The Endgame by Riley Hart

Author:Riley Hart [Hart, Riley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riley Hart
Published: 2021-04-19T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

Anson

Late December

“Motherfucker!” My thumb pressed the buttons on my video game controller over and over.

Elias had parked his chair next to where I was sitting on the couch. He’d come over to hang out for a while, since the playoffs would be starting soon, and he knew I needed some downtime.

“I got this, bro. You’re so fucking mine,” Elias said, and he was right, of course, the dick. He beat me, and I tried not to pout. I hated to lose, even if it was just a stupid video game.

“Aw, is my big brother mad? Someone is a sore loser.”

“I let you win,” I teased. “That’s what being a big brother is about.”

My statement was enough to make Elias laugh out loud. “You have always been the world’s best big brother, but you have never let me win anything in my life. You respect me too much, and you also hate losing too much. You have to be good and perfect at everything. That’s a lot of fucking pressure, man.”

Something about what he’d just said made my breathing pick up. “What do you mean?”

Elias frowned. “You.” He shrugged. “You’re just you. Come on, Ans. You know how you are. You’ve always needed to be the best. You were always the guy who had to do everything the right way. When your buddies got into trouble, you never did. You’ve always thought you had to be perfect, like you’re…I don’t know, trying to make up for something or like it’s the only way you feel worthy. It’s a thing. It’s always been a thing. You don’t know this about yourself?”

No, no I didn’t. My gaze darted away.

“Holy shit, you don’t.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” But the truth was, now that he’d said it, I knew he was right. His words made so many things fit into place. “I went out with you once when I wasn’t supposed to, and look what happened.”

My brother’s eyes went cold in a way that made ice spread through me. He’d never looked at me that way. “Fuck you, Anson. Don’t do that shit. You don’t get to blame yourself for my accident. Not only was it not your fault, but if you blame yourself, you’re basically saying there’s something wrong with the way I am, and there’s not. I’m exactly the way I’m supposed to be, and it won’t ever hold me back from getting exactly what I want out of life.”

Guilt flooded me. “I didn’t mean…” But it didn’t matter what I meant; what mattered was what I’d said or thought. I relaxed against the back of the couch and rubbed a hand over my face. “There’s no one in this world I respect more than you, and if what I said was demeaning in any way, I’m sorry. You’re right. There’s nothing wrong with you, and I know there’s nothing in this world you can’t do.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I know who you are. You say there’s no one you respect more than me, and I feel the same way about you.

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