Chapter Twenty Three
An hour after Ruby had woken up, she asked to see Charlie. Charlie wasn't so sure about going into the next room in case Brax was there, but she didn't want Ruby to worry about it. She decided it was best to text Casey, so she pulled out her phone. Ruby, being as curious as she was, asked Charlie what she was doing with her phone. "Casey is only next door," she said. Charlie quickly came up with a blunt excuse, muttering something about how she could be interrupting the doctors who might be checking up on Casey. Fortunately, Ruby didn't see through this and went with the flow.
In the next room, Casey had been fast asleep but was woken up by his phone. Charlie texted him saying that Ruby had woken up and would like to see him. He grabbed his crutches which leaned against the wall beside his bed and hobbled out the door.
Casey knocked on the door before allowing himself to go in. "Come in," Ruby shouted. He struggled to open the door as he was still in pain and was also trying to balance himself with his crutches. "Err... I can't quite open the door..." he said awkwardly. Thankfully, no questions were asked as Charlie understood why and went to open the door. Casey, who had seen the state of Ruby wasn't so surprised, but Ruby on the other hand, had her hands covering her mouth. It hurt her seeing her boyfriend like that as she thought it was mainly her fault. "Can you please give us a minute?" Ruby asked Charlie.
Charlie stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She was about to head to the vending machine to get herself a bottle of water until she saw Brax coming around the corner. She didn't want things to get messy in a public area, so she avoided his glance and turned to the opposite direction; pretending like she needed to use the bathroom.
This idea didn't start off well. Just as she was about to go down the corridor, she heard either Casey or Ruby fumbling with the door behind her. She gave them a helping hand and turned the door for them. Out came Casey. "Do you know-" Casey stopped. "Uh... Never mind," he said. He was going to ask Charlie if she had seen Brax, until he saw him coming towards them. Brax, using his common sense, didn't ask what Casey was doing out of bed. Obviously he wanted to see Ruby.
Brax nodded to his brother as if to say hello and went straight into Casey's room. Casey called out Brax's name, just as he was in the doorway. "Can you come in Ruby's room for a sec?" he asked Brax. Brax hesitated before following his younger brother into the next room. Charlie stood awkwardly outside, not knowing what to do. "Oh, you can come back in Charlie," Casey said. Charlie knew it was best for both her and Brax to keep their distance so she remained standing still on the spot. "Uh... As in we want you to come in," Casey added. Charlie glanced at Brax unsurely, but his face remained blank. He was standing at the end of the bed, so Charlie went back to the seat she originally sat on next to Ruby.
Nobody spoke for awhile until Casey broke the awkward silence in the room. "Ruby and I want to stay in one room," he announced. Neither Charlie nor Brax were expecting this. They were both shocked. They knew how awkward it would get without the two teenagers knowing what happened between them, although they assumed Casey had a fair idea as he saw them fight. Brax wanted to know what got Casey and Ruby into this idea. "Well we both knew we would always been going into each other's rooms so why not make it easier for us both to stay in the same room?" Casey asked. Both Brax and Charlie knew Casey had a point. It would also allow them to rest easier as they're still in pain. "Can I have a word with you outside Case?" Brax spoke up. Casey followed his brother outside.
As soon as the two brothers were outside, Brax spoke immediately. "How do you think this is going to impact on me and Charlie huh? Can't you and Ruby just go to each other's rooms?" he asked.
"Well yeah, if you want to make this harder for me. My bruises still hurt okay? So does Ruby's. Besides, I have crutches and they get really tiring after constantly using them," Casey said.
"Well you'll have to get use to it," Brax replied selfishly.
"Why? What's wrong with us sharing a room? Our beds will be on opposite sides just do you know..." Casey said slowly.
"Look, I know, but that's not the problem"
"Then what is?"
"Charlie and I staying in the same room together. Charlie will want to stay with Ruby, and obviously I'll want to stay with you."
"No kidding. What's wrong with you and her now?"
"Well in case you didn't realise, we had a fight," Brax said bluntly.
"So? You two can sort things out. You two are old enough; communicate to each other for heaven's sake. Don't let your problems get in the way of Ruby and I," Casey said angrily. "You love her Brax, talk to her. You were happy with her, don't let one fight ruin everything."
"You heard what she said," Brax glared.
"Yeah, well I'm sure she didn't mean it. She understands you like nobody ever has."
"You can't be too sure Case. She's a cop."
Casey sighed. "Far out Brax, don't keep using that excuse. You two have coped with it for awhile now."
Brax knew his brother didn't understand. Mainly because Casey was the Braxton everyone liked. He was the one who was never off the rails. He was the one who kept everything together and kept his head down. He didn't get involved with any of the stuff us boys got up to. He hangs around with people everyone likes. Ruby, April, Xavier, Dex, Romeo... He didn't hang out with the boys. Nobody judged Casey as badly like they judged the rest of the boys, especially Brax.
Casey spoke again before giving his brother the chance to. "I love Ruby. We're going to stay in the same room despite what you and Charlie have to say. If you don't like it that way, then I guess you will have to arrange some schedule with Charlie so that you don't run into each other, although I'm only going to say this once. You and Charlie have been through too much to let it all die away now over the silliest problem." Casey left his brother alone in the corridor and went back into Ruby's room.