Sticks and Stones

Thirty-One: Brady Parker and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very, Very Bad Day

This chapter is very heavy. Please read the following warning. It contains extremely heavy family/sibling angst along with the scene of Brady smashing his knee. Needless to say, it's a dark scene. PLEASE skip if you need to. It also contains a father struggling with a gambling addiction. I'll add a summary at the end for anyone who chooses to opt out of this chapter.

But that being said, this is one of my favorite chapters. I wrote this throughout writing the rest of the book. If there's one thing I'll do, is write sibling angst. Let me know what you think!

Highly recommend listening to Castles Crumbling by Taylor Swift during this chapter. Hope you enjoy and remember to comment and vote.

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Brady Parker was many things.

Talented.

Hardworking.

Arrogant.

Maybe a bit outspoken at times.

But forgiving was not one of those things.

He never had a knack for "forgive and forget". If someone wronged him, he didn't want to just forget that.

When he found out his brother was sick, he decided then and there that he hated the universe. Every last bit of it. Maybe it was juvenile, but who else could he blame? Something had to be at fault. He had to have something to channel his anger towards. And so, the universe got the brunt of it.

All he wanted was to somehow keep his siblings safe.

He just wanted to be a good brother to them.

And if Brady was being honest, he knew he was a good brother.

He knew because there were three, distinct times in his life that he put his siblings first. Even when it hurt him.

The first time Brady Parker realized he was a good brother was when he decided he would find a way to turn hockey into a means of funding his brother's medical bills.

Well, his plan was a bit flawed, but he was only sixteen or seventeen at the time.

Brady knew that he could make a lot of money playing hockey one day. If he went to the right school, played for the right team... he could make it so every team would be fighting for him. He knew he was good enough for it. If Brady got drafted to the best team he could, he would make enough money to pay his brother's medical bills.

It seemed like sound logic for someone who just got their license.

But it became a mantra for him. A way of living. The only way of living.

Especially with his father gambling away every cent they ever had. His Dad was trying to make the money for Jamie, he really was. He was so sure that he would win big time eventually and they would be set for whatever Jamie needed. But the more he bet, the less restraint he showed. If he won a hundred, why not go for two hundred? And two hundred is nice, sure. But may as well go for double that.

But the house would always win.

And they eventually lost too much. 

So, it was up to Brady. He would do what had to be done.

He remembered the game where things changed for him.

Brady remembered his family cheering for him in the stands. Kinsley was holding Jamie up so he could see properly, the two of them jumping up and down after Brady scored another point. He loved having his family in the audience. His Dad didn't always make his games, but his siblings did. Kinsley and Jamie always cheered the loudest and Brady could always find them in the audience. They'd bring signs that they'd spend hours on. At first, the signs embarrassed him. But he grew to love them as time went on. Having them there motivated him in a way he needed, especially if he was going to play the way he would have to play.