Rules Of The Game: Book 1

44; The Bright Side

𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟽, 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢
𝟷 𝙳𝚊𝚢
Miles POV

It's the second weekend of Christmas break. Any other year and I would've been ecstatic to be at this point. Being on the west coast around all the cute Californian boys, having no homework until the new year, and Christmas is in little over a week? Forget about it. It would be a dream.

Actually, it should've been my reality. Instead, I'm sitting on the floor of my room, passing folded shirts to Rose. My mom and I will be on the road to Mexico in approximately twenty-four hours.

"Where do you want these trophies?" Forrest asks from somewhere behind me. I hear the sound of crashing metal, and Griffin curses.

"Damn! Cheap pieces of shit," Griffin growls and walks around me, his arms full of my basketball trophies.

"Hey, don't diss my accomplishments! Those aren't cheap to me," I scold him and tilt my head at a taped box sitting near my closet. "You guys can stack them in there. Nicely."

Griffin grumbles something about getting them packed-one-way-or-another, while Forrest nods and starts to stack them in carefully.

Rose shakes her head as I pass her another folded shirt. Her eyes are wet as she looks around my stripped room. Thanks to everyone's help, we were able to get the rest of this house packed up and put in my mom's minivan. Not that we had much in the first place.

"I can't believe this is really happening," Rose says sadly, tucking the shirt into my suitcase.

"Fucking tell me about it," Parker mumbles from where he's lying on my bed behind me. The bed is one of the things we're not bringing, and Parker was glad to claim it when we started to pack my room.

I know he's exhausted, physically and mentally, from all this shit, so I didn't say a word when he camped out behind me. His hand runs through my hair as we speak. With every available minute we have, we've been together.

Time is running out, so we're doing what we can to stay connected while we can.

"I know. I'm sick of thinking about it," I admit and fold the last piece of clothing I had in my laundry pile. Rose takes it and packs it before zipping up the suitcase. At the same time, Forrest grabs the packing tape and stretches it across the trophy box. With a satisfying riiiiip, the last box is officially packed.

We're done. There's nothing left to do but wait.

"When do you have to leave tomorrow?" Griffin asks, crossing his arms. I look at him and wince slightly when Parker accidentally pulls at my hair as Griffin asks the question. He's been too afraid to ask that all day.

"Seven in the morning. I told my mom I'd meet her at the Shell gas station around that time so we can fill up and... go."

Griffin nods and glances away, disappointment flashing across his face. For a boy that was extremely homophobic a few months ago, he's extremely sad and caring right now. It's insane what time did to our friendship— I find myself getting sad as I think about driving away from him, too, tomorrow. I'll miss his constant cursing and narcissism more than I thought I would.

"You're not staying with your mom tonight?" Forrest questions and tosses the roll of tape down on the closed box.

"No, he's staying with me." Parker's words are sharp and slightly offended like Forrest should be guilty for even assuming that I would go anywhere else.