The Bravest Thing by Laura Lascarso

Author:Laura Lascarso [Lascarso, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63533-636-8
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2017-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

Berlin

BASKETBALL IS a shit show, with everyone out of sorts and missing baskets after Trent and Hiro’s fight. The guys on our football team keep glancing between Trent and me, trying to figure out whose side to take. Trent won’t even look at me. I might get my ass kicked before the day is over. I don’t care about my team’s loyalty as much as I care about protecting Hiro. If I hadn’t been there, Trent would have destroyed him.

I try texting Hiro during lunch but get no response. Out in the parking lot, I see his bike is gone, which means he must have left school. I know Trent will be all over me about interfering in the locker room, so I eat my lunch on the tailgate of my truck, hoping to see Hiro pull in at some point. No such luck.

Practice that afternoon sucks. Trent doesn’t say two words to me, but I can feel his rage simmering just beneath the surface. It messes up his game too. Coach calls us off the field midway through and demands an explanation. Neither of us says a word, so he makes us run laps for the rest of practice. Trent stays just ahead of me on the track, which is fine by me. He was such an asshole. There’s nothing gay about that video. Trent was just picking a fight.

I text Hiro again that night but get nothing. I think about driving over to his house, but I don’t want to cause a problem with his parents. It seems I’ve done enough damage already.

I hope it will blow over, but both Trent and Hiro ignore me for the rest of the week. My texts and calls to Hiro go unanswered. He also doesn’t show up to Team Sports, though I see him elsewhere during the day. He must be skipping third period to avoid Trent.

Or maybe it’s me he doesn’t want to see.

On Thursday I can’t handle the silent treatment anymore. I drive over to his house after practice and knock on the door. Mrs. H. opens it and glances behind her at the stairs. Hiro must have given her instructions, but she seems torn.

“Please, Mrs. Hayashi, I just want to talk to Hiro for a few minutes.”

“Hiroku,” she calls from the door, then goes to the base of the stairs and calls again.

“Come in,” she says and points to the living room, then heads upstairs. A few minutes later she returns.

“He’ll be down,” she says with a smile and offers me tea.

“No, thank you, ma’am.” I stare at the stairs until, finally, Hiro slouches down. His face is expressionless, but I know he’s still pissed at me. How much? If there’s any way to make it up to him, I want to try.

“Come on,” he says glumly and leads me out to his backyard. He sits on the back steps, and I stand on the ground in front of him so I can see his face. Apologizing seems like a good place to start.

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