I. Marley

Prologue

My eyes are burning and tears are starting to form. A part of me knows I should put the joint out but the part of me that aches makes me put it back between my lips. The smoke smothers my tongue first, coating my taste buds before I swallow it and It burns my throat and then makes my lungs itch. Then I hack it out in a coughing fit but I know the more I cough the higher Ill get.

The courts are empty, the only people who come here at this time of the night are either looking for drugs or looking for a high. There is a very specific difference in the two, you come here looking for drugs you will most likely find that and stumble your way through town buzzed off of some man made chemical. Or you could come for a high, thats what we used to come here for, I can still hear the basketball beating behind my skull.

Miles and I came for a high you only got from draining threes on an empty court at four A.M. You could scream and cheer as loud as you want and you could run, and Miles ran. He truly lived up to his name.

To my left Miles drains a three off the corner and I stand and cheer the sound rips through the silent court and I realize Im here alone. I dont know if the tears are from the smoke or for my aching heart.

By the time I leave the court, the usual early ballers start to drift in and before they can spot me I duck out the hole in the back fence, my stomach churns at the idea of going home. Shes there waiting for me to pack up my entire life and move to some place on the edge of some puny town on the edge of a city I never even heard of. Worst of it all shes brought her entire new family to bury her old one.

ARGH! My frustration builds up into my throat and it comes out as an angry sob. Mercilessly I wipe at my tears, feeling stupid for crying over something so stupid. I wish she hadn't come in the first place, we were always fine without and I would be fine without her too. I didnt need her new family coming and contaminating our home. Their smell and their things are all I have left.

I almost wished high me didnt always over thing things because the thought of them ridding my home of the smell of Miles and dad has me rushing home. Thankfully the courts are only around the corner, thus why dad was so okay with us going to the courts that late and he often came himself. When I approach the door I force myself to think about anything else.

But thats the thing about losing people you love, its harsh and its cruel. The pain that comes with it is unmatched on anything Ive battled before but something tells me that when I walk through this door I will be battling new demons I havent given much thought in years.

My heart longs to be back at the courts cheering Miles on as he bolts up and down the courts, spending the days listen to him and dad talk colleges. A new wave of tears form and I pinch my leg to pull myself back to center.