A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city; and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. -Bible
With an almost effortless toss, I make yet another basket. It's crazy. After years of horrible hand-eye coordination, I don't think I'll ever be completely used to the motor skills that come with being a werewolf.
"Since when can you make a three pointer?" asks a snarky voice from my right. I look up to see Alex standing on the sideline of our driveway-turned-basketball court. Like my friends and I, he's not wearing a coat despite the below freezing temperature. Unlike us, he's rubbing his arms in a vain attempt to stay warm.
"Lucky shot," I say, ignoring the amused glances from my pack. I pass the ball to John and try to make it a convincingly unskilled throw. Instead, the ball lands perfectly in John's hands. Typical. I spend my whole life playing like crap, and now the one moment I actually have to pull off a bad pass, I can't do it.
John shifts the focus to himself, covering for me. "Wanna play?" he asks Alex, giving him what would be an easy pass for the rest of us. Even with his above average human reflexes, he barely catches it.
I glare at John from the corner of my eye, but he just shrugs. I don't have a problem with Alex playing, but it's always bugged me that he'd rather play with John than his own brother.
Alex passes the ball nervously between his hands. "The teams would be uneven," he mumbles. This time, John looks to me for permission.
In the spirit of the season (even though Christmas was last week), I throw on a smile and say, "You play, Alex. I bet Kyle's tired of me holding him back anyway." Kyle snorts beside me. Until Alex interrupted, I was our leading scorer.
I don't get a thank you, but I dutifully stand on the sidelines pretending to be cold. Kyle, Ben, and John all back down on their game, deliberately missing shots and passes, and allowing Alex to steal the ball occasionally. That aside, I will admit he keeps up pretty well on his own. I wonder why he didn't go out for the school team.
Oh, that's right. He's a bedroom troll.
Not for the first time, I wonder why he spends so much time by himself. He used to be the Kyle of his grade- everyone liked him, he was great at sports, and (as much as I hate to admit it) he got his first kiss years before I did. What happened to him?
The backdoor creaks open as Mom peaks out. "Okay, boys, I know you aren't cold but- Alex!" She stares at him for a second, completely losing track of her sentence. "I didn't know you were out here."
"Yeah, so? Is it a crime to play basketball?" Alex snaps.
Mom purses her lips and glares at him. At least, I think she does. My vision is suddenly blurry and red around the edges. My body feels even hotter than usual and a tremor runs down my spine.
"Brian!" a low voice hisses. I look up to see a very concerned John staring at me. I take a very, very deep breath and am back in control. Fortunately, no one else noticed me almost lose it.
"Anyone want hot chocolate?" Mom asks, as cheerfully as possible.
John almost dies of happiness. "Thanks, Aunt Sarah!" he says while running into the house. Mom smiles, and we all follow John inside.
Mom passes out four steaming mugs of hot chocolate to everyone but me, then discretely pours another mug of milk and makes my hot chocolate. She shoots me an apologetic glance, which I return with a forced smile. I guess waiting for my drink is better than watching Alex blow up because he didn't get one.
We're just finishing the last few drops of hot chocolate and fighting over the remaining marshmallows when Mom starts, "Once you're all finished, I was wondering if you could do a few jobs for me-"
"So this was bribe chocolate? I feel dirty now," Kyle grumbles, shaking his head.
Mom laughs. "I need some muscle to help me set up for the party tonight," she finishes.
"What party?" demands Alex.
"The party we have every year on New Year's Eve," I reply dryly.
"I didn't know it was New Year's Eve, smarts," Alex snaps.
I notice John watching me carefully, but he doesn't have to worry. I can handle my brother's stupid comments, what I can't handle is-
"Why do we have to help? We were in the middle of a game!" Alex growls to my mother.
That. I cannot take it when Alex is rude and disrespectful to my mother. I hold my breath, and try to calm myself down. Still, I can feel the fire threatening to explode inside me.
"No problem, Aunt Sarah!" John says, overenthusiastically. "What do you need done first?"
Because I'm facing away from her, I don't think Mom notices my tense stance, but I can feel Kyle and Ben watching me nervously.
"Thanks, John," Mom says kindly. "I need the table leaves put in and all the soda and ice brought in from the shed."
"I'll get the ice," I volunteer. I stand up and leave the room before anyone can say anything. My plan doesn't work all that well, though, because Ben and Kyle are almost immediately behind me.
"You okay?" Kyle asks carefully.
"I'm fine," I say shortly, making it clear that the conversation is over. They take the hint, and instead focus on our job. We fill the huge buckets with ice and cans of soda, then I take the first one into the house while they work on the others.
Inside, I set the bucket down as John easily carries his table leaf to the kitchen. He pauses to wait for Alex and calls, "Got it?"
"Yeah," Alex grunts. Determined to be like John, I'm sure, he carries the leaf by himself. He manages to do it, but with much more difficulty than John had. Slightly out of breath, he helps John put the table together.
"Your mom wants that it behind the couch," John tells me, gesturing to the bucket.
"Okay," I reply. Despite the weight of the ice and cans of soda, I have no problem lifting the bucket.
I don't think anything of it until Alex breathes, "Damn."
I look up. "What?"
"How…. you… isn't that heavy?" he gasps.
I shrug, not wanting to draw attention to my superhuman abilities again today. Guess I just did. Crap.
"Let me try," Alex insists. I let him, mostly because a cruel part of me wants to watch him struggle with it.
With amazing effort and determination he moves the bucket the five feet required to put it behind the couch. Panting but proud of himself, Alex turns to me and says, "See? Not- not that hard." He sits down to catch his breath.
At that moment, Ben and Kyle come in, each carrying two buckets. "Where do we put these?" Ben asks.
"Behind the couch," I say. As easily as a toddler moves a teddy bear, Ben and Kyle carry both buckets to Alex and set them down. Neither is panting.
Alex gapes at them, still out of breath. "Are- are you guys on… steroids or something?"
"Yeah, they're awesome, dude. Wanna try some?" Kyle replies in a voice brimming with sincerity.
"Really?" Alex asks, shocked.
Kyle snorts. "Course not. It's called puberty. And regular exercise." He flexes to prove his point. Not counting his muscle man bit in the middle of my kitchen, I admire Kyle's quick and believable cover-up.
"You haven't hit your growth spurt, yet," Ben adds. "Your time will come, don't worry." A wave of nerves hit me as Ben says that. He can't possibly mean a growth spurt like ours. Alex is too young to be a wolf.
"Yeah, but it just seems like you all grew around the same time," Alex mumbles skeptically.
I shoot this one down. "That's because you never leave your room. You can really miss a lot that way."
Alex glares at me, and drops the subject.
A few hours later the party is in full swing. The whole family is here, including the old pack and their families. I keep getting stopped by old pack members who either interrogate me on bloodsucker sightings, or try to tell me stories of the "glory days." I do my best to be polite, but sneak off to the corner of the couch as soon as I can.
I've watched about two seconds of Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve when I feel someone sit next to me. "Hey, Brian!"
Nessie offers me a huge smile and asks, "How's it going?"
"Not bad," I answer reluctantly. Don't get me wrong, Nessie is my favorite Cullen. She seems the most human to me, probably because she is. Still, that doesn't change the fact that she represents something I've been trying to forget for all of winter break.
Jake sits down next to Nessie and throws his arm casually around her shoulders. "What's up, Brian?"
"Nothing much," I say, reluctant to see my uncle for the same reason I don't want to talk to Nessie. "How's everybody?"
"They're good," he replies. Leaning closer to me and dropping his voice, he adds, "And don't worry about the border. Alice is watching it like a hawk until midnight, though she could keep an eye on it longer if you want."
"No, that's fine," I say firmly. "Honestly I'm nervous enough just leaving it unguarded for this long."
Jake nods knowingly. "Understandable. But as long as you stay away, Alice can keep watch. Plus, our little friend hasn't shown up in a while."
"Still," I say.
He nods again, then says to Nessie, "I'm going to say hi to Sarah."
"I'll come too. See ya, Brian!" she calls cheerfully.
They leave me alone, but before I can focus on the show I'm interrupted again. "Hey, Brian!"
"Hi, Aunt Leah," I say. At least Aunt Leah doesn't remind me of… that.
"So, I never really got a chance to talk to you on Christmas. How's life?" she asks, sitting down beside me.
"Good," I reply.
"Jake tells me your little friend hasn't shown up in a while?" she continues, glancing around to make sure we aren't being overheard.
"No, not for a while now, which is good."
"But at the same time, it's not good, because she could be plotting something," she adds knowingly. "Damn bloodsuckers."
I laugh. "Pretty much."
Werewolf small talk out of the way, she flips back into normal aunt mode. "Besides that, is everything good?"
"Yeah, school's good. I like Chemistry." Great, now I'm reminding myself of that.
Aunt Leah grins deviously. "Yeah, your mom mentioned something about your lab partner-"
Please don't. I've being trying so hard not to think of-
"Taylor, right?"
Crap.
The second I hear her name, it's like my whole body is on fire. But this fire is nothing like the heat I felt in my earlier anger. This fire is warm and beautiful. And I hate it.
"Yeah," I say through my teeth.
If Aunt Leah notices my discomfort, she doesn't feel the need to change the subject. "So you're one of those now, huh? One of those brain-dead, lovesick puppies fawning all over her?" I can't tell if she's irritated or amused.
"I guess so," I mumble. Lovesick puppy? I'd prefer not to think of it that way.
"Yeah, imprinting is sweet, I guess, but it's much too messy. I'm so glad I never imprinted." This time she is definitely irritated, not amused.
"Well, yeah," I agree, thinking of how messed up my life is because of imprinting. "But it's not terrible," I add, thinking of Taylor's beautiful hair, eyes, smile, the way her eyes light up when she finally understands something in Chem, how it sounds when she says my name-
"So, let me get this straight," Aunt Leah continues, interrupting my train of thought. "You imprinted on her, but she's dating Sam's son?"
"Yeah."
"And he's in your pack now, right?"
"Right," I agree.
Aunt Leah purses her lips, confused. "And she knows about all this?"
"Yeah."
She's quiet for a minute. "And you're okay with her dating him?"
"If it makes her happy," I say immediately.
She stares at me. "Imprinting is messy," she repeats.
I sigh. "Tell me about it."
Laughing, Aunt Leah says, "Oh, I could if you wanted me to! But I won't. I'll just say that I find this incredibly ironic." She shakes her head. "At least a Clearwater gets to hurt a Uley this time around."
"What? I don't want to hurt Kyle!" I'm not even sure what she's talking about, honestly, but I know that hurting Kyle is the last thing on my mind.
Aunt Leah sighs. "Long story short, Sam and I dated for a while, until he wolfed up and imprinted on Emily. He dumped me for obvious reasons, and couldn't tell me why for the same reasons." Even after all these years, there is still some bitterness in her face.
"I didn't know that," I mumble.
She shrugs. "Yeah, well, I got over it obviously." She smiles in the direction of my uncle. "And everything worked out for the best. Still, I was really hurt for a long time. But eventually you'll end up together, and everything will be great."
"Not necessarily," I say, some disappointment leaking into my voice.
Aunt Leah stares at me. "Seriously, Brian? Look around. There are seven imprinted wolves in this room, not counting you, and they are all married to those girls."
"That doesn't really mean anything," I mumble, glancing around anyway. I realize she's right. Does that mean I actually have a chance with Taylor?
Before we can continue our conversation, Aunt Leah and I are joined by John, Ben, and Kyle. I immediately feel guilty for my conversation with Aunt Leah, and try to forget it.
"Hey, your mom's looking for you," Ben says. No sooner are the words out of his mouth when Mom herself strolls over.
"Brian, honey, can you do me a favor? We're almost out of root beer. Can you go to the shed and get some more?" she seems slightly frazzled from hosting the party.
As much as I love my mother, I really don't want to get up. I'm lazy. "Mom, do you really need it now? People can just drink other stuff!"
She gives me a mom version of an Alpha glare. "Brian," she growls.
"You don't want to mess with your mom, Brian," Aunt Leah says. "She once attacked Sam with a metal bat."
"What?! No, she didn't!" Kyle gasps.
John shakes his head. "False! Aunt Sarah's too nice!"
Mom cracks a smile. "Leah, if you're going to tell that story, at least tell it right!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. It was a crowbar, right? Because you couldn't find a bat?" Aunt Leah says, grinning.
"I didn't actually hit him," Mom mumbles. "I just threatened to."
"Why?" I ask.
"We had a slight disagreement, but we got over it quickly," she says dismissively. "Now please get that root beer, Brian!"
I stand up. "Okay, but you have to give me the full story someday."
"Someday," she agrees reluctantly.
I force myself to get off the couch and get the root beer. As soon as I walk out the backdoor, my super-hearing picks up my name.
"Okay, now that Brian's gone we can talk about him!" Aunt Leah's voice drips in excitement. I didn't realize I was that interesting.
"He can probably still hear us," the ever-wise (and mildly pessimistic) Ben comments.
"No, he can't," Aunt Leah says airily. "So tell me, boys, is Brian a good Alpha?"
"Yeah, actually," John says, as though he can hardly believe it himself. "I didn't think he would be, because he's not really the leader type, but he does a good job."
"Yeah, I know," Kyle agrees. "He didn't even want to be line leader in first grade. I can't believe he's cool with being leader of a wolf pack!"
"Maybe that's why he's good at it," Ben says. "He doesn't want the power or anything."
"Has he given any Alpha commands yet?" Aunt Leah asks.
"Only one," John grumbles.
"I think Sam gave one an hour, honestly," Aunt Leah laughs bitterly. "Jake only gave one that I can remember. It's my fault, too. I didn't like listening."
"Yeah, that was my problem," John sighs. "That and the fact he abuses me." Ben and Kyle laugh.
"It's part of the job description of a Beta to be the Alpha's punching bag," Aunt Leah replies. "Jake yelled at me all the time. Just make sure you kick his butt whenever needed. He'll appreciate it once he stops yelling."
John laughs bitterly. "Thanks. He doesn't really get mad very often though."
"That would be the Seth in him, I guess," Aunt Leah observes. "That kid was never upset."
"Well, there is one thing that bothers him," John says quietly. Fortunately, I'm almost back to the house, or I wouldn't have been able to hear his comment. Unfortunately, I think I know what he's going to say. But he wouldn't. Not with my mom in the room.
"What?" Aunt Leah demands curiously.
"He'll kill me," John mumbles. He's not wrong.
"No, he won't," she insists.
John hesitates. I walk faster.
"Alex really irritates him," he mumbles.
Mom laughs morbidly. "I think he irritates everyone."
"No, what really bothers Brian is the way Alex treats you, Aunt Sarah." As John says this, I reenter the house. My pack obviously notices and shuts up. I calmly put the root beer in the ice buckets, then calmly walk towards the group on the couch.
Mom has a fake smile on her face as she says, "Thanks, honey!" with extra cheer.
"You're welcome," I reply. Then I pick up the nearest pillow and smack John as hard as I can with the plush object.
"Told you he abuses me," he grumbles.
"Told you he could hear," Ben says.
Any hope of façade gone, Mom says, "Brian, honey, I don't want this to bother you-"
For my sake, her sake, and that of everyone in immediate proximity to a potentially dangerous werewolf, I take a deep breath and cut her off. "Mom, it's not a big deal. It just bothers me when he's rude to you."
"But if you're getting this upset-"
"I'm not. I just don't like it." I say shortly. I feel mostly in control of myself, but my pack is watching me carefully.
"Okay," Mom says slowly.
Dad enters and breaks the awkward silence. "Two minutes to midnight! Champagne for the ladies," he hands both Mom and Aunt Leah a bubbly glass. "And juice for the boys." He gives each of us a juice box.
"Seth!" Mom moans. "You were supposed to get sparkling apple cider, not apple juice!"
He shakes his head. "But that was more expensive! Plus, the girls really seem to like it!" He gestures towards Molly and Aunt Leah's daughters, Lexi and Anna. All three are under the age of ten, and therefore are barely awake. Anna sips quietly on her juice.
"Anna, honey, you don't drink it until the ball drops!" Dad calls.
She stops drinking, but makes no other sign that she heard him. Molly and Lexi's eyes flutter as they fight sleep.
Beside me, Kyle's phone rings. He quickly answers, "Hello? Hey, babe!"
Despite Dad's warning, I take a sip of my juice for something to do. I try to devote my full attention to the T.V. and not Kyle's conversation with Taylor. Aunt Leah watches me curiously.
"It's not New Year's yet, silly!" Kyle continues, oblivious to my discomfort. "Okay, maybe it is in Colorado, but back home we've still got a minute and a half."
For the past two weeks, Taylor and her family have been skiing in Colorado. I have not talked to her in two weeks. I've been trying desperately not to think about her, but it's killing me inside. Thankfully, she'll be home tomorrow, and school starts the day after.
Then what?
That still doesn't change the fact that she is dating my best friend. Even if Aunt Leah is right, and I do have a chance with Taylor, will I hurt Kyle in the process? That's the last thing I want.
"No, I'm at Brian's. They have a party every year." Kyle looks at me. "Taylor says hi."
The fire grows inside me, and I find myself smiling much wider than the situation warrants. "Hi Taylor!"
"He says hi, too," Kyle relays. It bugs me that he said that without any inflection. Taylor should know I was excited to say hello to her. Shut up, Brian, she's not your girlfriend.
But she is my soul mate. Maybe. Probably. I think.
"Ten seconds!" Dad calls excitedly. "Alex, you want juice?"
The bedroom troll creeps into the room for the first time all night. Mom glances from me to my brother.
"No," Alex snaps.
Meanwhile, everyone else calls, "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"
Confetti and screams fill the air as people hug and kiss and ring in the New Year. I can't help thinking about this time last year. Everything was so much different. Will it be even more different come next New Year's?
Maybe my brother will stop being a jerk. Maybe we'll get rid of that stupid bloodsucker. Maybe I'll have someone to kiss next year.
Or maybe fate will decide to be cruel again. I drink my juice box and brace myself for the worst.
