Ann's Writings

Part Two:

Of course, there was afight. It hadn’t been plan A, but it wasn't completely unexpected. They were the River Boys. They were always ready to fight.

But give it up to Heath for smacking some innocent bloke with a bottle and getting arrested. That was a new one.

Heath would be fine. Brax put a call out for their lawyer and he would be out on bail. It was a pain, but again he was kind of used to it.

It wasn't until the dry earliest of dawn hours that they got back home. Of course, all three kids were sound asleep in the living room, the television still on. Brax didn't even have the energy to wake them.

"Get yourself to bed," he groaned at Heath.

"What are you gonna do?" Heath frowned, leaning against the table as Brax grabbed himself a beer.

"Gotta make a few calls," Brax shrugged. "Fix this mess from all angles."

"And what's that mean?"

Brax sighed and glared at his brother from over the bottle's neck.

"It means get your arse to bed and stop asking questions!"

Heath groaned, but he turned around and went to his own room. Casey in the couch groaned, but luckily didn't wake.

Brax pulled out his cell phone and dialed up an acquaintance. He needed for Angelo not to press charges. He couldn't have Heath behind bars. The other guys took to jail fine, not that he wanted them there either, but he would do everything to keep his kid brother out.

Five minutes later, and he had a crate of good quality liquor waiting for his pickup and a bed calling out his name.

~~~

The next morning, getting the twins over to one of their friend's house was like dragging a dinosaur through cement.

"Where are my shoes?" one would ask.

"Why can't we go with you?" was heard a dozen times over.

"It's so early."

"Just wanna sleep."

Brax was a second away from bathing and dressing them himself when they were finally all set.

Heath got their surfboards onto his truck and the kids piled into Brax's ute. Casey was reserved quiet, only frowning when he wasn't dropped off somewhere for the day. (Least they made a point that he was a kid.)

"Where we heading?" he asked a few minutes later. They were leaving Mangrove River, that much he knew.

"Summer Bay," Brax answered honestly.

"Summer Bay?" frowned Casey. "Heath said he got in a fight there."

"I'm aware."

"Are you going to beat someone up?"

Brax sighed.

"Would I be dragging you up to beat someone up, Case? Don't be an idiot."

Casey glared out the window. He didn't like where this was going at all.

"I start school there tomorrow," Casey reminded him, not that Brax needed reminding.

"I'm aware," he repeated.

"Brax!" the teen groaned.

"Case, we're going for a surf! Just grow some balls and calm down will ya?"

"If it was just a surf, you woulda brought the twins."

"Well, Heath was in a fight here just last night. There might be some hostility. Besides, you know I don't take the twins around like that. I don't know people in the Bay."

Casey wasn't so sure Brax was being completely honest with him, but he couldn't call his older brother on it. It wouldn’t be the first time Brax admitted to lying but would keep the truth to himself. It was pointless.

~~~

Casey knew something was definitely up when they caught up with Heath. His older brother was sitting up on a wooden fence that lead to the beach.

Heath motioned to the water when they approached.

"We going in?" Casey stood bedside his surfboard. Heath had placed all three out. Casey wondered how he did that without help, but it wasn't like someone would steal from a Braxton. Not anyone smart anyway.

"Not yet," Brax hopped up across from Heath, mirroring his position.

"What are we waiting on?"

"For your period, nosy!" Heath rolled his eyes.

"Take a seat, Case," Brax said instead rolling his eyes at Heath, who shrugged.

It was another five minutes before Casey got his answer.

"Oi!" Brax called out to a blond teen as he passed them. Casey frowned. Looking over at Heath, he didn't look too surprised.

So this was the real reason for their trip to the Bay.

Heath hopped off his side of the fence and followed behind Brax. Casey stayed right where he was, with the surfboards, and a sigh.

His brothers never changed.

From what Casey heard, this kid lived with someone that had been hurt at the fight that had Heath arrested. He tried not to frown, and as the kid looked at him, he maintained a blank face.

He would've tried to look tough, but Heath always said he looked somewhere between constipated and eating oysters.

"What was that about?" he asked as his brothers came back and grabbed their boards.

"Don't worry your pretty little head," Heath winked and started walking towards the beach.

"Let's go for a surf," Brax said instead.

Casey hopped down and grabbed his own board.

"Brax who was he?"

"Just a kid. Don't worry about him."

"Why did you guys threaten him?"

Brax glared over his shoulder at him.

"I didn't threaten anyone. I offered my concern over his foster dad. I already told you, don't worry about it. Summer Bays got some great surf," Brax grinned. "Come on. I never get to take you here."

~~~

The first day of school for him and Casey spent the whole drive over convincing Brax not to walk him in. He wasn't exactly sure if Brax was kidding or not when he grinned like that. It would just be like his over protective, control freak brother to walk him into the high school like he was one of the twins or something.

Luckily, Brax had merely dropped him off in front of the school.

"Get your arse to class, and behave!"

Behave. Casey rolled his eyes. If he said the same back, he'd get a smack for sure. Hopefully to his head.

The second he entered the school, he meet up with the 'nothing' his brothers had confronted. And it turned up a lot worse for him than for his brothers.

Two seconds in and already a kid wanted to fight him.

~~~

Brax headed over to Angelo's, assessing the kind of damage that had occurred. Angelo was not happy to see him. It felt kind of nice, seeing the former cop bothered by his presence.

Funny when the shoe was on the other foot.

Returning later in the arvo, he dropped off the box he had called for earlier. Angelo looked less pleased than before.

Brax's plan was morphing, and it might be happening faster than he had anticipated.