OffsideChanceFormat2 by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page A

were
going to fly in for the game anyway; just now we’re going to watch it on
television instead of in the dome. And Tracy has to be back early Monday for
school.”
    “Oh,
yeah, well it’s freezing and it is snowing. I’ve never
seen anything like it. But the weatherman says it should clear up by midnight.
Tomorrow is supposed to be clear but really cold still. Do you need me to sleep
in the den for a night?”
    “Oh,
no, we’ll stay in Bo’s guestroom. You don’t have to worry about giving up
anything for us.”
    “It’s
your house, Levi.”
    “It’s
your house, too. And I won’t ask either of you to sleep on the couch when there
are other options. Besides, Bo is closer to the airport and has a car to pick
us up.”
    “Whatever,
man.”
    “Don’t
be like that, Jude. I was going to invite you out tomorrow night to watch the
game with us. And don’t say you don’t like crowds. It’s going to be a small
party. Most of the team has left town for the off season, and it’s just going
to be guys watching a game. No groupies or cleat chasers. Just us and maybe a
wife or two depending on who shows up.”
    “I
don’t know, Levi. I have work—“
    “And
all night to get it done. Say you’ll come. I’d love to see you. Slayer is
supposed to drag his ass out. You can ride with him.”
    “I
can see me riding across town on the back of his bike… in the cold.” With his
arms wrapped around the huge chest…he shivered…what the hell was wrong with
him?
    “Why
hasn’t he gotten a new car yet? What the hell is he waiting for? Snow?” Levi
laughed over the crackling line.
    “I
don’t know, not my business. I’ll take a taxi. That’s if I come. I really do
have a ton of work to do this weekend and—“
    “You’ll
have it finished by lunch tomorrow. Because that, dear brother, is when I’m
picking you up. Just me and you, Jude. We need to talk or something.”
    “About
what? Mother is—“
    “Damn
it, Jude. That, because that. It’s just business with us. We used to be actual
brothers, now we’re barely even business partners. I just want to spend some
time with you. I don’t want to talk about our parents or our shitty childhood
or money. Or…I just want to try to be what we once were.”
    “Did
the shrink you’re seeing tell you to make peace with me?”
    “No,
goddamn it. No one told me to make peace with you. It’s that there is peace to be made when we have all
that shit back there eating us alive. You are all I have in this world.”
    “What
about Tracy? Is the honeymoon over?”
      “Why the fuck do I even bother? I swear to
god, Judah. I’m trying here. I give up. Just stay there. Alone and miserable. I
don’t care anymore.”
    Jude
didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t close his mouth or open it wide enough to
get out one word. This was a Levi he’d never met before. Ever. Really angry.
And hurt. He’d seen him play hurt. He’d seen him take a beating and get up like
it never happened. Jude pictured his brother on the other end of the phone
line; he’d be shutting down right now like he did after everything in his life
that had knocked him down. The “don’t care” stare that he’d worn for most of
Jude’s life would be there and this time he would be the one to put that look
in Levi’s eyes. “Levi,” he shouted thinking Levi had hung up. “I’ll…lunch
tomorrow, it sounds nice.”
    The
line was silent for a long moment. Jude could hear the radio in the background
but Levi was quiet. Too quiet. When he finally answered his voice had lost some
of its verve from just a moment before. “Yeah? Okay. I’ll call you when I leave
Bo’s place. You can pick the restaurant.”
    “Okay,
sounds good. See you then.” He must have smiled or something. When he looked up
Will was standing in the doorway looking at him strangely. He held up a hand
while Levi said goodbye, and then he hung up. For the first time in years he
felt something. A spark