Crossing the line
“You almost lost everything tonight. And if you keep pretending you don’t care about her, one day you actually will lose her. Don’t do that, man. Not for me. Not for anyone.”
The lump in my throat grew, impossible to swallow. My whole life had been about sacrifice. The game demanded it, the press expected it, Coach reinforced it. And somewhere along the line, I convinced myself Tyler needed it too — that the only way to be a good brother was to make sure nothing of mine ever overshadowed him.
But Tyler wasn’t asking me to give up. He was asking me to fight.
When I opened my eyes, he was watching me, arms crossed, as if daring me to argue.