Heart and Soul [bxb]

Chapter Ten

Coach had damn near killed them with grueling practices all throughout the week. The day before homecoming game, however, he let them off with a lighter training session that ended with a short talk about the importance of a good night's sleep and good nutrition.

The house was quiet as Carter closed the front door behind him. Red flag number one.

There was a huddle of school bags on the living room floor. Red flag number two.

A single small black suitcase stood by the couch. Red flag number three.

Carter heard hooting and cheering from the back yard and followed the noise, dropping his bags by the jumble in the living room.

Mike, Luca, Frankie and Bella were outside by the basketball hoop. Bella's friends, Roy and Lauren, were sprawled by the swing, his head on her lap. A tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired guy stood with his arm around Bella's shoulders. They all turned to look at Carter and he smiled tentatively.

At first impression, the supposed stranger looked like a scarily accurate younger version of Tony Santoro.

"'Sup, C-dog," Frankie called, bouncing the basketball from hand to hand. "Wanna join in? We're playing on uneven numbers here."

"And, still, Bella and Jack are kicking your butts," Lauren chimed in.

A little bell finally rang inside Carter's head. Jack Santoro. The second brother. Carter had seen him at the wedding and a couple more times over the summer. Like his older brother, Jack had Bella and Frankie's dark hair and Tony's bulky physique. For that reason, paired with the fact that Carter barely saw any of the two oldest Santoros, it was hard for him to tell them apart in his head. Carter knew one of them was a college sophomore in Florida, while the other was a senior in the west coast. He also knew Richie had played football in his day, while Jack had been in the basketball varsity. But that was it.

"It's not really fair," Luca whined. "Mike couldn't score if his life depended on it."

"Oh—Guess it's not so fun when you're on his team, is it?" Frankie jabbed.

Mike sighed, stretching to his full height and rolling string shoulders. It was still appalling to Carter how a guy with his physique could be so averse to sports. He knew Mike ran regularly and worked-out in his room, but he always seemed to be suspiciously bad every time a ball was concerned. Carter had wondered, once or twice, if it was possible Mike just pretended he couldn't play around his siblings. It would make sense. The Santoros were obsessively competitive within their family ties and Carter knew for a fact Mike's perfect GPA extended to his PE class.

"I would be offended," Mike said, picking up a small towel from the pile by the swing, "but I have homework to get to anyway, so you'll have to continue without me."

"Jack just got home, dude," Luca blurted. "How can you worry about homework, when you could be spending time with your brother?"

"I shared a room with him for many years. My Jack quota is fuller than yours," Mike said.

"And your brother will be here the whole weekend," Roy spoke up, eyes on the book he held open above his face. "Meanwhile, homework doesn't stop piling up. Always being on top of your work load is the best way to avoid last-minute stress."

Without stopping running her fingers through his head, Lauren rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. Almost instantly, the basketball came flying off Frankie's hands, landing right on Roy's face. He yelped, dropping his book, and there was a general burst of laughter.

"And that's how you deal with any type of stress," Frankie declared proudly, when Roy sat up to shoot him an incredulous look.

Mike walked to the door, where Carter was still standing. "Try not to kill each other until dad gets here," he said.