In a few short days Casey's trial would begin. Brax was doing everything he could to make sure it went Casey's way. And Heath? Well he was next to useless.
"Do you think maybe Liam could do a character reference for Casey? He was one of his teachers wasn't he? It might help in court..." Brax asked Heath because this was something his hothead brother might actually be able to handle. Heath had lost it all together since Casey's arrest.
"I doubt it," Heath said moodily, "he's a fucking known drug addict..."
"Fine, forget I-"
"...a fucking loser drug addict that lost his job because he went to class high!"
"Fuck, I get it! You don't wanna ask him."
"No I fucking don't..." Heath reiterated, sinking back down on the lounge to continue sulking.
"Well who else can we ask?"
"I don't know," Heath pouted.
"Jesus Christ Heath!" Brax snapped, "I can't deal with your shit right now! Would it be too much too ask you for a little help? Your fucking boyfriend troubles are the least of my worries..."
"Fuck you!" Heath shot back. He hated that Brax made this sound so trivial, because it wasn't. Heath was a complete mess right now. He missed Murphy like crazy, he wanted him back, needed him back. How could he be expected to deal with losing two people he loved at once? But as much as he wanted Murphy back, he couldn't bring himself to try to fix this. Because...well, the thing was...what if Murphy wouldn't forgive him this time?

xxx

Liam was lost. He didn't know what to do without Heath. It actually shocked him how much he'd come to need the River Boy. He felt like part of him was missing now that Heath wasn't there. And besides that, he knew how upset Heath was about Casey and he wanted so much to be there for him but he also knew he was the last person Heath wanted to see. Not so long ago that wouldn't have been at all out of the ordinary, but now...damn. Liam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had no idea how to fix this and that scared him. How did he apologise when he hadn't done anything wrong?
"Hey mate," came Romeo's voice through Liam's contemplations.
"Hey," Liam replied.
"Mind if I sit down? You look like you could use some company."
"I think you're right," Liam said, gesturing for Romeo to take a seat beside him on the bench. It was a cool day, made colder by the breeze, and Liam wrapped his jacket a little tighter around himself.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Where would I even begin?"
"At the beginning," Romeo said with half a smile that Liam found he couldn't return. "I'm guessing this has something to do with Heath," Romeo prompted, serious once more.
"Yeah," Liam admitted, "we mighta broke up."
"Why, what happened? You seemed so happy..."
"We were..." Liam said, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth despite himself. It seemed so strange and yet it was so true, being with Heath Braxton had actually made him happy, a month ago he'd never have dreamed it was possible. But that last night he'd spent with Heath? Well it hurt now to think about how amazing it had been. "He blames me for what happened with Casey...you heard about that?"
"Yeah, but I don't see how it's your fault."
"Casey lit the fire while we were away. Heath feels like he should have been here to stop him. But he wasn't because he was with me."
"That doesn't seem fair," Romeo observed.
"That's what I said, but Heath doesn't see it that way. I don't know how to make this better. He blames me but I didn't do anything wrong..." They sat in silence for a while before Romeo spoke again.
"Maybe it's not meant to get better," Romeo suggested. "I mean if he's treating you like this, maybe you're better off without him." Did Romeo have a point? Liam's life would certainly be easier without Heath, but, but...no, his life wouldn't be better without Heath. He added far more than he took. Yes he could be infuriating, but Liam never felt more alive than when he was with Heath. Heath stirred something in his being that no one else ever had. Those cheeky grins, that vexing yet endearing Heath-logic and those tender looks reserved only for Liam. Did Liam want to live without all that?
"No," Liam finally said, "I admit he can be difficult sometimes, but I don't wanna loose him." His life would be empty without Heath, of that Liam was sure. Even now he could feel that emptiness threatening to engulf him.
"Maybe he just needs to cool off."
"I hope so." It was good to be able to talk about this, Liam felt much better being able to share this with Romeo. Romeo's suggestion had helped reinforce that Liam didn't want to give Heath up without a fight, he was worth more than that. So now the question was, how the hell did he fix this?