Chapter Forty-Four: Honesty Is Key

972 27 1
                                    

Ashton's POV

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Ashton's POV

"And then we have the Terra Lake Tigers!" the announcer called. The audience broke into cheers as we all walked out of the locker room, waving to everyone in the bleachers. The Beachwood Bears started walking towards us, and we walked towards them.

The referee blew his whistle and threw the ball in the air. A tall guy immediately got the ball and dribbled down the court, our team right behind him. Casper managed to get the ball and start dribbling it down the court towards the other team's net.

We cheered as the ball went right through the net with a satisfying swish. Casper pumps his fist in the air and he gets some attention from our team before we all huddle in the middle of the gym again.

***

The game is almost over, and we only have five minutes left in the game. Coach pulled us towards him and goes over the game plan.

"Jake, you get the ball right away, Tyler and Ashton will follow in suit. Jake, pass the ball to Tyler and Tyler, you dribble it to Ashton. Pass it to Ashton, and Ashton, you will dunk it in the hoop. Everyone else, just follow in case they need backup. This will all work if the other team doesn't get in the way."

We all put our hands in the middle and counted to three before lifting our hands in the air and yelling: "Go Tigers!" We all broke apart and ran to the middle of the gym. The score was currently 76-76. If we score, we would win with 78 points.

Right when the whistle was blown, Jake missed getting the ball when number 43 got the ball first, but Jake was able to get it from him pretty fast. He dribbled it down the court, but the other team was right on his tail. He threw it to Tyler quickly, and he caught it cleanly.

I ran towards the hoop and held up my hands, awaiting the ball, but instead of throwing it to me, he dunked it straight in the hoop. The audience and our team broke into happy cheers, but I just stood there in shock.

Tyler, my own step brother, had literally just took my move. I was supposed to win for the team. I sighed out my nose before walking over to the team and joining in with the cheering team. Coach didn't even care that Tyler didn't follow the plan. No one else did either. It was only me.

***

When we emerged into the locker room, I went straight to Tyler.

"Dude, that was my ball. Why did you dunk it like that?" I asked him. He didn't look at me and just kept putting his stuff in his locker as he replied.

"Because, you would've made us lose. You don't deserve the ball. You were a jerk to Ali. Of course I'm not going to give you the ball!" he exclaimed, an evil glint in his eyes. I gritted my teeth, trying to control my anger.

I couldn't believe that he was doing this. 

Tyler's voice broke through my thoughts. "I love that this will haunt you forever." I was fuming. Then something broke inside me, and I was wild. I drew my arm back and punched him straight in the nose.

Loving All Over Again | ✓Where stories live. Discover now