Broken Toys

Chapter 40

Yogurt tapped at the darkroom door uncertainly. He'd somehow ended up being the one "volunteered" to come talk to Casey. Now he was here and had no idea what he might say.

He'd been in Ric's room studying when the fight broke out, and he had a bad feeling about the underlying cause of it. Hank seemed to be going out of his way to stir up trouble between Billy, Zeke and Casey since the incident at the farmhouse. Didn't make any sense, since Hank was always the one going on about not letting anyone cause trouble because of the trio's relationship.

Yogurt knocked again, calling out for Casey and identifying himself. He leaned close to the door and listened carefully for sounds of movement.

Nothing.

Cautiously he tried the door, surprised to find it unlocked. He eased it open, calling softly for Casey. He wrinkled his nose at the chemical smell and hoped that there weren't any photos being developed at the moment.

The room was completely black and he ran his hand along the wall searching for the light switch. Flipping it on, a red glow filled the room, adding to Yogurt's unease.

"Casey?"

"Go away."

There, in the corner, the light tinting his skin a stomach-turning shade of red, sat Casey Conner. He held a bottle of chemicals in his hands and seemed to be studying it. There was an odd discoloration high on one cheekbone and his face seemed wrong, out of alignment somehow.

Yogurt took another step closer, mouth open to say something, anything. Casey stopped him with a look.

"If you've come to pound some sense into me, you're too late."

"I just... I wanted to see if you were ok."

Casey laughed, a sharp, odd sound that seemed to echo off the walls. "I'm fine," he insisted, hurling the plastic bottle against the opposite wall and watching as it impacted, landed and rolled without breaking. "Just great."

Yogurt stood still, not a clue as to what he should do now. He didn't really want to leave Casey alone, but he didn't want to risk making him mad, either. Reluctantly he turned, ready to leave, then hesitated and turned back.

"You could stay with me, if you wanted. You know, just for a change. There's already an extra bed and I won't bother you or anything. It's warmer there at least."

He offered Casey a wavery smile and was surprised when Casey didn't reject his offer or send him away. Instead, Casey just looked at him, as if he needed to find answers to unasked questions. Yogurt tried to remain still, tried not to react, tried to be patient while Casey searched for whatever it was he needed to find.

He didn't offer Casey a hand up, or steady him when he tried to walk on legs stiff from sitting still for too long. He just waited, letting Casey lead, trailing him on the slow ascent out of the basement and down long hallways to Yogurt's room.

Yogurt preceded Casey into the room hoping that it wasn't too much of a mess. His roommate had transferred after the terrorist attack and somehow stuff managed to spread out to take over all the empty space. Luckily he'd just done the laundry so the room wasn't too bad at the moment.

He motioned Casey towards the bed closest to the door. "You can take that one." He hesitated, then continued. "Do you want me to get anything for you? From your room?"

"Thanks, but no. I'd better head up there and see what's up. I will take you up on the offer of crash space later, though." Casey straightened and Yogurt noticed how ill and exhausted the older boy looked; that terrible bruise making him appear more pale. Most disturbing was the dried bloodstain on his wrist.

*****

"At least talk to him," Snuffy urged, standing in the doorway and watching Billy pace across Hank's room. Hank leaned back in his desk chair and said nothing.

"What exactly do you expect me to say?" Billy demanded, pausing only long enough to give Snuffy an angry glance before resuming his pacing.

"You could apologize."

Billy snorted dismissively. "Him first."

"Grow up." Snuffy snapped, reaching the end of his patience. "There's too much at stake to behave like a spoiled brat."

"Why does he have to be the one to apologize?" Hank asked coldly. "Why not Zeke or Casey?"

"Why don't you stay out of this, Hank," Snuffy ground out.

"Why don't you?" Billy retorted. He pressed the icepack against his jaw and glowered.

"Unbelievable," Snuffy declared, throwing up his hands in surrender. "You have something that most people only dream of and now you're going to screw it up. For what?" He threw an angry look at Hank before focusing on Billy again. "You'd damn well better be sure what you're doing before you throw it all away."

Billy watched as Snuffy turned and marched out, slamming the door behind him. He'd never seen his friend so angry.

"Sounds like he's switched sides." Hank said, his voice sweet but his words poisonous. "Better watch your back, man." He stood up and threw an arm around Billy. "Come on, let's get out of here for a while. We've got a couple hours til lcurfew. Some air'll do you good."

Billy nodded, setting the icepack down. He really did need to get out of here for a while; it felt like the walls were closing in.

*****

Casey felt like an idiot, knocking on the door to his own room, but he didn't want to just walk in right now. After waiting almost a minute and getting no answer, he cautiously opened the door. Turning on the light, he blinked in surprise. The room had been straightened, items returned to desks and dresser tops. The piles of laundry were gone and the beds were made, except for Zeke's.

Zeke lay on his bed, curled up on his side, facing away from the door. Casey couldn't tell if he was sleeping, so he said his name softly, so as not to startle him.

No response, so Casey tiptoed past, intending to gather a change of clothes and his toiletries. He was stuffing everything into a bag when he heard Zeke turn over.

"Case?"

"Go back to sleep. I'm staying with Yogurt tonight."

Zeke didn't protest or ask questions, he just rose gracefully from the bed and walked over, his eyes infinitely sad. He reached out to Casey, his hand stopping just short of touching.

Casey leaned in, completing the connection. He wanted to say it would be ok, that everything would be better in the morning, that nothing had changed. The words weren't there. He reached up to touch Zeke's swollen lip, hoping that contact would convey what he desperately needed to say.

He flinched when Zeke caught his wrist, turning it to examine the dried blood. He wanted to look away, not wanting to see the accusation in Zeke's eyes. Instead, he saw only sorrow. Casey swallowed hard and shook his head.

"Accident." he whispered, straining for even that. "I kept my promise."

Zeke half-collapsed against him, holding on as if he were drowning. Casey could feel tremors in his lover's body and he felt as if he couldn't get enough air. His head felt light and his vision wavered. He closed his eyes and just held on, trying to give Zeke everything he had left.

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