Gongshow

“Griff? Sam?” Max called as he walked through his house.

He knew neither of his parents would be home, but everyone was aware of him coming down. He expected his younger brothers to at least come and see him. But no, Mojo was the only one that was in the living room when he entered. Mojo only came up to him to be let out. Max rolled his eyes and let the dog out back. She ran to the back fence and he could tell Mojo had a boyfriend.

He decided to head up to his room. It was rare for this house to be so quiet, he needed to take advantage of it. He walked up and tossed his bags in his room. That’s when he heard shooting from Griffin’s room and cheering from Sam’s. He sighed, walking next door to Griffin’s. He knocked and it went silent. The door opened and Griffin jumped.

“I totally forgot you were coming down.” Griffin shook his head.

“Is that why I had a welcome party of only Mojo?” Max asked.

Griffin sighed. “You’ve missed a lot.” He said as he stepped out of Max’s way.

“I’m guessing whatever I missed has to do with why you and Sam are avoiding each other.” Max dropped onto Griffin’s beanbag chair.

Griff nodded, closing his door and walking to his bed. “You know how we got a new coach?”

“Yeah, Dustin Brown!” Max exclaimed. “That’s so sick!”

“He lives behind us.”

“Oh.”

“But it’s not a bad thing, he’s really cool.” Griffin clarified. “He has a daughter that’s Sam’s age.”

“So you two are fighting over her?” Max gasped.

Griffin laughed. “No, no way.” He shook his head. “She’s all Sam’s. She’s like a sister to me.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“She’s in love with him and he’s too stupid to act on it.” Griffin rolled his eyes.

“Maybe he doesn’t like her?” Max suggested.

Griffin took a deep breath before he told Max everything. He started with how upset Sam was at the tournament because of Audrey’s ex. Griffin explained how much their parents loved Audrey. He told Max how she was always over and Sam was always flirting with him. He talked about Sam babysitting for Audrey when she needed to do homework. Max started to understand. There was no doubt to either of them that Sam liked Audrey. Griffin finished with the most recent story.

“But what is she like?” Max sat up.

“She’s a really great girl. She’s just kindhearted and she’s never really had someone as solid as Sam in her life so I don’t want to see him mess that up. She really cares about him.” Griffin blabbed.

There was a pound on Griffin’s door. “If you’re gonna let Mojo out, let her back in.” Sam hissed.

Max shot up and jogged over to Griffin’s door. He opened it before Sam closed his. “Actually, it was me and I was talking to Griffin, trying to figure out why neither of you were downstairs when I got here.” He crossed his arms.

“Because Griffin’s being a dick!” Sam cried.

Max shook his head, closing Griffin’s door. He shoved Sam into his room. Sam growled and walked over to his bed. Max stood to the side with his arms crossed. Sam went back to playing NHL. He didn’t want to talk about Audrey to Max. He didn’t want to hear about how much of an idiot he was anymore. He’d done it enough by himself.

“So, I heard there’s a girl.” Max spoke.

Sam paused his game and slowly put the remote down. “That means you’ve heard all about how much of an idiot I am.”

“I don’t know if you’re an idiot yet.” Max chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed. “How does she make you feel?”

Sam shrugged. “Good.”

“Helpful.” Max exhaled.

“I don’t know! I just know I like having her around and I like being there for her. I like when she talks to me about things, when she trusts me with things. I like when she makes me laugh or when I make her laugh. I like how mom loves her and dad can’t get enough of her.” Sam confessed.

“I think you like her.” Max butted in. Sam groaned. “From what I’ve heard, she’s good for you, Sammy.”

Max left Sam in his room to think about what he had just admitted to his brother. He knew Max was right. He knew Griffin was right. Everyone had figured it out before he did. He decided he needed to do something about it. He stood up and changed into the sweater that Audrey had told him she loved him in. He took a deep breath before he walked out of his room and out of the house.

Notes