AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The next few chapters are a bit sad when emotions fly after Heath and Brax find out Casey got himself involved with the likes of Jake, bearing in mind how much they care about their brother and how dangerous Jake could be.
Enjoy :)
Chapter 69: Only trying to help
Brax and Heath still hadn't arrived home by the time Casey got home, which allowed Casey to jump in the shower. It also meant they wouldn't find out he skipped school to do what he did, knowing well that Brax would be furious if he knew the truth.
Casey was about to put his clothes in the washing basket when he got a smell of his shirt, it reeked of smoke and ash. Casey knew he couldn't leave that around for he would get in trouble for sure, so Casey took his clothes and shoved them into the garbage bin under the sink, covering them with papers.
Casey heard the front door open and quickly shut the cupboard, awkwardly staring at his brothers as they entered the living room.
"Hey Case, you're home early." Brax greeted. "Hey squirt."
"Ah...Yeah I rushed home today because I had...a lot of homework to do." Casey faked a laugh, hiding his hands behind his back.
"Since when have you been so eager to do your homework without me telling you?" Brax questioned.
"I just want to make you proud." Casey replied quickly, coughing. Heath raised his eyebrows and scoffed.
"You alright Case?" Brax asked, still uncertain on his brother's behavior. Casey just nodded and rushed to his room.
"Wow that kid is strange." Heath stated.
Brax shook his head. "No, he's hiding something."
"What makes you say that?" Heath asked.
"Just the way he was acting and didn't you see him with his hands behind his back the whole time?"
"Yeah I guess...Why don't you get him back out here and find out what he's up to?" Heath pushed.
"I've got enough to be worrying about with you to be acting on a hunch."
Heath and Brax walked into the kitchen and Heath sat down at the table. Brax was about to get them a drink when his phone buzzed. Reading the message his expression turned to fury.
"What?" Heath asked. Brax tossed his phone aside. "That was Fletch from the river boys, he just told me Jake's place has been burnt down."
Heath looked at his brother shocked. "What? When?"
"Don't you pretend you don't know what happened!" Brax snapped and lunged at his brother, grabbing his shirt. "How could you be so stupid?"
"Hey! I had nothing to do with it! I was with you all day!" Heath defended. Brax relaxed his grip.
"What about when you were checking out Jake's place? Tell me you didn't do it then!"
Heath stared Brax in the eye. "I didn't do it!" He glared. "Frankly whoever did do it deserves a medal, now all Jake's drugs are gone."
"What you think this is going to stop everything? This has just made it ten times worse for us! Jake will blame you for burning his cabin and who knows what he'll do and as for the evidence against him, it's all gone! They're gonna come after us hard, especially you and they won't pay any mercy!"
Brax pulled away and ran his hands through his hair. "I'll kill the idiot that done it then! If my life's at stake so is theirs!" Heath snapped.
Brax opened the fridge and pulled out the milk to find the container empty. "Arg! Heath! How many times do I have to tell you not to leave empty containers in the fridge?"
Heath shrugged. Brax slammed the fridge, clearly frustrated at the whole situation and opened the cupboard to put the container in the bin. As Brax pushed the rubbish down, he noticed something suspicious, moving papers out of the way he is surprised at the sight of Casey's clothes.
"What?" Heath grunted as he watched Brax riffle through the bin. "It's Casey's clothes."
Brax pulled Casey's shirt out and before he even needed to see a reason for it to be in the bin, Brax could smell the singed material and saw the ash particles on the shirt. Brax took a sniff of the shirt and shook his head.
"What?" Heath asked again. Brax threw the shirt on the table, with rage. "Smell that!"
Heath took the shirt and had a smell and gave his brother a suspicious glance. Brax stormed out towards the hallway.
"Casey! Get out here!" He yelled.
Casey heard the tone in Brax's voice and became nervous. "I...ah...can't. I'm doing homework." Casey called back.
Brax shook his head. "Nah. Right now Casey, before I come in there and get you myself!" Brax yelled louder. Casey gulped and nervously walked towards his bedroom door.
Brax walked back into the kitchen and stood next to Heath. Casey slowly walked to the door way of the kitchen with his hands tucked under his folded arms.
"What? I was busy." Casey whispered nervously.
Brax scoffed. "I bet you were. Do have something you need to tell us?" Brax demanded.
Casey shook his head, not looking at either of his brothers, who were glaring at him. "How about where you were today?" Brax questioned.
"School." Casey mumbled.
Brax shook his head in disbelief and slammed his hand down hard on the table causing Casey to jump and Heath's eyes to flinch. "Don't you dare lie to me Casey and look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Casey quickly glanced at his brother, not liking his tone one bit. Brax grabbed Casey's shirt from the table.
"How do you explain this?" Brax demanded, waving the shirt in the air before throwing it back on the table.
"I...I...I was only trying to help." Casey whispered.
"Help? Do you have any idea what you've done? You might as well have killed me Casey, because that's just what Jake is going to do to me, because he'll blame me for the fire! You're so stupid Casey! You better be ready cause I'm gonna give ya a beating right now!"
Heath smashed his fist into his hand and advanced towards his younger brother. Casey cowered and moved backwards. Brax pushed Heath back down.
"Leave him! Explain. Now." Brax ordered in a harsh tone.
Casey went on to explain what he had heard and done. "And when the fire started it got out of control so quick, I didn't know what to do. There were flames and smoke everywhere and the cabin was falling down everywhere..."
"You were inside this whole time?" Brax questioned and Casey nodded.
Brax shook his head, he was so angry at the danger Casey had put himself in. It could have cost him his life. "Go on."
"I...I got out just as the cabin collapsed, but..." Casey stopped as he fidgeted with his painfully burnt hands under his arms.
"But what?" Brax demanded. Casey didn't reply.
"What are you hiding? Show me!" Brax ordered.
"Nothing." Casey whispered and backed away.
Brax wasn't going to ask twice and quickly advanced towards his brother and yanked his arms away from his body.
"Oww." Casey whined. "Geez Casey!" Brax yelled as he saw Casey's red and blistered palms.
Brax dragged Casey into the kitchen and abruptly sat him down on a chair he had pulled out. Brax grabbed a towel and dampened it with tepid water. Grabbing another chair, Brax sat down opposite Casey and pressed the towel onto his hands.
"Oww!" Casey moaned again and tried to pull away, but Brax had a tight grip on his wrists. "What do you expect? Don't move!" Brax snapped.
Casey glanced at Heath who had sat back down at the table with a frustrated look on his face. "Well, it's no use wasting what time I have left here!" Heath stood up.
"Heath...I was only trying to help." Casey whispered. Heath scoffed and ignored him.
"You know what Casey? I wish you knew what it was like to have such a stupid and annoying baby brother! Then maybe you'd actually do as you're told and not ruin everyone's life!" Heath yelled.
"Heath, that's enough." Brax said, trying to calm Heath down. "Heath..." Casey whispered, close to tears.
"Get lost Casey, you've caused enough trouble. Just stay away from me!" Heath snapped and walked out of the house, slamming the door loudly behind him as he went down to the beach.
Casey looked up at his eldest brother. "Brax..."
"I don't want to hear it Casey!" Brax cut him off angrily, still holding the towel on his hands.
Brax pulled Casey's chin up to look at him. "I really thought you were smart Casey, but the danger you put yourself in today really makes me reconsider that. Do you realize you could have been killed?" Brax yelled.
Casey withdrew into the chair trying to blink away tears and didn't answer. He is shaken out of his thought when he felt Brax grip his upper arms tightly.
"Well do you?" Brax yelled louder.
Casey flinched at Brax's tone and whispered, "I didn't know."
"Huh? What Casey? What didn't you know? That it was dangerous? That it was stupid? That you could have been killed? What?" Brax demanded.
Tears now ran down Casey's face as he felt too ashamed to look at his brother. "I didn't know that would happen..."
"What do you expect when you play with fire?"
"I knew it was dangerous..."
"Then why did you do it?" Brax continued to yell.
"I was trying to help...I just wanted the fighting to stop...I hated seeing you and Heath get hurt...I knew you and Heath would be mad...So I didn't say anything."
Brax shook his head. "Casey you are damn right we were gonna be mad. What do you think would have happened if you got trapped? Or got seriously injured? No-one would have known where you were, not to mention skipping school to do what you did!"
"I know." Casey replied with a sob. "I don't think you do!"
Brax leaned back and glared at his brother. "Casey I am so furious at you for going behind my back, and getting involved, when I specifically told you that it was not your concern! Not only did you put your life at risk you put Heath's and mine at risk too!"
Casey looked down at the floor. "I told you to look at me when I'm talking to you!" Brax snapped.
Casey stared up at Brax and saw how furious his brother was at him and more tears streamed down his face.
"Brax...I'm really sorry." Casey choked out. "Sorry? I don't care about sorry Casey. No apologizing is going to change what you did. I have never been so angry and disappointed with you in all my life!" Brax told him firmly, this really hit a nerve for Casey and made him cry harder.
He glanced up when Brax moved to go and retrieve some bandaging material. Casey then pulled his legs onto the chair and wrapped his arms around his knees, resting his head on his knees and continued to cry his eyes out.
When Brax returned, he saw his baby brother crying hysterically into his knees, this softened his fury slightly but not enough to comfort his brother, he was just too angry at the thought of Casey's stunt almost causing him to lose his baby brother and he wouldn't have had any chance to stop it.
Brax sat down opposite Casey again. "Give me your hands." Brax ordered.
Casey glanced at his brother and sniffed, resting his feet back down on the ground and held out his hands. Brax gently took them and proceeded to bandage them. When he finished, he took Casey's head in his hand.
"You were so lucky to make it out of that fire alive. If you ever do anything to jeopardize your life like that again, I will..."
"I won't, I promise." Casey pleaded, not wanted Brax to finish his threat.
Brax looked into Casey's eyes and continued, "I will have you wishing you could see the light of day because if I catch you doing that again you won't be. I promise you that."
Brax released Casey's chin. "You understand?"
Frightened by Brax's cold threat Casey slowly nodded. "Good. I think it best you go to your room now. I have somewhere I need to be." Brax spoke coldly and stood up ready to walk out of the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Casey sniffed.
"That's not your concern. Just go to your room and stay there!" Brax snapped.
Casey got off the chair and hung his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. Casey was riddled with guilt and knowing he disappointed his big brother most of all, really ate away at his conscience.
Brax just raised his eyebrows and pointed to the bedroom. "Go Casey. Do not make me repeat myself. I am angry enough as it is with you."
Casey began to walk towards the bedroom and Brax grabbed his car keys. "Don't even think about watching any TV while I'm gone either. I'll know."
Brax heard Casey sniff and walk into his bedroom. "Behave yourself. I'll be back soon." He shouted and shut the door. Brax went down to the beach to find Heath.