AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Kyle appears again in the next few chapters, while Casey struggles to confide in Brax what is going on at school.

Enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you all think. :)

Chapter 46: School disappearances

It was the end of the school day and Casey waited for Brax to come and pick him up. Standing outside the school grounds Casey heard someone behind him.

"Hey cry baby." Casey had managed to avoid his bully for a few days, until now.

Kyle walked up to Casey and poked him. "Hey I called to you. Are you stupid as well as a cry baby?"

"I'm not a cry baby." Casey whispered.

"Could have fooled me." Kyle laughed. Casey stepped away from Kyle.

"Hey, you avoiding me or something? I don't have cooties." Kyle placed his arm around Casey.

"Don't touch me." Casey mumbled.

"What was that pip-squeak? You don't want me touching you? I'm just trying to be your friend." Kyle laughed. Casey tried to pull away from Kyle.

"Fine. I won't!" Kyle said roughly then shoved Casey hard. Casey fell forward into a muddy puddle. He got covered in wet mud from head to toe.

"Don't forget to cry now." Kyle laughed and ran off down the path. Casey stood up and moved away from the puddle. He stood shivering and crying.

It was 2:30pm and Brax was on his way to collect Casey from school, when he saw Heath walking nearby. Brax ran up to his brother.

"Heath! Heath!"

Heath turned, his eyes widened at the sight of his brother. Brax poked Heath's chest.

"What are you doing here?" "I had a free period."

"Don't you give me that. You don't get free periods until your senior years. So why are you not in school?"

Heath rolled his eyes. "I skipped last period okay."

"No not okay Heath. I've told you before how important school is."

"The teacher's a tool."

"I don't care. I don't want you skipping. Understand?" "Yes."

"Well come on then, you can pick up Casey with me." Heath slumped his shoulders. He couldn't even go to the beach and have some free time after all that.

As the brothers neared the school, Brax continued to lecture Heath about the importance of going to school, but he was interrupted when Heath spoke. "Brax is that Casey?"

The two brothers saw a small boy covered in mud, crying his eyes out. Brax immediately ran up to the boy and as he came closer realized it was his baby brother.

"Casey what happened?" He knelt down and looked at his brother concerned.

Too scared to tell his brothers the truth, Casey lied, "I...I tripped and fell in the mud...I scrapped my hands and knee and I ruined my clothes." Casey sobbed.

Brax saw a tear in Casey's clothes and grazes on his hands. "Oh, it's alright." Brax pulled Casey into a hug.

"Don't worry about it Case, happens to the best of us." Heath comforted.

"Let's get you home and cleaned up." Brax carried Casey the whole way home, until they reached the front door.

When Cheryl saw her boys walk into the house, she scoffed at the sight of her youngest. "Geez Casey you look filthy. Don't you go bringing that mud into my house! And your clothes, no respect!"

Casey started to cry again. "Urg and now you're back to that whinging! Harden up Casey, what do you think ya father would say about ya being a wuss?"

"Mum!" Brax yelled. "Casey fell over and hurt himself. He didn't go in the mud on purpose!"

"That matters to me why? He's still filthy! And don't go talking back to ya mother like that Darryl." Brax huffed.

"Come on Casey, it's alright." Brax led Casey into the bathroom and cleaned him up, putting some cream and band-aids on his grazes.

"All better?" Casey nodded. Heath walked past the bathroom.

"You okay now Case?" Casey nodded.

"Just try not to be so clumsy next time, hey?" Brax smiled. "We don't want you taking after your big brother here." Brax pointed at Heath.

"Hey, I'm not clumsy." Brax raised his eyebrow.

"Don't you remember the time when you fell over and cut your head?"

"Well...Yeah...But that was different."

"Right. Well what about the time..."

"Alright, alright...I'm clumsy." Brax smiled at Casey, receiving a giggle from the small boy.

Danny was over visiting Kyle. "Dad guess what?"

"What kid?" Danny grunted. "I wanted to show you how good I can be and I've been standing up for myself at school and even bossing this younger kindy kid around."

"That's great kid, just make sure you don't get yourself caught and you can turn out just like your old man."

"You really think so."

"Yeah sure kid. This kid obviously isn't tough."

"He cries all the time when I boss him around." Danny scoffed.

"Soft is what I say. Obviously that kid doesn't have parents who teach him how to be tough."

"He doesn't have someone like you Dad." Kyle beamed. "That's right kid. I'm the best in the business. Ain't no-one out there any better than me." Danny replied proudly.

Over the next few days, the bullying got worse and didn't just centre on name calling and shoving. Kyle had started to threaten Casey that he was going to beat him up whenever he saw him at school. This caused fear in Casey that he didn't know what to do. Casey started to beg Brax that he didn't want to go to school, but Brax wasn't going to have any of that and forced Casey to go to school.

As soon as Casey saw Brax out of sight, Casey left the school grounds and arrived back in time to be picked up. Casey continued this escapade for a week and a half. By the end of the week and a half, Cheryl received a phone call from the school.

"Hello." She answered with a groan.

"Hi this is Mrs Donnellson, the principle from Casey's school."

"What do you want? What has the kid done now?"

"Uh nothing Mrs Braxton, I was just calling in concern for Casey, I was wondering if he was feeling okay."

"Why wouldn't he be okay? What are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything it's just that I assumed he was sick, seeing as he hasn't been at school for the last week and a half." Cheryl grunted. "Right."

"If he doesn't catch up on his work, he may have to repeat, he struggles normally."

"Fine I'll deal with it."

"Bye." The principle replied but was cut off by the dial tone.

Cheryl angrily hung up the phone before picking it up and calling Brax at work. "Mum?"

"Why haven't you been making sure Casey goes to school, you're the one who has been saying you'll look after him?" Cheryl demanded.

"What?" Brax replied shocked. "I just got a call from his school saying he hasn't turned up for the last week and a half, they said if he's not sick they might have to get a social worker around. I'm not having someone pry into my life!"

"But I've dropped him off at school and picked him up every day."

"Well he's not there Darryl. Sort it out! Otherwise he'll be answering to me!" She threatened as she hung up the phone. Brax sighed.

Brax asked to leave work early at 2.45pm and headed over to the school. Brax went to the front counter and asked to see Casey. "I'm sorry but he hasn't come to school today." "Thank you." Brax replied in a short tone.

He couldn't have felt angrier at that moment wondering where his younger brother was, he didn't have time for Casey to be causing trouble. Brax went back to the school gate and waited. He looked at his watch, 2.54, where ever Casey was he should be back soon, and surely Brax was right. He looked up and saw a young boy walking back towards the front gate.

As Casey approached he looked up and saw Brax with a furious look on his face. Casey stopped ready to run, but Brax determined his next move and ran towards him fast, grabbing his arm tightly to prevent him from going anywhere.

Brax jerked his arm. "Where have you been?" He yelled. Casey tried to struggle out of Brax's grip.

"You are not going anywhere. Now I asked you a question!" He yelled again. "I…I"

"You've been running away from the school every day for the last week and a half, haven't you?" Casey nodded, trying not to cry. Brax jerked him again. "Why?"

Casey was too afraid to tell Brax the truth and he didn't know what to say.

"Why Casey? Why must you cause this kind of trouble? "Brax demanded.

"I told you I didn't want to go to school." Casey whispered. Brax looked down at him.

"Not good enough Casey! How do you think I felt getting a call from Mum at work, telling me you weren't at school? I don't have time to worry about your where bouts right now! I don't care if you don't want to go to school, it is not your decision, and trying to fool me into believing you have been going to school isn't going to work, I always find out! You are too young to go wandering around by yourself, you're just a kid! So you stop this right now. You hear me?" Brax told him firmly.

Casey started to cry and looked up at his brother. "I'm sorry..." Casey began to apologize but was interrupted.

"Let's go." Brax told him sternly. Brax had a tight grip on Casey's hand as they walked back home.

Later that night when the boys were finishing dinner, Heath had found out that Casey had gotten in trouble for not going to school and decided to tease him about it.

"Did the golden boy, try and run away from school? Were the coloring pages too hard for you?" Heath mocked. Casey moaned in anger.

"Enough Heath. Leave Casey alone. Besides I need you to pick him up after you finish school tomorrow."

"What? I can't be seen with my mates around that squirt."

"Do it or else Heath. I can't make it back in time tomorrow." Brax told him. Heath groaned.

Turning to Casey, Brax added, "I expect you to wait for Heath tomorrow, no more running off, otherwise you will be in big trouble and I mean that." Casey nodded as nervous butterflies rose in his stomach, dreading his next day back at school.

Casey managed to avoid Kyle all day, until it was time to go home. Casey stood at the gate and waited for Heath. When he saw Kyle approaching he panicked. Before Kyle could reach him, Casey saw Heath come around the corner and quickly raced up to him and pulled on his sleeve.

"Heath can we go."

"Arg. Just wait squirt." Heath brushed him off and continued to talk to his mates.

"Heath please." Casey tugged again and Heath rolled his eyes at his mates, ignoring Casey.

As Kyle approached closer he was punching his fist in his hand, smirking at Casey. Casey shoved Heath, knocking him off balance.

"Hey!" Heath shouted and gave Casey a shove back.

"Just wait squirt. Be lucky I'm here to get you at all, if it wasn't for Brax I'd leave you here." Heath threatened.

Heath sighed when he saw Casey's eyes glass over. Heath turned to his mates.

"Look I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow. I gotta get the squirt home before he throws a tantrum and I end up in trouble." Heath's mates gave him a goodbye nod and left. Heath gripped Casey's arm.

"Alright let's go seeing as you are in such a rush." Casey looked back at Kyle and saw him glaring at him as he was pulled away from the school by his brother.