Page 22 of The Two Halves of My Heart

Chapter 7

Grace Thirteen Years Old

There were times when the world faded away to nothing more than Oliver and Maddison. I didn’t need anything or anyone else when I had both of them at my side.

But those times became scarce, and the joy we all felt became overshadowed by school, friends, and feelings. As we grew older, my emotions became tougher to ignore and interrupted our normal. Being together became harder and harder. And for the first time since I met them, I began to wonder if what I felt for both brothers was normal. I’d never had close friends, so my sphere of reference was out. And so, I did what any other thirteen-year-old girl would do—I buried it, ignoring it as best I could.

“Are you coming to watch Mads?” I asked Oliver as I peered into his room. He was sitting at his desk in the gloom, a desk lamp the only source of light.

“No, I’ve got to study.” His attention was pulled back to the books in front of him.

“Okay. Want me to come by after?”

“Sure. I should have finished by then.”

“What are you working on?”

“Biology revision.”

I nodded and felt awkward for a moment as if I were intruding.

Oliver studied a lot. But he also got good grades. He’d always been smart, and I often asked him to help me when something in school didn’t make sense. I left him to it and waited in the kitchen while Vivien rushed about getting washing from the dryer and calling to Maddison.

“Be ready in just a minute. Or Maddison will be late.” She shouted the last part towards the stairs.

“Give it a rest. I’m here,” Maddison replied as he trudged in carrying a sports bag. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

“All right.” She looked at me and raised her eyes. “Grab some breakfast at least.”

He picked a slice of toast from the table and shoved it in his mouth. “Come on then,” he mumbled.

The whole journey, Mads bounced his leg or his foot in the backseat. A sure sign he was nervous about the cup game he was facing.

“Hey, you’ll be great.” I put my hand on his thigh to stop him fidgeting. For a moment, our gaze locked, and he gave me a tight smile. I could see in his eyes how nervous he was, and I smiled back, trying to provide him with some sense of confidence. As the captain, a lot of pressure was on him to lead the team to victory, even at our age.

As soon as we pulled up to the rugby grounds, Mads was out of the car and rushing off without a backward glance to where his teammates had gathered. It was always the same. He’d developed this front, like a mask, when he was at school or around his mates. It had grown over the last year, and I often wondered if he’d be brave enough to hold my hand and walk into the gates of school now.

Maddison always wanted me to watch him play, and I’d always loved to support him. But today, there was a gaggle of other girls from our year, all lined up next to the pitch ready to cheer. They’d never been to a match before. Perhaps they were here to support one of the other teams’ players? A loud call to Maddison interrupted my internal question all too soon, which told me just who the girls were here to see, and to my frustration, he happily trotted over to them.

An unwelcome tightening in my stomach made me turn away, and I went to stand on the other side of Vivien.

“You okay, love?”

“Sure. Just hope they win.”

“I know. I’m sure they’ll be just fine. I know Maddison appreciates you coming to watch.” She leaned a little closer to me. “Even if he doesn’t tell you.” She squeezed my shoulder, and a part of me wanted to hug her in return.

We wandered up the side of the pitch and picked our spot to cheer.

“It’s a shame that Oliver couldn’t make it.”

“He’s got to study,” I defended.

“Life isn’t all about study, sweetheart.”

We both stood and watched the team warm up, throwing the ball around in a circle back and forth. I’d gotten used to the drill, as I was a regular at these games. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick message to Oliver.

Game’s starting.

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