Without A Trace

Thirteen.

Gathered around the campfire we've all had our fair share of drinks. Michael is clearly the drunkest out of the lot. He never could hold his alcohol well.

"You know what I'm thinking about?" Michael says looking over to Thomas.

"I'm not a mind reader Michael so do inlighten me," Tommy says taking a sip from his glass.

Michael chuckles looking at his glass before looking at Ivy and then back at Thomas, "The first night I killed a man. The night Lewis almost died."

"Michael, we don't speak of that," Lewis says quickly shooting daggers at him.

"What is he on about Thomas," Anna says looking at Thomas, slightly scared at the unsettling news.

Thomas sighs looking at Michael, "Well its too fuckin late now. Go on," He says leaning back in his chair before running a hand through his hair.

"It was a few weeks after Lewis met Anna here in Birmingham for the first time. I remember it like it was yesterday. It plays in my mind constantly like a fuckin movie," He says staring at the fire. Listening to the pop and crackle of the wood as embers fly up in the air. The red glow of the flames reflecting his face. Anna moves up to the edge of her seat, fully listening and focusing her attention on him.

"It was raining so fuckin hard that night. There was no moon. It was just black outside. We were on our way home from having a visit with Alfie. We had to stop by the races to pick up some log books that Lewis had forgotten earlier. I remember it was quiet. Eerily quiet. Couldn't hear fuckin anything besides the rain. The bloody fuckin rain," Michael says growing slightly agitated with tears in his eyes, gripping onto his glass.

"I didn't hear them coming. I waited outside for Lewis to come back and when he didn't I went inside and searched for him. It had been close to a half hour he was gone. When I couldn't find him I started to panic. So I went and searched the arena and Lewis was there getting the fuckin piss beat out of him. I ran down there as fast as I could even though he was yelling at me to leave. That it'd be alright, but I knew it wouldn't be," He says glancing up at Anna before looking back at the fire.

"I pulled my gun but the man had his loaded and pressed right against Lewis's head. I froze. Like a fucking bastard I froze. Lewis told me to leave, to go home to Ivy. I had never seen so much blood on a human than what was caked on Lewis. I didn't even know the human body could produce that amount of blood. I was shaking standing there, and I was bloody sure I was going to watch my brother die right in front of my eyes. So I pulled the trigger, but not before he did first," Michael says choking up.

"I ran over to Lewis and just held him. Lewis told me to go home to Ivy, because she was pregnant," his voice cracks. "I shoved my fuckin fingers in his neck where the bullet went and I pinched that artery shut. But I was watching the life drain from my brothers fuckin face. I remember I screamed at the top of my fuckin lungs for Tommy. For somebody. Anybody. After what felt like an eternity John and Arthur showed up and transported him to the hospital. I remember I just fuckin sat there in the sand, absolutely drenched in blood. And I thought to myself how I was going to have to explain to my wife, that I couldn't save my fucking brother. And that I would have to tell Anna it was my fault her boyfriend died," He says putting his head in his hands before completely sobbing and shaking. "That it would be my fault she never got to be married. That it was my fault she didn't get to become a mother."

All of us sit there silent. Anna slowly makes her way over to him and kneels down in front of him. She pulls his hands away from his eyes, tears filled in her own.

"Im so fucking sorry Anna," He says fully crying now, with so much pain and defeat in his eyes. "Thats why I'm so fucking angry all the time is because I almost caused my brother to fucking die because I didnt do or say fucking anything."

Anna doesnt say anything, she pulls her brother in law in a huge hug embracing everything she can into him. He completely loses it and sobs into her hugging her and holding into her as tight as he can. "I wish it would've been me," he says crying into her shoulder.

"You saved my husbands life Michael," She says softly. "Hes right here with us. Because of you. Because you stopped the bleeding. Because you were so brave and held him there with you," she says as tears run down her face sniffling softly.

Michael completely breaks down in shambles clinging to his sister in law. Ivy sits there with her mouth covered, tears streaming down her face watching her husband completely break down. Lewis walks over to his brother and hugs him along with Anna, "I'm right here Michael, because of you. Look at me," He says pulling his little brothers head up to look at him, "You are a fuckin hero. Dont you ever fuckin forget that. You saved my fuckin life Michael."

Thomas gets up and helps Lewis get Michael up, "Come on lad, that's enough for tonight," Thomas says before exchanging glances with me and walking Michael inside with Lewis.

Anna sits there in the grass, completely silent. I slowly walk over to her and rest my hand on her shoulder, "Anna-," I say softly before sitting down next to her.

"Dont fuckin talk to me Cora," She says biting the inside of her cheek as tears continue to stream down her face. I look over at Ivy who also makes her way over to Anna before sitting down where Michael was once sitting. Anna looks up at her and gives her a hug, letting out all of her emotion. Ivy sits there and just holds onto her, letting her get out all of her emotions.

Anna stands up and takes a cigarette out of her pocket before lighting it with the fire, bringing it up to her face and taking a long puff out of it. "We will fuckin find out who it was, and I will slit their fuckin throat in front of the person they love the most," she says before walking into the house.

I sit there and rub my face sighing, "Looks like we have more work to do when we get home eh Ivy?" I ask looking over at her.

"We'll find them Cora, she deserves that," Ivy says before following Anna inside the house, leaving me to myself outside by the fire.