reece-mitchell:
Fighting to not roll his eyes, Reece gripped the bottom of his chair hard when the urge to punch the man before him became incredibly overwhelming. He was having a lot of difficulty with that lately - controlling his anger - and usually these kinds of outbursts, attacks against him, left him wanting to fight. Still he looked generally annoyed with Kevin, with Casey, before he counted to ten in his head and blew out a large gust of a sigh. He needed to keep cool, he needed to remember that Kevin was just upset and that he didn’t mean what he’s said about Reece leaving Casey but there was something to be said about his behavior. “So, what?” He shrugged sarcastically, lips pursing in distaste at the conversation. “So we’re all just supposed to stop our lives for Casey, hm? What do you think growing up with him was like, huh? Yeah it wasn’t exactly fun - It was tiring. So excuse me if I don’t want to worry about Casey right now. I have other issues in my life going on right now, not just Casey. And as for Casey’s whereabouts, didn’t I tell you he’s fine?” He was on the verge of yelling but a quick glance from an elderly couple kept him from doing so. “He’s with our cousin at the moment.” He placated, not telling Kevin which cousin but allowing him to get some more information. “He’s with our cousin and he’s better off there than he is here. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left, would he? As his brother, as someone he still talks to, I know he’s fine.” Reece challenged, so done with this conversation as it had become an attack of how he treated his brother. “And Casey’s not some fragile little doll, okay? And screw you for thinking that he can’t handle things; he is incredibly strong. He’s not someone you have to walk through life, Kevin. He can be perfectly independent on his own! And it’s people like you who make him doubt himself. When you coddle him and make him believe there’s something wrong with him then it becomes more than just helping him when he extends a hand and asks for help.”
Reece had given a lot for his brother when they were children. When anyone threatened Casey, hurt his feelings, Reece was the first person to meet the assholes face with a sharp punch to his jaw. He would threaten anyone who messed with his brother and he’d gladly take the punishment that came with doing so. But people didn’t realize, or failed to acknowledged, that Casey needed a lot of attention and Reece felt as if he suffered because of that. Their parents were largely doting and worrying over Casey and Maggie and Reece largely fell to the background on the days when Casey would have another breakdown. Unfortunately, because of his brothers frail mental capacity, that was a lot of times. When Reece left for the Air Force it had been the first time that he’d ever truly done something for himself. He was always trying to be the best for his parents, the star older brother to Casey and Maggie, but this was his chance to get out from under his family and do his own thing. But no one seemed to care too much about that, they just branded him a terrible person because he left his brother behind. What was he going to do? Rope Casey to his bag and carry him along to Afghanistan?
Reece’s words sounded like an accusation, as if he didn’t know Casey enough, as if he thought Casey needed protection and wasn’t fully aware that in fact, all this time Casey had been the one taking care of him, saving him from madness. He knew it. His worry in that moment had little to do with what Casey was or wasn’t, or how different he could be. He had known people deemed as ‘normal’ who had the same struggles as Casey, who had gone through similar things, and Reece did not know it but the idea of Casey harming himself was the one thing he could not bare. And this had very little to do with strength, but that sometimes things simply got too hard for anyone. Kevin stood up in attempt to calm himself down, clenched his hand into a fist, could feel his hand trembling and before he knew it, he was throwing a punch at Reece’s face. Kevin was no fighter, he knew he didn’t stand a chance before anyone, but he had gone out of control in that moment, pushed by some kind of rage and frustration he had been piling up since the day of the robbery.
“Do you– Do you even hear what you’re saying?” Kevin asked, still fuelled by the anger that Reece’s words had brought upon, leaning forward and into Reece’s personal space, as if he could in any way be threatening. He could feel his blood boiling, his hands and legs trembling as he tried to keep himself up. “You’re– you’re saying growing up with him was exhausting, that it wasn’t fun and basically, from what I assume, that he’s always been a load in your life, because that’s exactly how you sound, and then you tell me, ME, that he’s not a fragile little doll. As if I don’t already fucking know it! You know shit about me! You know shit about us! You know shit about your own fucking brother. So don’t fucking come pointing a finger at me, saying people like me make him worse, when I’m one of the few people who’ve treated him like a human being and not a fucking sacrifice.”
