My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 129

Coach has always been pretty decent at getting us out of school when we can't fucking cope with it anymore. I was going to head over to his office at lunch anyway but they called for me to go and meet him just as I made it back to history.

Checking my phone on the way, I see another message from May saying that she's fine and that she'll be having lunch down at Hope’s school with her.

We had a pretty decent chat last night about everything with Diego, I told her that I really think we need to tell Brie or something about what’s going on but she seemed pretty convinced that he was just full of shit and trying to get a reaction out of her.

I’ve never doubted May, we have always had the agreement to not lie to each other but when it comes to this guy there’s just something seriously off about the way she's behaving. She told me that I’m just being a weird over protective brother again and I need to fuck off but she was dating a guy who owns a fucking gun so sorry if I don’t completely trust her instincts around him.

The guy is away at camp for the next week anyway so at least I know he won’t be a fucking problem for a while. Although I hope the players from the other fucking teams there make it back without any fucking bullet holes in them.

What kind of gang banger still cares about basketball camp? There’s something not right there...

“Come in!” Coach yells from the other side of his office door before I even get the chance to knock properly. I swear to God that guy can see through fucking walls.

Coach sits behind his desk, throwing a small ball in the air and catching it the way he always does when he’s thinking. He stops when he realises it’s me and not one of the band kids complaining about him taking over the hall again.

“Hey Coach, you wanted to see me?” He gestures for me to take a seat and I try my best not to think too much about what was happening the last time I was in a room with one of his desks as I sit down.

That was... I really need to have Josh at all my matches, there’s not really another warm up that compares to that one...

“How's your shoulder feeling?” He’s agitated, he’s been like this every time we talk about my injury. The coach from the other team who had me injured on purpose was suspended but I think Coach would’ve been happier if he could’ve just ran him down in his truck.

“Fine, I’d play right now if they'd clear me. Physio said they want another few weeks of rest on it but if you need me then I’m good to go.” Coach shakes his head, pulling out some papers from his seriously messy desk and laying them down in front of him.

“Listen to the professionals boy, if you’re good before Christmas then I’ll put you in on the last match as a warm up.” Don’t say warm up. “You don’t need to rush these things, and it’s against Glenmont so let’s face it, it will hardly be considered an actual fucking match with how pitiful their defence is.”

We both snort at the same time, Coach and the coach from over there have some serious history behind them, something about Chad and that guy’s daughter back in the day getting busy on the bonnet of the guy's car but I try not to think about it too much. Although it is funny when we crush them every fucking game.

It was less impressive when we were docked ten points for Coach implying that we ‘nailed them’ in the finals like his son nailed that dude’s daughter. It was in the heat of an argument between the pair on the side-lines but still, hilarious.

“Anyway, that’s not why I called you here, this is.” Coach slides the papers across to me and I see it’s an article from the LSU newspaper for tomorrow, showing that their star shooter has fucked his leg and is out indefinitely.

“Holy shit, who are they replacing him with?” Coach starts throwing his little ball again, launching it higher and higher but never missing it as it comes back down straight into his palm.

“They've been loaned a temporary replacement from one of the teams nearby to finish out this season but no one on the subs bench is going to see that team through to the championships... They want you.”

They want...

Coach goes into his desk after an extended period of silence and pulls out a long ruler, reaching across and slipping it under my chin to push my mouth closed as I just continue to stare at him.

“What do you mean they want me?” I finally manage to speak again, but I still don’t quite believe it.

“Exactly what I said,” he begins, lowering the ball to the desk and leaning forward on his elbows so I don’t miss a word. “They want you. You already have more than enough credits to graduate when you take into account everything you did last year, we both know you’re only here because your mum wanted to keep an eye on you after everything that happened with Eli anyway. The guy they’ve got now can only go until new year’s day so they’re going to need you for then to start training before the next season starts. They’re offering you a full scholarship Milo, the guy said he wants an answer by Christmas but I told him that you might need a bit more time than that.”

Scholarship... LSU... How many fucking freshmen get offered this kind of opportunity on a team that big?

“New years... but I’ve got Brie’s –”

“Wedding, I know, Liz hasn’t shut up about the fucking thing. They’re getting married on New Year’s Eve but you wouldn’t need to leave until after it was over anyway. I will drive you there through the night myself if that’s what you need. They’re desperate for you, but I don’t want you to feel that you have to go for this. I told the coach there that this is your decision and I’m not going to let anyone pressure you into something you’re not ready for... Although Milo, I know that you are ready for this... I just don’t know if you’d want to leave Westbrooke anymore with everything you have going on...”

Of course he fucking knows, I’m sure that me and Josh were the highlight of conversation in the fucking teachers lounge this morning.

“Coach, it’s not just that; I’d be starting the semester like four months late. That would be a fuck load to catch up on when I’m joining a new team as well.” This is so much sooner than I thought I’d need to be making these kinds of decisions...

Coach nods his head, reaching down into his bottom drawer and pulling out a folder filled with packed pages.

“They've already thought about that, they have tutors lined up for you in almost every course I could think of that you might want to take, and they would take your matches into account when it came to extra credit. What you really need to decide is if you want to be there right now? I know I can get your mum on board, or at least I know that Liz can, so I don’t want you to worry about anything else. What they’re offering is in here, just take it home and think about it. They don’t need an answer right away, you’ve got time.”

He gently slides the folder across the desk and I’m surprised at the weight of the thing as I lift it and drop it into my bag. That’s a lot to think about...

Six months ago I would have been tearing his arm off just to use his fucking blood to sign these contracts, but right now my body just wants to reject it on instinct.

“I’ll think about it.” Now I definitely need to get out of here, my headache is quickly returning and I’m pretty sure the only cure for it is Josh’s lips. “Coach, can you get me out for the rest of the day? I need some time to think this over properly.”

“What lessons you got?” He asks, his finger already floating over the magic phone that always seems to get us free from where we don't want to be.

“Biology and algebra I think.” His face spreads out in a predator style smirk at the mention of biology. He seems to take great pleasure in reminding the head of the department that he can’t shoot for shit and that nobody gives a fuck about which part of a plant absorbs the fucking sunlight.

“Fuck off then, you don't need to learn that shit anyway.” Coach picks up the phone as I get ready to leave but lowers it again the moment I get to my feet. “I just... I’m... I’m not good with these kinds of conversations so I’ll just say my piece and we can forget about it... I heard about you and Josh, if you get any shit you know where I am. I’ve always liked that kid and he'll be good for you. Keep you in check.”

Funny, I was pretty sure Coach never really liked any of us.

“Thanks, I didn’t realise you were such a softy.” He gives me one of his ‘I’m going to make you run fifty laps then lick the balls clean’ looks before checking that the hallway behind me is clear, even though the door is fucking shut.

“If you ever tell any of the other boys I said this I will beat you within an inch of your life... I'm really proud of him, people think I'm only proud of the ones that go on to play in college or in the pros, but that's not true. I'm proud of the ones that make something of themselves, the ones that live their dreams no matter what they are. I'm proud of Josh more than most, he went to hell and back but he's still a good person that would do anything for anyone. I can see what a wonderful young man he is, that you both are in fact, I know it wasn't always easy for him but look how far he's come in spite of that... Now fuck off, I've got first time dodgeballers today and you know how much I like it when they cry.”

There’s definitely a lot I will miss about Westbrooke if I decide to leave, and that mental fucking man being my coach...

...That’s definitely one of them.