Uppercut (A James Maslow FanFic)

Chapter 30

“Really?” I questioned as James sat watching intensely. “Of the thousands of channels we have…”

“I haven’t boxed in weeks,” James replied, never taking his eyes off the screen. “I don’t remember the last time that I was injured badly enough to keep me out of the gym for this long.”

I didn’t think that I remembered a time either. His ribs had really given him a lot of trouble since he hurt them. I guess it was just a slow healing process.

We sat in silence for a while, the sound of the TV and Devon’s occasional cough filling the room. Every so often, I noticed that one of James’s muscles would twitch. I could only imagine that he was picturing himself fighting in the match, thinking about which attacks he would use during every scenario in the fight. He seemed to get lost in it as he sat as close to the edge of his seat as his ribs would allow. I didn’t doubt that James would’ve sat completely forward with his elbows on his knees if he could.

“…I think you’re going through withdrawal. You know, they might have a support group for that,” I fought to keep the smile I felt from spreading across my lips.

When James responded, I couldn’t tell if he was talking to me or himself. “I can’t even jump right back into it once I’m fully healed,” He spoke softly. His eyes were still glued to the screen. “I’ll have to get back into shape and start training again before then…”

I was quiet for a second, thinking, before I spoke. “Well… If you wanted to get a head start, I think Drew still had his Wii lying around somewhere. I’m pretty sure there’s boxing on the Wii Sports game.”

James turned towards me, looking amused at what I had just suggested. “Really? That’s the best you got?” He laughed.

“I wonder who would be better at that…” I teased him, assuming that James hadn’t seen a Wii in a while, let alone played one. “I think we should have a family tournament to find out.” I bit my lip in an attempt to prevent myself from laughing. Because James had decided to become a boxer, and he did so regularly, he had become very competitive over the years. To me, it would be beyond hysterical if one of us was better at boxing on the Wii than James was. We’d never let him live it down.

Then Devon started squirming. He climbed off of me and plopped himself down on the couch between me and my brother. He sat there looking grumpy as he rubbed his face.

“What’s up, Buddy?” I asked him, feeling awful again that he was sick. “Are you tired? Want a nap?”

“No…” he responded, dropping his hands from his face. James reached over and briefly tickled his leg, trying to put him in a better mood. Devon showed no response to it.

“Why do we get you something to eat then? I think there’s Cheerios in the kitchen,” I said excitedly, hoping that the sound of his favorite snack would get his attention.

Devon just shook his head as his little hands grabbed at the couch cushion. He must’ve been feeling worse than I thought if he wasn’t even up for some Cheerios.

I sighed, sitting up to look at him. “I could go get you some juice? How do you feel about that, Dev?”

He continued grabbing at the cushions for a bit. Eventually he nodded.

“Yeah? Okay, I’ll be right back,” I pushed myself up off the couch. From the corner of my eye I saw James grab Devon and move him closer to himself. I couldn’t help but smile at the action as I began my journey to the kitchen.

I returned a minute later, carrying a green sippy cup filled with apple juice. I handed it to James before I took my spot on the couch. He took it willingly and sat Devon on his leg before giving it to him. Devon sat quietly holding the cup. Occasionally he would take a sip from it.