Page 13 of Hits Different

Underneath there’s a link to an opinion piece, ‘Hero to zero for Senator’s son as he wins the game with questionable tactics, immediately pays the price’.My mouth runs dry as I recognise the journalist’s name. Richard Crawley.

Crawley’s been obsessed with my family for years. He wrote the book on us, literally. An actual book. Not to mention hundreds of BS articles. He’s always popping up as a talking head to slam my dad on the morning news, but he leaves me out of it. Mostly.

I scan the article ‘latest hurdle to engulf the Carter family… revelations from former ex-lovers… scandal hit following allegations of…son Brandon’s hit in popularity’…

I stop reading after that.

“Nine it is. It’ll pass. This shit always does”. I suppress the irrational wave of annoyance at Freddie’s concerned expression. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Is there more Jell-O?” I twist round in my bed, getting caught up in the drip.

“That’s your IV, not a vending machine”.

The doctors kept me overnight as a precaution. My phone is plugged in on my bedstand, where a half-drafted text to my dad blinks back at me.

Sorry if I worried you or Mom. I’m totally good. Let me know if you’re free for a chat soon :) P.S. We won! Love, Brandon.

My finger grazes the ‘send’ button.

“We should be out of here soon”, Freddie continues. “Straight back to Prism. Or as we’re calling it, the Hotel of Champions”. He starts flicking through channels on the TV, stopping at movies. He scrolls through different options, when suddenly one jumps out at me.

“Wait”, I say, “Hold it there”.

“See You At The Altar?” Freddie’s eyes pop out of his head. “You can’t be serious”.

“Because it’s the most expensive flop in modern cinematic history, or because it completely derailed my mom’s movie career?”

“Both”, Freddie says flatly. “Plus it’s a romantic comedy. Not your usual genre”.

“I’m in the mood for a happy ending”.

“Would you like to be alone?” Freddie grins. He nods towards the screen. “This is the one where your mom is torn between two guys right?”Art imitating life. She’d had a very public affair with her co-star whilst married to my dad.“Which one does she end up with?”

“Neither”, I turn down the volume. “That’s the point”.

“I’m not sure you’ve grasped the concept of how happy endings work”.

“She ends up dancing in some shitty downtown club with her best friend. Even though she ends up single. She’s still okay. She has her best friend”. I dismiss Parker’s face from my mind. “To me, that’s pretty cool”.And about as much as I’ll ever get.

“Have you heard from Parker since yesterday?”

Just his name sends a thrill through my whole body. “Nope”, I keep my eyes fixed on the screen. “Why would I?”

“He came to see us play for a reason”. Freddie hovers on the edge of my bed. “Whatever falling out you two had—don’t look at me like that, I know something happened—it might help you talk to him. Get some closure”.

“I don’t need closure”. I manage to inflect every single word.

“No?” Freddie raises an eyebrow, “Because there’s a pattern, Brandon, of you doing damage to yourself whenever he’s in your vicinity. And it’s not good for you”.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about”.

“I know that the two of you used to be inseparable. I know you change the subject if his name is ever mentioned. I know that your sudden inability to see a massive goalpost and two opposing players coincided with him being in the crowd yesterday”.

My smile freezes on my face. Freddie knows me well, but not well enough for me to tell him about Parker. I’ve never told anyone what really happened between us. “And I remember the state you were in when you arrived at college”.

“You think I pulverised myself to get Parker’s attention?”

“I think you’re careless with yourself when he’s around”.

There’s a sudden buzzing in the back of my head that has nothing to do with my minor concussion. There are a hundred things I could say to neutralise this, but my body is so tense I’m scared it’ll crack in two if I try to explain.

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