AUTHORS NOTE:
Enjoy the secret twist on this storyline.
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Chapter 38: Bully
Kyle sat in the living room watching his parents fight in the next room. Danny stormed out into the living room.
"Dad, where are you going? I thought you were going to spend time with me today? Kyle spoke.
Danny huffed. "Geez, all I ever hear from ya is whinging about wanting me to spend time with ya, but until ya start acting like a proper son and being tough without all this whingin', I don't see much point, boy. I don't have time for rubbish like that. I thought you were different."
Danny turned to walk out the door. "Dad wait! If I can show you I can be just like you then will you spend time with me?" Kyle yelled desperately.
Danny huffed. "We'll see, but ya gotta be real tough kid and don't take no crap from no-one."
With that Danny stormed out of the house, leaving Kyle feeling hurt. Kyle glared at his mother as she entered the room. Kyle hated how she always made Danny leave it made him more angry and determined to gain his father's love. Kyle walked straight passed his mother and went to his room. Sitting on his bed he thought of what his father had told him.
"I just have to find a way to prove to Dad that I can be like him, then he will spend time with me and even take me away to live with him. I have to find a way to be tough."
The next day at school Kyle watched as a little kinder-garden boy walked along the school grounds alone and vulnerable, it would be an easy target for Kyle to show how tough and powerful he was to his Dad. Kyle stood tall and walked over to the boy.
"Hey kid?"
Casey looked up from eating his lunch.
"What have we got here?" Kyle snickered and grabbed Casey's lunch from him and threw it on the ground. Kyle was nervous but done his best at keeping tall, he wanted this to show his father who he really was.
"Ah so sorry, it was an accident." Kyle laughed. "Do you want it back?"
Kyle picked the food up from the ground and tossed it into Casey's lap. "Wimp."
"Leave me alone." Casey whimpered. "And why should I do that? Aren't we having fun?" Kyle laughed and placed his arm around Casey.
"I'll tell on you." Casey whispered. Kyle pulled away and stood over Casey.
"You'll tell on me? I don't think so kid." Kyle pushed on Casey's chest.
Feeling scared and intimidated, Casey started to cry. "Ah what, you gonna be a cry baby now? No wonder you don't have any friends. Who would want to be friends with a cry baby?"
Kyle leaned down to whisper in Casey's ear. "If you tell, no-one is going to believe you or even listen to you because you're such a pathetic cry baby and no-one cares about a cry baby."
Kyle shoved Casey off the seat and onto the dirty ground and walked away. "See ya around kid."
Kyle had walked away feeling a sense of power and relief, he didn't feel angry over his home life, it was like he had just lifted a huge weight of his shoulders. Maybe this was who I was meant to be all along? Kyle thought.
Casey sat on the ground crying until the end of lunch bell rang. It was his first experience with a bully at school and he didn't know what he had done wrong. It made his heart sink, he thought school was fun and safe, just like Brax had said, but this changed everything. Casey stayed quiet for the first time after school, he didn't know what to tell his brothers, he was afraid that he would get in trouble for doing something wrong.
Brax was getting his brothers ready for bed when the phone rang. Cheryl answered. "Yeah alright I'll get 'im. Darryl! Phone for you some Simon guy!"
Brax came to the phone. "Hi Simon."
"Hello Brax. Look I need you to cover a shift at work tomorrow morning at 7am until 3:30pm."
"Simon I can't, I have to get my brother's to school."
"Let me put it another way Brax. I'm telling you to cover this shift while someone is off sick, otherwise you can find yourself another job. You owe me for all the times I have altered the roster for you to suit your family."
Brax sighed, Simon was right, he did ask a lot to be changed for him, and he needed this job. "Okay. I'll be there." Brax hung up the phone.
"What was that about Darryl?" Cheryl asked.
"That was work they need me to work at seven in the morning."
"And you thought we weren't here tomorrow is that right and you had to take your brothers to school?" Danny added. "No Dad, I just..."
"We are more than capable of getting those two off to school Darryl, if you seem to remember we did get you and Heath to school for a lot longer than you have been doing that for your brothers."
"Yeah, sorry Dad." Brax however was worried about their father taking Heath and Casey to school, but he had no choice.
On the way past Heath's room Brax stopped in. "Hey mate. I need you to do me a huge favor tomorrow." "What?"
"I need you to get Casey ready for school. I need to work and can't take you both tomorrow, but I will be home when you finish." Heath nodded. "Thanks mate. Goodnight." "Night."
Danny groaned as the alarm went off and he got out of bed. Danny first went into Heath's room and poked him.
"Heath get up."
Heath stirred and pulled himself out of bed, even though Brax didn't take any nonsense when it came to getting organized for school, Heath knew his father would be far worse. Danny then went into Casey's room and shoved him.
"Casey get up." Casey groaned and rolled over, covering his head with the blanket. Danny stood over him and pulled off the blanket.
"Get up now." Danny turned to walk out of the room.
"No Daddy, I don't wanna go." Casey mumbled, pulling the blanket up.
"If you aren't out of that bed an' getting ready by the time I come back to check on ya, I'm gonna give ya something to make ya think twice about doing as ya told!" Danny stormed out into the kitchen.
Upon hearing Danny yelling, Heath quickly finished dressing and ran down to Casey's room and saw his brother still in bed.
"Casey what are you doing? Are you crazy? Do you want Dad to give us a beating before school?"
Heath ran to his brother and yanked him up, beginning to pull off his pajama shirt.
"Heaf I can dress myself!" Casey protested shoving Heath's arms away.
"Well get up and do it then. You never do this when Brax gets you ready for school, so stop acting like a baby just because he's not here!"
"I'm not a baby! I just don't want to go to school."
"Brax says you have to. Besides I thought you liked school." Casey stopped and turned away. Heath could see his eyes begin to water.
"Case what's wrong?"
"Boys are you up yet? I'm coming down now!" Danny yelled.
Heath panicked, Casey still hadn't even gotten dressed yet. "Look Case, you need to get up now! Dad's coming."
Danny stood in the doorway. "What's going on? What's wrong with him?" Danny saw Casey had been crying.
"He just had a nightmare, but we're almost ready Dad." Heath lied.
"Well ya better be. Just 'urry up and get your backsides out in that kitchen for breakfast. I ain't having either of ya mucking around." Danny stormed out of the room.
Heath tapped Casey on the arm. "Hurry up Casey. I'm not getting in trouble because of you today."
Casey slumped on his bed, slowly getting dressed. He was scared to go to school in case he was met with the same terrible experience as the day before.
Later that night when Brax returned back from work, he greeted his brothers and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. When Brax had finished, he was coming out of his bedroom when Heath approached.
"Brax, can I talk to you about Casey?"
"Yeah. Is Casey alright?"
"Yeah. It's just that this morning he didn't want to get out of bed and said he didn't want to go to school. He got really upset when I asked him why."
"Did he tell you why?"
"No, Dad came down and I didn't get a chance to get an answer."
"I'll talk to him. Thanks mate."
Brax walked into the lounge room to where Casey was playing with his toys. "Casey." Brax waved for Casey to approach him as he sat on the lounge. Casey ran up to Brax and sat on his lap.
"Case, Heath tells me that you didn't want to go to school today."
Casey turned his head away, only for Brax to pull his chin back around to face him. "Is there anything you want to talk to me about?"
Casey slowly shook his head. "You mad at me?"
"No of course not." Brax laughed and gave Casey's arm a squeeze. "I just want to know that you're okay." Casey hesitated before giving a small nod.
"I just didn't want to go without you." Casey lied.
"Alright, I'll try not to have to work that early again, so I can take you to school okay?" Brax smiled, receiving a nod from Casey. Brax placed Casey back down on the floor, leaving him to play with his toys again.