Page 38 of One More Time

“All broody but heart eyes only for your boy. It’s cute.”

“Cal, give me the phone.” He looked at me, not a shred of guilt on his face. Though I hoped my anger was written all over mine.

“Ty don’t be mad…”

“Cal, give me the phone.” I bit my words through clenched teeth, blood pulsing in my ears

“Fine, I was just giving you the little push you needed. You won’t talk to me about him I thought you would with your family.”

“That was for me to decide, Callum.” I snatched my phone, not even caring about the hurt that crossed his eyes.

“Tyler!” Mum gasped.

“What, Mum?”

I turned the phone back to me, not bothering to hide my anger.

Her face fell and she started to speak as my brother stepped into view. I shook my head, hoping I could stop her before it was too late but it was in vain. “Tyler, Cal’s right—you can talk to me. I thought after our last conversation you’d know that I love you regardless of if you’re gay or not.”

I watched Jamie’s face contort. “You’re gay?”

Before I could respond, he rounded the couch to get closer to the phone. “How long have you known? Were you ever going to tell me? Or was that something else you were going to protect me from?”

“I- I didn’t want you to feel like you lost a role model in me.”

“You thought I would care? You think that I would look at you less because you fuck men? Is that how little you think of me?”

“Jamie, it’s not like that.” That temper of his flared. His jaw twitched, his eyes blazed.

“Yeah, right. You know what, Tyler? I didn’t just lose Dad the day he died. I lost you. You stopped being you. You stopped being my best friend. Now you keep secrets and talk down to me like I’m a kid. I might be younger than you but you aren’t the only one who had to grow up the day he died.”

My chest ached, desperate for the air that caught in my throat. I watched my brother storm out, the echo of the front door slamming ringing in my ears.

Mum tried to break the tension. “Tyler—”

“Forget it, Mum. Just… forget it.” I ended the call and threw the phone across the couch. The lack of a satisfying crash only made my blood boil more.

I saw Cal approaching from the corner of my eye.

“Don’t, don’t come near me, mate. When will you ever learn to keep your fucking mouth shut?”

“I thought they knew—”

“You know what they say about assuming.”

I got up and stormed to my room, changing back into my gym gear and stuffing my feet into my sneakers. I headed for the door. “Where are you going? Didn’t you just finish training, shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

“With the way you’re going, that’ll be sooner than you think.” Cal snapped back. In return, I slammed the door in his face.

I barely slept. Despite being exhausted from way too much exercise, my mind just wouldn’t relent. I’d tried calling Jamie—more than once. I just needed to know that we were okay. His words played over in my mind like a hit of crystal, keeping me wired as they seeped into every corner of my mind. I was one step away from bailing on the game and flying home.

As if the universe knew, my phone lit up with Mum’s name. I contemplated ignoring her call—even though it wasn’t entirely her fault. I wasn’t even mad at Cal anymore. It was my secret that caused Jamie to be upset

“Hey, Ma,” I sighed.

“Have you heard from your brother? He hasn’t come home.” The panicked tone in her voice had me bolting out of bed.

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