Always Gonna Be You | Ongoing

02| Pain

I tiredly opened the front door of my house and trudged inside, bypassing the stairs that led to my room. There was no way I was going up those stairs after what my body had been through. Instead, I headed straight to the living room and collapsed onto the beanbag, letting out a heavy sigh. Grabbing a pillow, I hugged it tightly.

To say I was in pain would be an understatement. I despise these days—the days I return from the off-season for football. Today was one of those days, and it felt worse than all the previous ones combined. I had never been so exhausted and sore in my seventeen years of life. Coach made sure we burned off all the calories we had accumulated during our time off. I felt like I was on the verge of dying.

"Grayson!" My little sister, Hazel, shouted as she ran into the room.

She threw herself at me, causing all the pain that had momentarily settled to flare back up. I groaned.

"Sorry. Did I hurt you?" she asked, her voice tinged with sadness.

"No, don't worry."

"Okay!" she said, her happiness returning in an instant.

She hugged me, and I embraced her, cherishing these moments while she was still little, before she grew older and changed.

I looked up to see my mom smiling at us from the doorway, her arms crossed.

"How was it?" she asked, knowing full well what today had been like.

I gave her a look, and she laughed. My dad appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her neck and kissing her cheek. They whispered to each other, smirking.

"Eww. Why are they always doing that?" Hazel whispered to me, not taking her eyes off them.

"They're in love," I whispered back.

"Ugh, but it's making me sick. I want it to stop," she said, burying her face into my chest.

Mom laughed at Hazel's reaction.

I groaned and fell back onto the beanbag. "Coach really pushed you guys that hard?" my dad grinned, knowing the amount of pain I was in.

My mood fell even further.

"I know you're in pain, but please go take a shower or maybe a bath with some bath salts for your muscles," my mom suggested.

I sighed. Hazel jumped off me. "Yes, ma'am," I whispered, slowly standing up.

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After a relaxing bath, I put on some grey sweats, a black hoodie, and socks. I fell face-first onto my bed, grabbing a pillow and placing my head on it.

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I stayed in that position for a while and ended up drifting off to sleep.

"Gray!" I felt someone jumping up and down on my bed. I opened my eyes slightly to see Hazel bouncing around.

"Hazel," I groaned into the pillow.

"Mommy said we're eating now," she said, continuing to jump.

I grabbed a pillow and gently tossed it at her, hoping she would stop, but it only made her laugh harder.

"Okay, I'm coming. Now please get out," I said, my voice tired and deep.

"Okay."

She finally left. It took me a while to muster the energy to sit up and get out of bed. I quickly freshened up.

As soon as I opened the door, the smell of my mom's lasagna filled my nose, urging me to move faster. I made it to the dining room as my mom brought the lasagna to the table, and my dad brought the salad, wine for them, and Coke for me and apple juice for Hazel.

Once we were all seated, Hazel said a prayer, and we dove in.

"There are new students coming from Miami on Monday. They're brother and sister," my dad informed us.

He's the principal at my school and owns the building. At school, I treat him like any other student would, and he does the same. But at home, he's just Dad.

We all nodded.

"Their names are Kiara and Jayden."

"I like her name," Hazel said, taking a bite of her lasagna.

My mom hummed in agreement.

"Their dad is a former football star and will be coaching the team," Dad said, catching my attention.

The reason we're getting a new coach is that our current one is moving to Australia. Honestly, I couldn't be happier. I never liked the man, and no one else did either.

"What's his name?" my mom asked.

"Brady Reed."

"Holy shit," I whispered in shock, dropping my fork and knife.