Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 73

Lia

The next morning Michael knocked on my door. He was walking back and forth, looking like he had something to say. But wasn’t sure what or how to say it.

I’ve been there and done that.

“Michael?”

“Hey, can we talk?”

“I think you’ve already decided you want to talk. It’s more what do you want to talk about?”

He grinned, scratching the back of his head nervously. The action reminded me of rain. I forgot that the five of them had spent almost their whole lives together. It was likely that they were going to rub off on one another at some point.

Hell, I think the guys were starting to rub off on me to be honest. Sometimes I would stop and find myself doing small little actions that weren’t my usual go to type of action. They were rubbing off on me. But I liked to think I was rubbing off on them too.

The only thing I hadn’t managed to do was teach Rain how to properly cook but that was never going to happen.

“I’m going to leave the rugby team,” he said, plopping himself down next to me on the bed. “And yeah I know it’s surprising but with Gabi being gone I just can’t concentrate. Plus with the pup, I don’t think my heart is in it anymore. I want to go for a teaching position anyway. It’ll be a better way for me to give back.

“Michael, are you sure?”

He nodded, guilt flashing across his face. “I’ve never been more sure to be honest.”

That was all I needed ot hear. My brother had made a decision and while it might not be the decision his friends were going to like or agree with, I knew it was the right one for him. He was doing what he had to do for his mental health as well as Gabi.

I glanced at Michael, watching the way his fingers tapped restlessly against his knee. “Hey, have you told the guys yet?”

He let out a slow breath, shaking his head. “No, not yet. I wanted to talk to you first. I don’t know how they’ll take it. They’ve been my team for so long-it’s going to feel weird telling them I’m done.”

I nodded, understanding the weight of his words. “Yeah, I get that. They’re like family. But they’ll understand, Michael. They care about you.”

“I hope so.” His voice was quiet, almost uncertain. He ran a hand through his hair, staring at the floor. “I just don’t want them to think I’m abandoning them.”

I reached out, squeezing his hand. “You’re not abandoning anyone. You’re making the best choice for yourself, and real friends will support that.”

He didn’t answer right away, but after a moment, he squeezed my hand back. I hoped he believed me.

“Thanks for the talk, Lia. I really appreciate you talking with me.”

I smiled. “Your my brother, Michael. Yes, you may be the big brother but I can still offerly wise sisterly advice.”

“Hey if you keep this up I’ll be out of a job,” he joked.

He stood up, reaching over to hug me tightly. I melted into the embrace, glad I could offer my brother some comfort. The guy was truly going through it now. It broke my heart to know he was just doing all he could to keep it together.

But to think he told me this first before telling the guys was insane. They were his best friends and teammates! I hope they wouldn’t be too angry that he talked to me first rather than talking ot them.

What he needed was practical advice from someone who wasn’t going to have a straight up emotional reaction.

However, now that he was gone I let my emotions get the best of me. I was shocked that he hadn’t told the guys yet. But Michael probably felt like he couldn’t tell them when they had been on the same rugby team since middle school.

To think Michael was going to give up his rugby dreams was something I couldn’t even imagine. He had been into Rugby for years. It was his chosen career and all Michael ever talked about was going pro.

But then he got injured by the coven and Gabi was kidnapped. I suppose when things like this happen, it makes it difficult for someone to continue to work towards the goal they imagined for themselves.

I knew he would be a good coach, but how were the guys going to take this information? Rain would cry, Jesse would accept it in his quiet way, and Colby would be hurt but accept it was how it was going to be.

Then there was Matt who was prone to having a short temper. He would find it difficult to deal with this news, but after some huffing and puffing, he would accept it without trouble.

I knew they would come around as they always did because when it came down to it, the guys were not only friends now but pack mates.

He sighed with relief, leading me outside so the others couldn’t hear our conversation. I stood, arms crossed over my chest and eyes narrowed into angry slits.

Let Colby have what he had to say and then I was going to get back to my conversation with Michael. He had to listen to reason, no matter what I had to do to get him to see it.

“Jesse, what the hell is with you?” Colby muttered eyebrows furrowed together with… concern?

Why was he concerned? I was fine. If anything he should be angry at me for how I was lashing out at him.

“I’m fine,” I stated flatly. “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about this right now. What we should be doing is talking to Michael to try to talk some sense into him. Do you realize the kind of bullshit he is saying right now?”

Colby pinched the bridge of his nose. “I realize that, but Jesse there is something more going on. This isn’t like you to lose your cool. If anyone was going to react to this I would’ve expected it was going to be Matt. He’s the one who has a temper.”

“It’s the fact that he is choosing to give up on the dream he dedicated himself to,” I said flatly, trying to keep the emotion from creeping into my voice. “We all know he’s going through something none of us could ever understand, but it doesn’t mean he needs to give up on rugby.”

Rugby was the one thing that kept us together for so long. How could he let go of it so easily?

Fuck.

That’s what this was about and I felt like a fool for taking this long to realize it.

“By him letting go of rugby my mind took it as him giving up on our friendship.”

Colby patted my shoulder. “See it just took you a little bit of talking through this fight to see what was going on.”

“Yeah, well it was interesting to see you brave your fear of me and call me out,” I said, smirking at him.

“I’m the pack leader,” Colby said, shrugging. “I couldn’t very well let you sit there and make an ass of yourself.” I decided to let that one go. For now, Colby was safe from my rage.