Broken Toys

Chapter 25

Billy stood in the doorway uncertainly, studying Casey's back, hoping for some indication of how the boy was doing. He had been huddled over the contents of the box his mother had given him for quite a while now and Billy couldn't tell if he was upset or not.

Zeke walked past, expression set, keeping himself busy with packing while his mind worked through the events of the morning. He'd been strangely quiet since they returned from Stokely's house and Billy was starting to wonder if there was more on his mind than Casey's reunion with his mother.

Sliding out of the doorway he followed Zeke into the bedroom.

"Need some help?" Billy asked cheerfully, hoping to lighten the mood. Zeke gave him a measured look then returned to packing.

"No thanks. Got it covered."

"Oh. Okay." Billy stood there at a loss, watching Zeke work. Finally Zeke looked up again, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Do you want something?"

"Yeah," Billy said quietly, taking a step closer to Zeke. "I want to help." He put a hand on Zeke's arm but Zeke brushed him off.

"Don't need help." Zeke insisted.

"Look," Billy persisted. "What's this really about?"

"Nothing," Zeke snapped. "Everything is just perfect. Casey's got his mom back and everything is just perfect." Zeke jammed the last of his clothes into the suitcase and slammed it shut.

He closed the drawer hard enough to shake everything on top of the dresser. The only photo in the room fell over. Zeke didn't pick it up.

Realization struck Billy hard and he stood, stunned.

Zeke crowded past to get to the closet.

"Why are you packing everything, Zeke?" He asked it quietly but his gaze was demanding.

"What?" Zeke stopped, mid-fold, the shirt half in the travel bag.

"You're packing a lot more than you need for two months."

"So?" It was a challenge and Zeke's whole body screamed anger even though he tried to be casual.

"Why don't you plan on coming back here? This is your home."

"Home," Zeke spat the word back at Billy. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then enlighten me," Billy responded calmly, not backing down.

"You wouldn't get it." He shoved another armload of clothes into the bag, not bothering to be neat.

"Why? Because my parents didn't abandon me? Is that what this is about? You think that Casey is going to leave you now that he's settled things with his mom?"

"Case can do what ever he wants."

"Cut the crap. I can't help it that your parents ignore you anymore than I can control how mine treat me. That's got nothing to do with Casey and me. Don't blame us for their mistakes."

"Don't play shrink, Billy. You have no idea what you're talking about." Zeke's voice was low and dangerous now and he couldn't hide his anger.

"Then don't you play the martyr. You're just as fucked up as the rest of, Zeke. Might as well just admit it."

"You think you've got it all figured out, don't you, Billy? You can go home to your Mommy and Daddy and they will pet you and take care of you and keep covering your mistakes until you finally get your head on straight, isn't that right? Not all of us are so lucky."

"Is that what you really think? That it's all hearts and flowers on the old homefront? Your parents might not be around a lot, but at least they don't spend all their time screaming at each other, buying you stuff to bribe you into liking one better than the other. Telling you things about the other parent that make you want to puke. Missed out on all the family melodrama, didn't you, Zeke?"

They were inches apart now, aching to hurt each other just to make the other understand someone else's pain. It would be so easy to just reach out and...

"What are you doing?" Casey demanded. He balanced on his crutches in the doorway, his face gone pale. "I heard you..."

"Stay out of this, Casey," Billy snarled. "Zeke here is telling me how his mommy and daddy neglected..."

It seemed to happen in slow motion - the fist connecting, falling backward, Casey's voice sounding oddly distant and then the pain - of the fall, of the punch and lastly, of the words that couldn't be taken back...

Zeke loomed over him, face flushed crimson, every inch of him taut with rage.

"Don't you ever mention my parents again, Tepper. Don't talk about them, don't even think about them. Do you understand?"

Billy nodded slowly, one hand pressed against his mouth. He couldn't get up with Zeke looming over him so he just stayed there, glaring up at the older boy, caught for just a moment between wanting to be sorry and wanting to get in his own punch.

"Zeke?"

"Go back to what you were doing, Case. This is between me and Billy."

"I'm not leaving, Zeke."

"Casey," Zeke turned his full attention on the smaller boy, but Casey didn't flinch or back away.

"I said I'm not leaving," he insisted quietly. "Not now, not ever."

"You don't know what you're saying."

"Don't I? Look me in the eyes and say that. Tell me I don't know how it feels to be ignored, even hated by my own parents. Yours ignore you Zeke, but at least they are still your parents. No matter what happened today, nothing changes the fact that my father and my mother signed those documents." Casey looked away, choking out the words. "At least you still have a name."

"A name," Zeke scoffed. "Yeah, the name of a man who can't even remember what grade I'm in. A mother who couldn't wait to pay someone, anyone to take the brat off her hands. I saw more of the UPS man than I saw of my own father." Some of the rage had drained away and Zeke backed away from Billy. Not offering to help him up, but not threatening him either.

Billy stood up slowly looking from Casey to Zeke, wishing he knew what to do that wouldn't make things worse. The desire to fight was gone and in its place was weariness. "This isn't fair," he said at last.

"What's not fair?" Casey asked.

"Any of this, Casey. Look, screaming at each other doesn't get us better parents. Why can't we just..." he trailed off and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know... maybe we could be our own family. No parents, no baggage, just us."

"That easy?" Zeke scoffed. Much of the anger and bitterness he'd kept bottled up for years was finally unleashed and he couldn't stop it up again without a struggle.

"No, not easy at all," Billy said calmly, "But worth the effort anyway." He looked at Casey for support. "Casey?"

"Yeah," he moved forward until he was right in front of Zeke, dropping his crutches to gather his lover in a tight embrace. After a moment he reached one hand back towards Billy, drawing him into the circle. "Just us."

"Just us," Billy repeated.

After a long moment, Zeke repeated it too. "Just us." Then he laughed unsteadily. "We sound like the Three Musketeers or something."

"Yeah?" Casey responded, not quite keeping the smile out of his voice. "As long as it's not the Three Stooges."

"What's wrong with the Three Stooges?" Billy demanded, getting groans and pained expressions as response. "What?"

Casey shook his head and shifted, placing a tender kiss on Billy's jaw, working his way up to Billy's mouth, soothing away some of the pain with gentleness. Billy tensed, expecting Zeke to pull them apart, then relaxed when he felt Zeke's hand rubbing his back lightly. He leaned a little against Zeke and accepted the comfort that was offered.

"Hey," Casey said quietly when he finally pulled away. "Everything okay here?" He waited while the other two boys shared and accepted apologies. They did their best to let the anger go, not ready to kiss and make up, but no longer ready to pummel each other. Casey smiled. "Good, I've got something  important for us to talk about."

He headed off to the dining room and the others followed, exchanging curious glances. Casey's box was on the dining room table and Casey opened it, taking out a dark blue photo album. He braced himself against the table and opened the folder carefully.

"It's mine," he said cryptically as Zeke and Billy moved closer to look over his shoulder at the photograph of an old farm house. He looked up, smiling at their obvious confusion and turned the page.

"Case?" Zeke reached over and touched the page. "Is that what it looks like?"

"Yes."

"A deed?" Billy asked, frowning. "You mean?"

"It was my grandmother's. Mom gave it to me." He was smiling widely, as if he'd won the lottery and still didn't really grasp the scope of his good fortune. "We have a house."

"Where is it?" Billy asked doubtfully.

"About 30 miles from Regis."

"In Virginia?" Billy said, too stunned to grasp the significance of Casey's news.

"Unless they moved Regis since we left yesterday," Casey teased. He turned to Zeke and took his hand. "Just us, Zeke. You, Billy and me. It will be good."

Zeke leaned down, claiming that hopeful smile, tasting it until he could feel it in his skin. Billy moved in beside him and wrapped his arms around Zeke and Casey, connecting the three of them.

Yeah, Zeke decided, it will be good.

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