Not a Chance(32)

Dustin stood and stepped back. Usually if Travis was speaking coherently, the danger was passed. But it definitely didn't hurt to be on the safe side and put some distance between them.

Travis pushed himself up to hands and knees and then slowly stood. He grabbed his shoulder, the one that Dustin had twisted, and rotated it a couple of times. He started to talk and Dustin knew he was going to apologize, so he interrupted him. "Just go inside and pull yourself together.

Travis walked around to the front door. Dustin went in via the garage entrance and slipped downstairs to where Duane was cleaning his face and assessing the damage.

Dustin watched for a few moments. Duane looked horrible. His right cheekbone was beginning to swell. His whole eye would be completely black in a few hours. His bottom lip was busted, he was limping and he occasionally winced and grabbed his side. Travis might've killed him.

Duane looked up when he saw Dustin.

"Hey," he said. "How was church?"

"Pack your things," Dustin said, ignoring his question.

"What?" Duane stood up and gawked at him.

"You heard me. Pack up your fucking things and get out of this house. You've got one hour."

Duane barked a laugh. "You can't be serious."

"I told you before. One more chance. This was it. Now get going."

"Dustin, I was just minding my own business and he just jumped all over me for no reason."

"I don't care."

"Well where exactly am I supposed to go?"

"I don't give a fuck where you go, Duane. I warned you before."

Duane looked away and shook his head. "I never had a problem with you, man."

"Shut up, Duane," Dustin said, raising his voice slightly. He was angry. Angrier than he'd been in a long time. But he wouldn't lose control. Still, he needed to say what was on his mind so he could walk away from this with a clear conscience. "You're about the dumbest person I've ever known. You've thrown away everything anyone's ever tried to do for you. You act like we owe it to you to take care of you and then you throw it back in our faces when we do. The sick thing about all of this is that I'm going to go upstairs and tell Travis I kicked you out and he's going to fight me tooth and nail. He may even beat the shit out of me like he did to you. He loves you that much." Dustin watched Duane darken with hate at the mention of Travis. "Well I don't give a shit anymore. He's the second dumbest person I know, but he always took care of me and Neil and you and now I'm going to do what's best for him and get you the fuck out of our lives. Now get to your room, pack your goddamn things and disappear."

For a second, Dustin thought Duane might attack him. But slowly the anger on his face subsided. "Fine," Duane said. "I never had a problem with you, man. But if you want me gone, that's fine. I don't need this anyway. I never asked you guys for anything. I've got plenty of friends who'll help me out."

"Fine," Dustin said. "Get going."

Duane muttered a curse as he walked by Dustin into his room.

Dustin hung his head for a moment and took a few breaths to calm down. Then he went upstairs and found Travis sitting on the edge of the couch, his eyes red around the rims, looking about ten years older than he was. It occurred to Dustin that this had been a pretty bad day for Travis. Between Arden and Duane, he figured Travis was probably using all his energy not to think about taking a drink.

Dustin sat in Travis's chair. "He's leaving within the hour."

Travis looked up sharply. "What? Where's he going?"

"I don't know where he'll go. I just told him to get the hell out."

"You did what?"

Dustin just stared at him and shook his head. How could he be surprised?

"You can't kick him out, Dustin. This is my house too. Besides, where would he go? He'd probably freeze or starve to death."

Dustin scoffed. People like Duane didn't die. They crawled around like leeches sucking out life wherever they could find it and barely surviving at all times. "It's non-negotiable. I don't want him here anymore."

Travis opened his mouth to argue.

"It's him or me, Trav," Dustin said.

Travis slammed his mouth shut.

"And before you argue, I know what you're going to say. You're going to say I'm forcing you into this because I know you'd never turn your back on our relationship after all we've been through together. You'll say I'm making you choose one brother over the other and I am. I'm doing it because it's best for everyone. Believe it or not, it's best for Duane, too."

"He's your brother, too, and you act like he's just some bum off the street."

"Try to understand where I'm coming from, Travis. There are people in this world who have made mistakes in their lives or are just having a hard time. They look around and they realize how bad things are. Then they imagine something better for themselves and they reach up for it. That's you, Travis. That was you five years ago and it's still you today. Then there are people who are headed down that bad path and they don't see anything wrong with it. They hate everyone around them who is doing better. They don't acknowledge responsibility for their positions. That's Duane. And when someone is headed down that path the absolute best you can do is to point out to them where they're headed. We've done that for Duane. And no matter how badly we want to help him get his life together, there is nothing we can do for him until he wants better for himself. You can't drag him onto the path of righteousness, Travis. He has to get there himself. And if that day ever comes, I'll be the second person in line behind you willing to help him out."