Play It Safe

And it was bad timing because he said it precisely as Gray stalked into the bar.

So Gene got one second to twist Casey’s arm so brutally he cried out in pain and I feared he’s snap it right off before Gray pushed him aside.

He rolled Casey to his back, jerked him to his feet, pushed him off and invited in a low, rumbling, seriously angry voice, “Let’s do this.”

The last time they went head-to-head, Gray had dumped him right on his behind in the snow but Casey, my stupid, stupid brother, did not hesitate.

And Gray instantly commenced beating the shit out of my brother while I stood straining against the arms of Barry that were holding me back and shouted at them to stop.

They didn’t.

Not until Lenny showed up in uniform, badge on his chest, gun on his hip and he pulled Casey from the hold Gray had on Casey’s collar to keep him steady while he slammed his fist repeatedly in my brother’s face.

Casey went flying, shaking his head, so addled by the blows he didn’t even throw his arms out to catch onto anything.

Lenny planted a hand in Gray’s chest, arm straight, eyes locked to Gray’s and voice growling, “Stand down now, Gray.”

Gray’s chest was rising and falling fast, his jaw was hard, a muscle jerking in his cheek. His eyes were locked on Casey who was swaying and still shaking his head, trying to shake the sense back in.

A fruitless endeavor.

Lenny gave it a minute, holding Gray’s eyes to ascertain he got a lock on it then when he did Lenny stepped back and dropped his arm.

Then he asked the bar at large, “What we got here?”

Peg, the barfly who, like Barry and Gene, was there every night, piped up and apparently, even though she was usually always borderline sloshed, that didn’t mean she couldn’t pay attention.

“That guy came in mouthin’ off at Ivey. She tried to be cool with him. He didn’t listen to a word she said. He got physical, wouldn’t stop, Barry and Gene stepped in, they warned him to stop, he wouldn’t. They got him off her then he called Ivey the c-word and Gray was walkin’ in, heard him and justifiably wailed on him.”

Although this was succinct and all the truth, albeit with a bit of opinion thrown in, Gray had heard Casey call me the c-word but he didn’t know Casey had been physical with me. Hearing Peg, his eyes cut to me, took me in and unfortunately I wasn’t wearing one of my long-sleeved henleys but instead a short sleeved tee and he saw the angry, red welts on my arm left by Casey.

Fortunately, Lenny knew Gray. His glance was faster and he had a hand in Gray’s chest by the time Gray’s gaze cut back to Casey, his body leaned forward in preparation for launching another attack and his rage filled the room.

Gene edged closer to help Lenny control the situation and Barry’s arms got tighter so I didn’t do anything stupid.

“Keep your shit, Gray,” Lenny growled, arm up but now his weight was in it.

Gray continued staring at Casey.

“Gray, son, listen to me. Keep…your…shit,” Lenny repeated with variation and additions.

For a scary second, Gray continued staring at my brother then he pulled in a deep, audible breath, his rage saturating the room eased and he took a step back.

Lenny dropped his arm.

Then he looked at Casey. “You thinkin’ clearly enough to hear what the witness said?”

Casey was bleeding from the lip, nose and a cut by the side of his already swelling eye but he was also back in the room and I knew this because he was scowling at Lenny.

He didn’t reply.

“It go down like that?” Lenny asked.

Casey continued scowling.

“It went down like that,” Janie chimed in from behind me.

“Exactly like that,” Gene confirmed.

“Yeah, just like that,” Barry, still holding me in his arms, threw in.

Lenny looked at each of them then back to Casey.

“Now, I can take you in for disturbin’ the peace, assaulting your sister and scrappin’ with Gray. This means I gotta also take Gray in. I’m seein’ you probably like that idea but Gray’s got no priors, he’s got no outstanding warrants, he’s got family local who’ll look out for him and he’s got a certain reputation so a judge will probably not go hard on him. You, I don’t know. You, I figure need to think smart right about now about how you wanna play this. Usually, I don’t mind arresting people. It breaks up my night. Tonight, I’m not feelin’ it. So you lucked out you play it smart and get your ass outta this bar. But my kindness comes with conditions. When I say get your ass outta this bar, I mean get your ass outta my town and while you’re at it, outta my county. You feel like communicatin’ with your sister who clearly has the urge to share her pretty face with the folk of Mustang for a spell, you send a greeting card. Are you reading me, son?”

Casey glared at Lenny then he shifted his glare to me.

Then he whispered, “I gave it all for you.”

That went in like the plunge of a blade but not for the reasons it used to.

And because of that, I returned, “And then I started giving it all for you. Difference is, I was twelve, Casey. I had no one else and I needed you. When I started giving, you were twenty and you just took it from me.”

My brother had it in him to wince before he kept at me.

“You’re all I’ve got.”

“I’m sorry, honey, but you aren’t all I have. Not anymore,” I replied quietly.

On my last word, Barry’s arms moved from around me and Gray’s arms took their place.

Casey’s eyes went up over my left shoulder then his face twisted and they came back to me.

“Did what I did because I loved you, sis.”

I knew that. Way back when, I knew it. Casey was everything to me and I was everything to him. Before we ran, we had a Mom who was less than nothing and we had a lot of troubles and a whole lot of nothing else.

All we had was each other.

But now that had changed.

“Then keep loving me and let me keep what I found,” I whispered.

I watched him swallow.

Gray’s arms got tight.

My eyes filled with tears.

Without another word, looking down to his feet, my brother turned away and walked out of the bar.

I knew he had no money, no skills, nothing.

I had no idea where he’d go, what he’d do, how he’d get there and how much trouble he’d catch when he landed wherever he landed.

And it killed me.

But one thing my brother Casey taught me was to look out for myself.