My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 66

MILO’S P.O.V.

“Mate, you can't flake on practise just because he's going to fucking be there.”

Yes I can. “Watch me.”

Eli rolls his eyes as he continues to pursue me down the football field towards the oak trees on the other side. Like fuck am I going to practise with Jayce today after how he behaved yesterday, the guy can go fuck himself.

“I don’t think he meant it the way that you’re taking it man, he just didn't think before he opened his mouth. I do it all the time. There was this one time that my mum bought herself a new sweater, but it kind of looked like some kids had gone mental doing potato prints all over it, and when she went to wear it on a date I asked her if...”

I love Eli but I can’t be dealing with another one of his tales about how his mum ended up beating seven shades of shit out of him with her slipper because he fucked up again right now.

To say that Jayce pissed me off yesterday, would be the fucking understatement of the year.

As if it’s not bad enough that he just turned up out of the blue without so much as fucking consulting me, before deciding to shove his way into my team, he then went on to fucking humiliate me in front of everybody.

We were running drills, tough ones that I bet he didn’t even do himself back in the time when he was still relevant, and just as I was about to out-lap every other fucker on the court, he decided to roll a fucking basketball out in front of my feet.

I didn’t see the fucking thing, stepped straight on it and landed flat on my fucking face. Every ounce of oxygen in my lungs was smashed out instantly but it regained itself quickly in order to fuel the rage of having to deal with this fucker for the next few weeks.

He claimed it was an exercise in spatial awareness, but we both know he just likes to show the fuck off whenever he’s around people that give him the admiration that he so eagerly requires. To top that all off, he went on to tell all my team mates about every embarrassing story he could think of from back in the times when he actually used to train me. Making sure not to leave out a detail when letting them all know that I slept with a beat up old basketball, that six year old me nicknamed bally, for a solid six months. I’d even bathed with the fucking thing.

Of course all the guys thought this was hilarious, falling immediately under the Jayce Thompson spell that I’ve seen him cast so many times before.

The irony of that story is that the reason I was so attached to that fucking ball was because it was the first one that he let me play with. He had a crap load of them growing up and he would never let me touch a single one, but one day after Mum had had a pretty severe panic attack, he wanted to distract me so he let me go out and play with one of his basketballs.

That thing became like a fucking treasure to me, something that I took so much pride in, realising that he actually loved me enough to let me work with it. He got a puncture in it a few months later and was going to throw the thing away, but I kidnapped it from the trash and patched it up with tape just to keep some air in it, then went on to sleep with it every night.

Now I don’t know why the fuck I bothered. None of that shit ever meant to him what it meant to me.

He doesn’t remember it the way it was, Jayce has always had a way of making himself the hero in all his stories. He’s very selective with the ones he shares with others also, I wonder what the guys would think of him if they realised the six inch scar that runs up the back of my scalp is from me getting hit by a car just trying to become good enough for him to notice again.

“Coach will lose his fucking head if you don't turn up at practise, you know what could happen on Friday, do you really want to risk losing out on the record because you and your bro refuse to see eye to eye?”

A giant smirk makes its way onto my face. Friday is not a maybe, it’s a fucking guarantee. Three baskets, three fucking baskets and I will officially overtake Jayce as the top scoring player in Westbrooke history.

For once in my fucking life he won’t be able to argue that I’m better than him at something. He’ll have to see me for what I am then.

“Fine, but I swear to fucking God if he says one more fucking thing about me as a kid I’m going to break his other fucking arm.”

Eli throws his hands up in surrender and nods, gently placing his fingers on my shoulder to reverse our trajectory from the oak trees back up towards the gym.

I never used to feel this way about Jayce, if I’m really honest with myself I’m not even sure when it began that I stopped seeing him as my saviour and started seeing him as my enemy. It’s that old cliche I guess; die as the hero or live long enough to become the villain.

He used to be everything to me, absolutely everything. No one on this planet was prouder than I was when I was walking at his side.

I remember running around his eighteenth birthday party like crazy person, introducing myself to everybody who would listen, telling them how I was Jayce’s little brother and watching their faces light up. I remember so clearly spotting Josh across the room and galloping up to him, watching him look back at me with a smile before ruffling my hair and pouring some coke into one of the red plastic caps so I could pretend I was drinking with everybody else. God, he was always fucking sweet.

In some ways it feels like somebody else’s life, this merry, joyful kid who was just so happy to see everybody else happy. Things all changed after then. I was too young for anybody to be truthful or honest with me but they didn't pay enough attention to realise I was already listening.

Lee lost her baby, their baby. It was like everybody’s world came crumbling down after that. There were a few instances before then; us finding out about May being our sister, coming home after Jayce’s party to find the whole house destroyed. I wasn’t even mad when I realised that in his anger fuelled rage he’d smashed up my favourite telescope, I just wanted to do whatever I could to stop him being so angry.

Then everybody found out about him and Lee. Then everybody was truly angry. Every year that passed only seemed to make it worse, the anger slipped into sadness and then finally to despair. It was like the universe of our family couldn’t function because two halves of a soul had been ripped apart.

Living in Jayce’s shadow was always cold but after he finally came back with Lee, happy, starting a family and moving over to the NBA, it became unbearable to live smothered in that much ice.

Sometimes I wish I’d never picked up that fucking basketball. Sometimes I wish that when he offered it to me for the first time I said no, turned around, walked back to my room and picked up my guitar or stared through my window at the stars instead.

Maybe I could have made a whole new world for myself, instead of fighting so hard to be recognised in a world that only sees him now.

It’s too late for all of that, this is what I’m good at, even if he won't see it.

Throwing the gym doors open as I walk through, most of the team are already in their kit and are trying to find room amongst the packed bleachers on which to sit. It was like this by the end of practise yesterday as well after news spread that Jayce Thompson was in the building.

Almost every hot blooded, straight woman in this school, and a few of the not so subtle guys, are filling every seat here just looking over at the bloke stood talking to Coach like he actually belongs here.

He catches my eye as I walk down the court, running his face down over my outfit and getting that look in his eye he always gets when he feels fucking superior to everybody else.

“Back when this was my team, the captain was always the first one ready and on the court.”

Eli grips my bicep as we approach him but his words just linger in the air like a bad fucking stench that you can’t get rid of. I don’t even pause as we get closer, instead letting my words trail behind me as I make sure to bump his shoulder on the way past.

“Well back when this was your team you were also letting the guys run dog shows on the unsuspecting girls here. A lot of shit has changed since then Jayce, guess some teams just have less cunts in them than others.”

I can practically hear him clenching his chiselled jaw as me as Eli throws me into the locker room. Worth it.

Luke is sitting in the far corner, holding back until he absolutely has to get on the court just like usual. He looks up from his phone as we approach but stops himself from talking immediately when he realises Eli is with me.

You’d think it was the two of them that have beef with the way that he always seems to clench up around me unless we are alone.

As I pull on my shorts, I quickly check my phone before throwing everything into my locker. There is a message from Mum asking me to tell Jayce something that I already plan to conveniently forget the moment I put my phone down, and a message from Josh just wishing me luck on my first bio project planning session this evening, and letting me know that he won’t be alone because him and Steve are having a bro’s night in instead.

Must be nice, having an older brother who actually wants to spend fucking time with you and supports you with everything you want to do.

Coach blows his whistle from the other side of the door before I get time to respond, so I just throw everything inside and Luke catches up with us as we make our way back onto the court.

“Twins are in the first row, they must have got here early. I’ll have to repay them for their loyalty when we do the project at their place tonight...” Eli winks as we all line up on the far side of the court. “...Really show them how good I am at biology, if you know what I mean.”

Luke tries to stifle his giggle while standing next to me. Please don’t encourage him Luke, he already thinks he’s hilarious.

“The blind, deaf and fucking dead know exactly what you mean Elijah. I have absolute faith in your abilities my man but I think even you’re setting your sights a bit far ahead of yourself if you think you can work your way into both those girls.”

Eli looks utterly offended, his back straightening and fists clenching as he glances over after the two girls in skirts short enough to show off every inch of their best assets.

“Challenge accepted.”

Did he seriously just Barney Stinson me?

Coach blows his whistle again and we all snap to attention.

“Right you horrible lot, we all know that Friday isn’t going to be a cakewalk. Laketown like to run rings around that court so we all need to make sure our stamina is top fucking notch.” I hear a sharp inhale of breath from a few of the girls on the bleachers that clearly have never been to practise before and are horrified at the way that Coach talks to us. There’s been a few parent complaints about his language but to be honest, I just think it’s fucking entertaining.

“So to test you all, I’ve brought in one of the drills we like to run in the pros.” Jayce cuts in, his abrasively loud voice bouncing off of every wall in the building. “It’s a death drop.”

There’s a universal groan from everyone else in the team but I kind of live for this shit. It’s basically just running the same circuit over and over again until your legs give out and you drop. I’ve never been fucking beaten, my stamina is unmatched.

Coach talks us through the circuit and it’s pretty standard stuff, except that they want us to finish every lap by attempting to smack the backboard of the raised hoop. I know that Jayce definitely came up with this one, any opportunity to show off his height, even if his arm is still braced up.

Jayce walks straight up to where we stand, shoving his way between me and Luke with a glare that tells me I really hit a fucking nerve with him earlier. There’s no way he’s running this until he drops, he just wants to give a demonstration - that is really just him showing off for the crowd, as per usual.

Coach calls his whistle and everybody stands to watch as Jayce begins the circuit; Jumping, running, dodging and capturing each and every obstacle along the length of the court until he finds himself at the edge and leaps into the air, hitting the backboard of the hoop with ease despite his injury with the opposite arm.

Another whistle blows and Jayce races back to Coach to check the stopwatch. Of course he wanted his fucking lap timed, even though the rest of us could be doing this for fucking hours. Dickhead.

Everybody sets themselves on the line, Jayce runs his eyes over the entire team with obvious glee at the prospect of watching us fail, just before Coach blows the whistle and we all take off.

There’s maybe two people on this team that can match me step for step on speed, Leanna and Jake keeping up nicely, but to my surprise Luke is with us at the front too.

I don’t look back to see if Coach is timing me too, the moment I approach the basket my hand hits the backboard just as easily as Jayce’s did despite our slight height difference, before I race back to the starting line.

“Again!” Coach screams the moment my toes hit the line and I begin all over again.

Jake falls slightly behind, and by the time I’ve got to round four it’s just me, Leanna and Luke that seem to be keeping up with each other.

“Again!”

Somewhere around the seventh circuit, I hear Eli’s back hit the floor and a string of cockney sounding rhyming slang leave his lips as the sweat drenches from his body directly onto the court.

Leanna almost stumbles over a cone, so I grab her arm before she can do herself any damage, allowing Luke to hit the backboard before me for the first time since we started this. He looks back just long enough to smile at me before racing over to the starting line. Okay you cocky little shit, I get it, you’re fit now.

“Again!” This time it’s not Coach’s voice but Jayce’s that echoes throughout the hall. The sweat running down my back is tickling every muscle, and I’m pretty sure my hair is glue to my forehead at this point, but like fuck am I giving up.

“Again!” My hand smacks the backboard and the skin on my palm is starting to itch with how much it fucking stings from hitting that solid surface again and again. The team trickles out, even Leanna throwing in the towel despite us both knowing she’s got at least another three rounds in her.

“Again!” The bile that coats Jayce’s voice as he screams at me is almost comical. It’s clear this whole thing was just a way for him to try and push me until I break, as if I’d ever give him the satisfaction. He’d never admit it, but it’s times like this that I can see my father rolling off him in waves.

“Again!” My hand hits the backboard but this time a sharp pain shoots down through my wrist from the awkward angle I managed to catch it. I hiss, wincing as I roll the muscle between my thumb and forefingers whilst running back to the starting line.

“Are you okay?” Luke pants as he follows next to me along the edge of the court. I nod at him but he seems unconvinced. “Want to bow out together?”

The offer is really fucking tempting, but I know Coach won’t let us keep this up for an entire practise this close to a game, and I’d rather he call it quits with me still on my feet than declare to my brother that I had to be the one to stop.

“I’m good, you?” Luke nods, although I can see his breathing is becoming deeper with each inhale that he attempts to take. The same Luke I knew six months ago would never have been able to keep up with me like this, it’s actually really fucking impressive how far he’s come and I’m kind of disappointed in myself as a captain that I didn’t see the progress he’d made before now.

Coach pulls his whistle to his mouth ready to call it quits for us, but as I smirk over at Jayce and he realises what’s about to happen, he just can’t help himself.

“Again!” Coach gives him a look but doesn't stop him, me and Luke taking back off through the circuit that has become embedded in my physical memory. Leaping through the final hoop, I stretch ready to smash the backboard but try to keep my hand bent away as I hit it.

The moment I do I know I’ve made a big fucking mistake. My arm bend way too far backwards until I hear an audible pop, my whole body crumbles to the floor and I land on my knees as the most horrific pain I felt since I was hit by that car shoots up through my shoulder and I sense my arm go limp at my side.

“Oh shit!” Luke’s voice gets drowned out by the ringing in my ears as I try to stop the tears stinging my eyes from escaping through the corners. Fuck this hurts. I feel someone drop to my side and attempt to study me but the moment they put their hands on my body it's like the pain is activated all over again.

Opening my eyes Luke recoils, clearly not sure what the fuck he's supposed to do right now until he is replaced entirely by Coach, who practically shoves him out of the way as he throws himself down next to me.

“Where?” I can’t even talk, attempting to point to my shoulder with my other hand but having to close my eyes again when the pain that was once just in my shoulder begins to shoot down my spine.

Coach tries to assess me but I just want to get away from where people can fucking see me right now.

“Ericsson! Help me get him to my office! Miller go get the nurse.”

Eli’s familiar arm loops its way around my waist, lifting my good arm over both his broad shoulders and pulling me back to my feet. There are people trying to talk to me but I can’t make any of them out, all their voices just become a blur of noise as I attempt to walk with Eli towards the locker room.

“Milo. Why didn’t you just fucking stop?!” Jayce’s voice pierces its way through the static but I don’t even glance in his direction.

Trust Jayce fucking Thompson to somehow make this my fault as well...

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