Outlaw - Born & Bred

Chapter 18 - Anger

The men sat around the table in silence. They had all read the letter in turn. Each taking in the personal message, that Casie had left for them. But Casie wasn't dead. Well maybe she was, dead inside.

Dutch was the first to speak.

"We can't keep her tied up, we have to find a solution."

"I can't see a solution, she wants to die, we can't let her do that." Micah sighed.

Hosea shook his head, "we have to talk her down, her grief is raw at the moment, she's been hurt, physically and mentally."

"She thinks she's betrayed you Dutch," Arthur said, "You brought her back from the brink before, in the meantime, we need to find a solution to keep an eye on her, so that we don't have to keep her bound, and tied to the bed."

Dutch nodded in agreement. "I'll go and see her, and see what sort of a response I get. Micah, Arthur, I think its best if you avoid her for now."

Arthur nodded, Micah just looked angry, but eventually, nodded in agreement.

Dutch walked into Casie's room. She was laying on the bed, facing the wall. He slammed the door shut, making a loud bang. Casie snapped her head round, to see who was there. As soon as she saw Dutch standing there, she turned to face the wall again.

Dutch walked over to the bed, and threw the letter down in front of her.

"Talk!" He said angrily.

Casie looked at the wall, then closed her eyes, to try and stop a tear rolling down her cheek. It didn't work. She refused to cry properly though, even if she couldn't stop her eyes from producing tears.

Dutch walked over to the bed, and roughly grabbed Casie's shoulders, and sat her up on the bed. He held her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.

"Then I'll talk, and you listen," He sighed. "You didn't betray me though, did you? If you had, then you would have gone with the Pinkertons, and John, and I would be looking at a hang man's rope. You had to make a choice. That choice meant you got shot, and Sean died. Knowing what you know now, would you make a different choice, would you betray me?" He let go of her face, and dropped his hands back onto her shoulders.

Casie dropped her head, she didn't want to look him in the eye.

Dutch put his finger under her chin, and tilted her head up, forcing her to look him in the eye again.

"Well?" He asked.

Tears now flooded out of Casies eyes.

"No, I'd do the same again, I'd kill the Pinkertons, and Sean would die." She said, her voice quivering. "Which is why I can't go on, knowing that I had to betray someone."

Dutch held her face in his hands again, and wiped the tears away with his thumbs.

"Listen to me. Things don't always turn out the way we want them to. Sometimes you have to make choices, hard choices. If you had chosen to betray me, the Pinkertons would have probably hung Sean anyway, and me as well. Then you would have lost us both, and likely Micah and Arthur too. You wouldn't have wanted that would you?"

"No." she said, as she stifled a sob.

"Casie, we will all help you get through this, do you trust me, and Arthur, Hosea, Micah, and Charles?" he asked.

Casie nodded.

"Then promise me that you wont try and runaway, or hurt yourself."

Casie paused. "Ok."