's get you home." Brax says, walking back towards the car.

"I'll just put Bruno away, then I'll be there." Kyle says, starting to walk towards the entrance to the kennels.

"Kyle, let's go. And he better stay on the floor, or you can both walk home." Brax jokes as he turns to face his brother.

"Huh?" Kyle frowns, Brax handing him a harness with SUPPORT DOG written on both sides, a smaller label on the top. "OWNER: KYLE BRAXTON." He reads as Pete walks out with some things in his hands.

"He's yours, I won't take that from you. And Pete was telling me how you're both inseparable since you came here." Brax says, briefly glancing down. "He's good for you, and I just want you to be okay now."

"I will be." Kyle lightly nods as Pete reaches them.

"Thought you might want to take these with you." Pete smiles, handing Kyle the toys he used to play with Bruno.

"Thanks." Kyle smiles, placing them in his bag that Brax had placed by the Ute for him. "And thanks for everything you've done for me here."

"No problem, I'm glad we could be of service. Just remember all the techniques we've gone through when things get too much." Pete says.

"I will." Kyle nods.

"I'll let you hit the road. Bruno's going to have a great life with you, let's just hope he doesn't get too addicted to the beach you mentioned a few times." He jokes.

"I'm sure he will." Kyle smiles, petting Bruno's head. "Bye." He smiles, heading around the car to get Bruno sorted whilst Brax spoke to Pete. "You're coming home with me, Bruno. Means I can sneak you more treats without needing to talk about feelings." He jokes, glancing back as someone taps him on the shoulder.

"Don't even think about keeping anything to yourself from now on." Brax firmly says as he walks around to the drivers side. "Us brothers are stronger as a four, and I won't be looking after that dog if you weren't here." He says as they get into the car.

"Why not? You don't care about him?" Kyle jokes, adjusting his feet either side of Bruno as Brax pulls off down the drive.

"He's a dog." Brax says.

"He's my dog and he's great!" Kyle smiles. "Really helped me through a lot." He mutters.

"That's why I couldn't turn down the adoption papers. You need him. But don't expect me to pick up his mess, it's bad enough with Emilia's." Brax shakes his head, it having slipped out.

"I'd much rather pick up dog poo than change a nappy. It's quicker and less stinky. And they don't pee on you half way through doing it." Kyle says, crinkling his nose.

"Emi did that to Ricky twice the other day. Casey thought it was hilarious." Brax scoffs.

"He won't find it funny when it happens to him one day." Kyle lightly smiles.

"Nah, he won't." Brax says, smiling to himself that Kyle was talking more freely about their kids. "So, how's it been?"

"A lot of talking therapies. When I refused to talk to them, they took Bruno away for a couple days to make me talk. In the end, I did it because I didn't want to lose him. I know it sounds stupid-"

"It doesn't, Kyle. You bonded with him, and that's okay." Brax says, getting a small genuine smile from his brother.

"I thought it would be a waste of time there, that it wouldn't work… I preferred it. They weren't judgy or anything and I felt like I could be myself." Kyle says, looking down before glancing over at Brax, deciding to look at Bruno to help keep his nerves down. "I'm sorry for what I said the day I… I know you wouldn't have meant it like that. Emilia just looked so much like Lillie at that age and I missed not being able to… To be a dad to her."

"Kyle, it's okay. Maybe it's my fault too, I should have worded it better. I never meant to push you as far as self harming… Nate said most of your wounds weren't fresh, that you'd been doing it a while. I just wish you came to one of us instead of hiding it. We could have helped you." Brax sighs.

"I know, I'm sorry. It just helped take my mind off everything, but it didn't help. I know that now. Nothing was solved and I don't want to do it again." Kyle says, running a finger along his scars. "The doctor said it's going to leave permanent scars… I'm always going to have a reminder of what I did. I never meant to go as far as nearly killing myself, I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry that you had to find me like that, I never wanted you to see it."

"I didn't even think about barging the door down, I didn't think you were capable of doing it. Thanks to Heath, you're still alive. You don't have to feel ashamed of your scars, they show that you survived, and you're stronger than ever." Brax says.

"Yeah…" Kyle says, seeing Brax's phone light up from the phone holder on the dashboard, his lock screen being Ricky and Emilia right after her birth. "I don't know if I said this before, but I really am happy for you. I know it meant a lot to you and Ricky to have Emilia, and I hope I didn't ruin it for you."

"You haven't ruined anything. I understand why you were like that, Kyle. Lillie was taken from you, and you were lost. I wish Emilia wasn't born early, so I could have helped you more, but she had other plans." Brax lightly jokes.

"She's an impatient kid, I wonder who she got that from." Kyle lightly smirks.

"Definitely Ricky." Brax scoffs, Kyle glancing at him in disbelief. "And maybe a bit from me."

"All from you. No offence, but you're the most impatient person I've ever met, and Heath moaned at me once for being late when I was an hour early."

"I'm not that bad!" Brax moans, briefly glancing over at Kyle, who laughs, before focusing back on the road. "Let's just hope she's got Ricky's attitude, that's all I'm concerned about."

"She's got the Braxton gene, attitude is the least you need to worry about." Kyle smiles.

"Yeah yeah." Brax chuckles, shaking his head.