snicker. “Yeah, well, after what he pulled he should be a little understanding.” Kyle glared over at Nathan and I got nervous they were going to erupt, but Nathan seemed unphased. “Don’t look at me like that. We babied him a lot during the last six months and he fucking sold us out.”
“You promised me you weren’t mad,” Kyle said.
“I’m not, but I’m not going to tiptoe around him either. He owes us for what he did. The only reason I’m not beating it out of him is because you asked me not to.”
“I’ll kick your ass if you touch him,” Kyle hissed.
“Okay,” I interjected. “What the hell is going on?” Both Kyle and Nathan looked over at me with shock on their faces. “Last I checked, Kyle you didn’t even fucking like Brayden, and he was Nathan’s goddamn mini me. What did I miss?”
Nathan raised an eyebrow. “A lot.” He looked back at Kyle. “I’m not gonna hurt him. I know my dad manipulated him too, but if I go walking out there he’s not going to listen. We need you there, or this is useless. He’ll forgive you because if he doesn’t he’s an ass.” Kyle sat in silence, and all Nathan and I could do was sit there as well. Finally, Nathan put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “We have to do something or he’s going to drift so far away even you won’t be able to bring him back. You don’t want that. I know you don’t.”
Kyle shook his head. “No.”
“Then let’s go get him.” That seemed to do the trick and Kyle finally unbuckled his seatbelt. As Nathan climbed out of the car, he leaned in towards me. “This is gonna get weird, so just stand back.”
“Since when does he care so much?” I whispered back.
Nathan flashed me an indignant expression. “Like I said… you missed a lot.”
We walked around the car and followed Kyle further into the park. It was already shaping up to be a hot summer day, so the park was full of families enjoying the morning before it got too steamy. We stepped around everyone and made our way towards the picnic tables behind the initial playground, and Brayden was sitting on one of the tables facing away from us. Kyle did a stutter step when we first saw him, but kept going and when we were close enough, Nathan grabbed my arm to keep me from getting any closer.
Kyle walked up to the table and reached out to touch Brayden’s shoulder. To my surprise, Brayden almost immediately climbed down and threw himself into a hug, one Kyle returned with passion.
“Nathan, what’s going on?” I asked.
Before Nathan could answer, Brayden noticed us over Kyle’s shoulder and yanked himself back out of the hug.
“What are they doing here?” he asked. “You said it was just you.”
“They need to talk to you,” Kyle said. “They aren’t angry.”
“Bullshit. Nathan’s fuming,” Bryden barked.
Kyle looked over his shoulder and I looked over and saw Nathan was tense and glaring. I smacked his arm and he dropped a little out of it, relaxing his shoulders and attempting to calm his face.
“They just want to talk,” Kyle said.
“No.” Brayden turned around and started to walk away, but Kyle reached out and grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He snatched himself from Kyle’s hold, but Kyle reached out again, attempting to grab Brayden again. “Stop it. Don’t touch me.”
“Brayden, don’t do this,” Kyle said. “Just—”
Before Kyle could get any additional words out, Brayden shot his fist out, making hard contact with Kyle’s nose. When it happened, a look of horror flashed across Brayden’s face before guilt settled in. He tried again to walk away, but Kyle reached out and grabbed Brayden’s hand.
“Stop,” Brayden said, and it was weak, like he was begging. “Just let me leave.”
“You need to face this.” Kyle pulled, but Brayden swung again. That time, Kyle ducked out of the way, but then Brayden swung back with his other fist, hitting Kyle’s face again. I took a step forward, but Nathan pulled me back. “Brayden.”
“Just let me go!” Brayden screamed. “I nearly killed you!”
“But you didn’t,” Kyle replied. He had a firm grip on Brayden’s hand and refused to let go. Regardless of the hits he’d taken, he was standing tall, unphased. “I didn’t die. None of us did. We know that you were backed into a corner.”
All of the fight in Brayden deflated and tears filled the corners of his eyes. “I thought you