Camp Alpha (BoyxBoy)

{19}

Brody and Kayden spoke for a while, mostly getting off topic as they didn’t have much to talk about when it came to that other than the mystery money. Brody had been trying to convince Kayden that there was actual value in their history classes, a fact which Kayden amusingly refused to believe, when Brody glanced at the clock sitting against the wall of the library.

He realised that dinner would be soon and he didn’t want to make Nate worry about him if he was late.

‘We should get going to dinner,’ he told Kayden.

‘Yeah,’ Kayden nodded in agreement, standing from his seat.

They walked out of the library and into the open air. Brody and Kayden walked slowly down the footpath, apparently most people were already at dinner as the gardens were vacant of people, only beautifully coloured flowers and the wood of tree’s occupying the green grass. The sun was low in the sky, it’s fading light guiding them along the path as the warmth of it’s gaze hit their skin.

They walked slowly in silence, and Brody wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t exactly great at small talk, especially considering the weight of the information clouding his mind at that current moment in time.

In fact, it was Kayden who broke the silence first, ‘How’s your wrist feeling?’ he asked.

‘It’s alright,’ Brody responded, the pain in his wrist had dulled quite significantly from earlier that morning and he was sure that the break was already healing. The pain may have dulled, but it was still there, a dull ache which radiated through his wrist and arm, creating an uncomfortable feeling that he hoped would go away within a day or two. ‘It doesn’t hurt that much,’ he told Kayden.

Kayden suddenly smiled at Brody, and Brody quirked an eyebrow.

‘What?’ he asked.

Kayden laughed, ‘Nothing, you just reminded me of something.’

‘What was it?’ Brody asked, quite curious.

‘Well,’ Kayden explained, ‘Last camp, I remember Hunter stopped a fight between two guys on one of the first days, and everyone asked him if he was alright and he kept telling everyone that he was fine, and then a few days later he told everyone he had actually broken three ribs but didn’t see the need to tell anyone.’

Brody smiled at that, and he didn’t doubt the story for a second. He wondered why Hunter had never told him about that and thinking about it, Hunter would have probably just not wanted anyone at home to worry about him.

Brody looked over at Kayden, ‘That sounds a lot like my brother. He never wanted people to worry about him; he always had to be the strong one.’ 

Brody looked down then, loving memories of his brother slowly slipping away into sad ones. He figured that Kayden had sensed this shift in mood and silence gathered over them again like a dark cloud.

‘I shouldn’t have brought up your brother,’ Kayden apologised quietly after a few moments.

Brody slowed his steps, his eyes moving to Kayden’s. ‘I have been at camp for weeks with people who have known my brother for years, and yet only Nate has had the courage to talk about him. I don’t want you to walk on eggshells around me, I like hearing this stuff.’

Kayden smiled slightly but he didn’t speak. Instead, his large hand coming up to pat against Brody’s back supportively a couple of times before dropping back to the side.

The action meant a lot to Brody. He got the feeling that this guy wasn’t much into showing emotions, and his support really did mean a lot to him.