Kyle walked into Angelos fuming. 'Danny, out of everyone in the world he had to deal with right now it had to be Danny' he thought, he didn't know what to do. How could be thinking of himself when his brothers in hospital. Hundreds of thoughts and emotions raced around his head and he rubbed his hand against his forehead in an attempt to slow them down until Ricky put a hand on his shoulder and he just looked at her and hugged her. She hugged him back before sitting him down and forcing him to explain.
"Well I don't know. Firstly I feel extremely selfish for thinking of myself while Casey's lying in a hospital bed. It's just I remember how dad had treated me and my mum. I mean he was hardly ever there and i... well i had looked up to him. But things changed and i realised what a nutter he was the day i saw him lay a hand on my mum. i hated the guy. But when he was arrested and my mum gave me up it hurt me and I took Casey to the desert. I deprived him of food and water and beat him up too. I'm afraid I'm just like him Ricky. I can't be. And how Casey could link that and push me out of his life. I mean we're not even related no more and I know Brax and Heath would do it for him. I've just finally felt like i have a family and I don't want Danny taking that away from me again." He said avoiding eye contact with Ricky.
Ricky wrapped her arms around him once more "you are nothing like that man alright. And you'll always have this family no matter what" Kyle got up and walked away getting back to his shift.
Ricky got to the hospital and saw Casey inside with Brax talking to the police.
Inside Casey was panicking remembering everything again was just too much. Brax sat by his side and that got him panicking even more because he had to keep strong in front of his family he doesn't want to be the 'soft' one anymore. "Alright Case just start from the start and try not to miss out anything important" said the Sergeant taking his statement.
To Casey his voice seemed far away. Brax noticed Casey sweating and gripping onto his sheets. His breathing was shallow and he looked pale. "We can come back if you're not ready yet Casey" the Sergeant offered.
"No." Casey cleared his throat to make it more convincing
"No I'm fine. Umm well I was going for surf and I thought I heard someone behind me but it was nothing and when I turned around something hit me right in the face. And then I woke up and I was alone in this room about this size" he said gesturing to the hospital room. He was talking carefully. "It was completely empty and then Danny showed up and i told him that Brax would find me..."
Those words stabbed Brax in the heart with guilt. Casey depended on him and he wasn't there. He looked down disappointed in himself.
"He got angry at me threatening him so he...um...he beat me up..." he said remembering what Danny had said before hitting him. Brax squeezed his arm
"...and then the next day he started letting me go and I tried to tackle him but failed n he shot me" Casey finished looking down and fidgeting with the blanket.
"Alright well I'll have a warrant out for Danny Braxton's arrest." With that the Sergeant left and Ricky walked in.
"Everything alright?" She asked "Yeah just taking Casey's statement" Brax said moving forward and hugging her.
"Hey mate you alright?" Brax asked "Yeah just gonna rest for a bit" and with that Casey fell asleep and Brax and Ricky left the room.
"Brax you need to talk to Kyle" Ricky said once Casey's room door was closed
"What? Why?" he asked confused
"He told me how he thinks because he kidnapped Casey he's like Danny. And now that he's not Casey's actual brother you guys won't have a problem with pushing him away." Brax lifted his eyebrows and sighed. "Alright" he said kissing her and leaving.
Brax walked into Angelos. Straight up to Kyle "Oi, what's this about you being like Danny huh?"
"Ricky told you" Kyle said as he tried to walk away. Brax moved in front of him and put a hand on his chest to stop him from walking. He ushered Kyle to a table and sat him down.
"Yeah she told me. Now spill" "it's nothing. Just I did exactly what Danny did to Casey. I was hurting and I went after him. I starved him and beat him up. And now he's no longer related to me and I'm afraid he'll make the link and push me away." Brax nodded
"Mate you have nothing to worry about. To start with you are nothing like Danny. What you did was a genuine lack of judgment and you made up for it."Brax said
"It's just I've finally felt like I've fit in you know. Like I'm part of this family" Kyle replied looking down
"Yeah I know Kyle. And you're our brother now alright, Casey's too. And you know Casey's the forgiving brother out the lot of us not the hold a grudge kind of person - that would be Heath. So you don't get to just assume we'll all push you away. You're stuck with us now" Brax said finishing with a scoff.
"Thanks Brax. Means a lot" Kyle replied standing up. "How's Casey doing" "he's just given his statement. And he's gonna be home by tonight hopefully" Brax replied.
Casey spent the night he got home in his bedroom. Over thinking everything that had happened and replaying the harsh words Danny had said to him got him angrier every time. Even though in his head he knew it was stupid because his brothers had always been there for him he shouldn't be questioning it now due to a lunatic say. Before he knew it he was fast asleep.
"Hey we're ordering pizza you want some" Heath said as he walked in with Bianca, Darcy and Harley behind him.
"You're only offering so I get it" Brax said looking at him. "Got that right mate" Heath answered with a smile as he sat down in the couch pulling his feet onto the coffee table. Brax grabbed his keys and left.
When Brax returned he had three boxes of pizza and Kyle and Phoebe behind him. They all rushed to the table and Brax brought the beers. "Where's Case" Ricky asked grabbing the plates.
"I'll go get him" Brax offered. The door wasn't completely closed but he knocked anyways when he got no response he walked in and saw Casey tossing in his bed.
He was drenched in sweat and his face was scrunched up in pain. He was panting loudly and Brax had no idea what to do. He went and sat at the edge of the bed and tried calling Casey first but got no reply. He then shook Casey and Casey's eyes shot open and he sat up instantly. "Hey. Hey it's alright. It's just me."
Brax saw the regret Casey had for sitting up so quickly when he closed his eyes, grabbed the sheets and made a fist around them. "Case you alright?"
"Yeah sorry just sat up too quick I guess." "Nah don't worry about it. What was the dream about" "nothing" Casey replied with a shrug finally opening his eyes and sitting comfortably.
Brax raised his eyebrows "come on Case" Casey just stared down at his hands. Brax gave up not wanting to push him too much "alright well I'm here if you wanna talk to me" Brax said as he got up.
Once he reached the door Casey suddenly spoke. "It was Danny" Brax stopped and looked at Casey "I know mate I was there for the statement"
"No in my dream Brax" he made his way back to Casey and Casey continued
"Danny he...he said this stuff to me. That's just been bothering me. And I know it shouldn't be" "what is it eh?"
"Just how no one cares about me and I'm a mistake and how now that I'm not your brother you have even more of a reason to throw me out" before Brax could answer Casey carried on "I know I know we've been through this before. It's just hard not letting it get to you. Especially coming from a man I thought was my father."
"It's alright Case. But Danny is a nutter. We all care about you and you are still our brother, whoever your old man was. I just want you to know that it's been killing me every day since Heath found you knowing that I never once thought you were in harms way. And I'm sorry about that."
