His Soccer Girl

Time To Let Go

Bryce POV

I sat in the dining room waiting for my mom to get home. Dylan was sprawled out on the couch, watching Face Off reruns.

"I never understood how some people could screw up a makeup job or a sculpting job so badly! It's like they forgot the basics of sculpting and painting." He says.

I hear him, but I don't really respond. I'm anxious to finally get some of my questions answered, so anxious that I could bring myself to focus even the slightest bit on what he was really saying. I've crinkled this poor napkin so much that it's almost unrecognizable as a napkin.

"I forgot to ask you how she's doing." Dylan said.

That brought my focus forward. When I glanced in the direction of my brother I noticed that he had paused the episode and was staring at me from over the edge of the couch.

I ran my hand through my hair, which seems to have become my nervous tick recently. "I don't know. The doctors say that she can wake up any day now, but they've been saying that since she got there."

"She'll wake up eventually, but I suggest before she does you should shave your face." He said unpausing his show and leaning back down on the couch. My hand instantly went up and rubbed the stubble on my chin. I've barely left her side while she's been in the hospital and I know I have a serious five o'clock shadow going on, that was filling in more and more each day I didn't shave. Pretty soon I'll start to look like Tom Hanks from Cast Away. Wait, no, she'll wake up before then. She has to.

I was about to say some smart ass remark when I heard the front door open and shut. "Bryce, honey, are you home?" I heard my mother yell.

"In here mom!" I yelled back. I could hear, or really I couldn't hear the TV anymore. When I looked over I noticed Dylan had turned off the TV and was now leaning against the back of the couch, waiting for our mother to come.

"I was so surprised to see your truck out front. How's Summer doing?" She was asked as she walked into the dining room. When she saw both Dylan and I, she stopped in her tracks and looked back and forth between the two of us, as is she was wondering if we knew the other was there, and if we did, then why weren't we at each other's throats.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Mom, I'm not going to shuffle around the question, did you gamble my college money away, and let Dylan take the fall for it?" I asked, leaning forward.

Her hand went to her mouth as she gasped. She looked at Dylan before looking back at me. "Yes."

When those words left her mouth, I felt like everything was a lie. I know it was just this one thing, but this one thing had affected our family for so long, that to hear that the foundation of this hatred and inner family turmoil was all a lie that my mother LET my brother tell. She didn't try to take credibility for her actions all these years, no, instead she let me hate my brother and my father be disappointed in his eldest son.

When she saw the look on my face she fell to her knees and put her hands together. "You both have to understand! I was desperate! If your father would have found out, he would have left me! He was so frustrated with my gambling addiction, and this would have been the straw that broke the camel's back! Please! Please don't hate me! I can't have my only sons hate me!" She cried.

I didn't say anything. I got up from my chair and walked over to my brother, the only sibling I'll ever have, and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry. Caitlyn was a bitch, I get that, and I forgive you. But I let everything, especially this lie draw a wedge in between us. In all honesty, I've missed having my older brother in my life." I felt my voice crack at the end, as years of emotions all came crashing down on me. But I wouldn't cry. I was happy to have my brother back. He hugged me back as he absorbed my apology and my forgiveness.