CONTENT WARNING: Depiction of Panic Attacks and anxiety
Sarah stood in the doorway, as white as a ghost.
“Sarah! What are you doing here?!” Seth gasped, gripping the sheets around his nakedness.
“You left your key at lunch,” she said, obviously at a loss.
“So you decided to just fucking come in?!” Seth was shouting. Jacob couldn’t make any words come to mind, so it amazed him that Seth could form complete sentences at all.
“I knocked… I didn’t think… how could I…” Sarah clamped her mouth shut. She was holding the offending key in her hand. She dropped it like it was white hot and stared at it as if she didn&rsquo
Colin did his best, but the team never made up the difference from the first half. They only lost by three points, but they still lost.“We’ll get ‘em tomorrow,” Derek said, patting Jacob on the shoulder as he passed to return to the locker room.“Shiiiiit,” groaned Bret dramatically as he changed. “Fuck, Jacob, what the hell! We only have one more chance! You better not screw up tomorrow.”“It’s not his fault,” Charlie argued.“Yeah, right, I’m sure you really believe that,” said Bret. He slammed his locker shut and disappeared into the shower.“It’s not your fault,” James said, handing a water bottle to Ja
Jacob held his breath in surprise. It was true; he knew it was true, but saying it out loud somehow made it real. He hadn’t planned to say it. It almost felt like someone else had been the one to say it, but he could feel the echo of the words in his mouth.Sarah visibly relaxed. “Oh,” she said as her brows turned up in the middle, and the intense glare she had fixed on Jacob melted to one of compassion.“I’m sorry,” Jacob said, breaking from her gaze and studying the ground in the dying light.“You don’t have to apologize for that,” she said. “It’s not something you can help.”The confidence in her words stabbed through him. If he couldn’t help it, there was no fixing i
Hello Folks, I know this is not what you wanted to see, so I apologize. I wanted to give you all a new chapter today, since I missed last week, but it is Halloween weekend here in the states, and I have not been able to give the story the attention it deserves. Time is moving too gosh darn fast! I can promise that this story will continue. This story WILL be completed; please be patient with me! I am eternally grateful for your support. I truly love writing and crafting stories, and your feedback gives me renewed inspiration. I know I don't update often, and that it can be a pain to wait, but please, I hope you will stay subscribed, so you will get notified when Seth and Jacob's story continues. Thank you for sticking with me! - Blair Sterling
Jacob awoke to find the hotel room empty. That’s fine. Seth probably wanted to get an early start since he missed the game yesterday. Jacob blearily dragged himself out of bed. He hadn’t been able to sleep much and his dreams were restless, but he tried to shake it off. They had an important game today, and he couldn’t let the team down a second time.Seth’s bags weren’t in the room. They wouldn’t be coming back to the rooms after the game today, but would get on the bus to go home instead, so he probably already loaded his stuff on the bus. It wasn’t a big deal.Jacob climbed into the shower and turned it on. Cold water hit his face and shocked him awake before it warmed.Seth would have waited for him. If things were normal, Seth would have waited for him
Derek hit the tip off, putting the ball in Forge’s possession. James Dooley took the ball down court, and everyone else moved into position for a double curl play. Normally, they would run a triangle or 5 out motion, but both of the ways they ran those plays depended on Jacob shooting three-pointers, and not even Dooley wanted to depend on him during this game. Jacob moved to the wing to wait for Dooley’s pass. He caught it with ease, while Dooley cut to the low post. Jacob dribbled into the paint, then passed to Dooley for the lay-up, while Bret screened Skyline’s defense. The ball hung on the rim for a second, then fell through the net. The Center for Skyline caught the ball and started driving it to the next basket. Forge was not in a position for full-court press, nor did they have the energy after the loss yesterday, but they did take-up a half court man-to-man. The ball zipped past Jacob, caug
When Jacob sat down, Seth startled awake. His shoulders sank when he realized it was Jacob beside him. Jacob’s heart sank in response. He thought he could handle anything other than Seth looking at him with regret. Seth shook his head and leaned against the window. “Can we talk?” Jacob asked as quietly as he could. “And talk about what?” Seth said without turning. “It’s not like we can really talk here.” Seth had a point. Anyone could overhear. Jacob would have to be careful about what he said, but he couldn’t pass up this opportunity having Seth stuck with him on the bus. He might not get another chance. The bus lurched forward, and Jacob saw Seth go rigid. He realized he hadn’t even thought about how much difficulty Seth might have with a bus ride. Had
There was no practice Monday morning. There was no point. There would be no more games this year.Jacob tossed his bag against the wall in the lobby outside the gym with the rest of his friends’ backpacks. Bret sat on the other side of the lobby, his arm in a cast, chatting with Colin. When he noticed Jacob looking his way, a dark glare settled over his features. A chill ran down Jacob’s back.He joined Seth, Jessica, and Sarah near the door instead of risking the wrath of his teammates. Sarah was chatting with a couple of other cheerleaders, but grabbed his hand and pulled him to the group when he approached.“Hey, Seth told us you want to go to the movies tonight. What do you want to go see?” Sarah asked.Jacob looked at
“Who’s this?” asked one of Ethan’s friends.“Only the star shooter for Forge,” Ethan said mockingly. “I heard ya’ll did great in the play-in.”Jacob tried to inch Seth towards the door to the theater, ignoring Ethan.“So great, in fact, they won't need to worry about the championship,” Ethan continued. “It’s a real shame. I was looking forward to double teaming you this time.” He winked at Jacob, making sure his insinuation was clear.“Shut the fuck up,” Jacob growled through gritted teeth.Ethan’s friends snickered. “This is him?” one friend asked. “Looks like he’s not interested, E,&rdquo
“Come on! If we get going now, we will get in before midnight!” Seth called from outside.Jacob shouldered his way through the front door with the last box of his belongings. “You know we’ll end up hitting traffic, anyway. The maps don’t tell you about traffic that doesn’t exist yet.” “All the more reason to get going,” Seth said as he shoved a box over to make room for Jacob’s last contribution. Jacob pushed his box into the tetris of luggage that was held in place by sheer luck. They forced the hatchback closed together, grunting in unison with one last push to get it to latch. They had bought it together a week ago; their first purchase together, though it was in Jacob’s name since Seth didn’t have a license. Having completed their packing, they leaned against the back window to catch their breath. This was it. Everything was done.Two weeks ago, Jacob had walked across the auditorium stage for the first and last time, collecting his diploma before taking a seat among the gradua
Jacob couldn’t believe it. He grasped Seth’s hand as the nurses checked his vitals and wrote things on charts. Seth’s gaze darted around wildly, but always came back to Jacob. The feeding tube down his throat prevented him from speaking, but he occasionally made scared sounds that sounded to Jacob almost like a whimper. “It’s okay,” Jacob kept saying. “You’re okay now.” He was overwhelmed with joy that Seth was awake, but his heart ached that there was nothing he could do to make this easier for Seth. Nurses ran in and out of the room, bringing new equipment. The instruments on the cart beside Seth’s bed had calmed down to a steady rhythm of beeps. Seth’s doctor came in. He checked the monitors, then turned to Seth. “It’s good to see you finally with us, son,” he said. “I’m going to take the tube from your throat now, if that’s alright.” He gently lifted the mask from Seth’s face. Seth squeezed Jacob’s hand. “I need you to continue to breathe slowly and evenly. Breath with the
Jacob knew they were in trouble as soon as the two teams circled up on the court. There wasn’t a single player on the Hillcrest team shorter than Derek, Forge’s tallest player. They were outfitted to win. Hillcrest attracted players who were planning to go professional, and they looked the part.Derek stood in the center circle for the tipoff, dwarfed by the opposing Center. The dude had to be at least seven feet tall. The ref tossed the ball. Derek jumped, but the other center’s height was too much of an advantage. Hillcrest’s center, number seventeen, tapped the ball to his teammates, and they dribbled down the court. Blocking such tall players proved challenging as well. They made every pass and shot they took. Forge depended on rebounds to get possession of the ball. Sweat poured down Jacob’s face. Luckily, Forge used Hillcrest’s height against them on offense. Jacob remembered the low passes that short players on other teams had used to evade his block, and he made liberal use
Jacob rolled over and fumbled with his phone to stop the blaring alarm. It was in the wrong place. The table beside his bed was too low. As the fog of sleep faded, he remembered why. This wasn’t his room, or side table, or bed. This was Seth’s room. Jacob grabbed Seth’s pillow and pulled it over his face, inhaling Seth’s familiar and calming scent. He ached to be able to roll over and bury his face in Seth’s curls. It was Saturday, but he was up early because it was game day two of the state championships. They had not gone out to celebrate their win versus Preston last night. One win was pointless if they couldn’t win them all. They had agreed as a team to save their celebrations for when they won the final game.Today, they were playing the Century Diamondbacks from Pocatello. They were a good team. They even had one player scouted to the University of Kentucky a couple of years back. Jacob heard that that player was already being courted by the NBA. Century didn’t have that playe
Happy Ramadan, Passover, and Easter to all who celebrate! Because of the holiday, I did not have time to complete a chapter this weekend, and I apologize! But worry not, there will be another chapter soon. We are rounding the last bend. This coming weekend, I will be out of town for the memorial of my partner's grandmother. It has been a rough few weeks for us. I will do my best to get a chapter up as soon as I can. Thank you for sticking with me, even though I am slow to update. All of my love, Blair
The gym was cacophonous as the team trotted to the court for the first huddle. The announcer called the names for the starting line-up for Preston over the noise of the crowd, while James gave last moment notes to the team.“Remember, Jacob will be on the weak side. I will dribble for a pick and roll. Charlie, I want you under the strong-side basket. If Jacob is blocked, I’ll pass to you for a jump shot. If I can’t get it to either of you, Bret will be in the paint, and we’ll relay the ball to one of you.”With a shout of “Forge!” the team broke off and lined up for the announcer’s call.On the court, Charlie stood in the center facing Preston’s number fourteen, a seven foot tall slender kid, named Chet Harper. The referee blew the whistle, and both C
Jacob pushed through the doors of the long-term ward at West Valley Medical center. Seth was in the back corner of a communal room with a curtain pulled around his bed, creating a private space roughly the size of Jacob’s bedroom at home. Not at home. He couldn’t go back there. He didn’t have a home anymore. He had slept in Seth’s bed, at Seth’s house, for the last few nights.Seth had been moved to the long-term ward after twenty-four hours of observation for complications of his surgery.Seth lay on the hospital bed, as still as the dead except for the slow rise and fall of his chest. He wore a mask with tubes connected to a beeping tower of computers. Sensor wires sprouted from a mesh cap pulled down over Seth’s trademark curls and connected to another computer. On the monitor, several lines ticked zigzags across the
Stale, musky air met Jacob when he pushed through the doors to the locker room. He was early, as usual, having bolted from class as soon as the bell rang. Most of the rest of the team would take a break before heading for the locker rooms, but not Jacob. Calm washed over him as he breathed the familiar scent. He felt at home. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours. So much had changed. He had missed this room, this smell, this familiarity.He found his locker and dialed in the combination. His uniform was still there. He pulled his shirt over his head and slipped the jersey on. Number 33. Kobe’s number in high school. Small details seemed to matter more when you realized how short life could be.Jacob was tying his shoes when the rest of the team rolled into the locker room, echoing chatter off the walls. Jacob looked up, but they
Beep.Beep.Beep.The rise and fall of the electrocardiogram signaled Seth’s beating heart.Jacob and Mark sat in silence on opposite sides of the bed. Both watched Seth’s peaceful face as his chest slowly rose and fell with each breath.Beep.Beep.Beep.Jacob’s own heart beat in double time. He wanted to say something. He wanted to apologize again, but Mark wouldn’t hear it. Mark had already told him more than once that it wasn’t his fault; that he had nothing to apologize for, but Jacob still couldn’t make himself believe it. The only reason Seth