For my brother’s dream of becoming a champion, my whole family has been ruined by me.
Chapter 1
The day before basketball tryouts, a bunch of
thugs dragged me out behind the school and
worked me over all night.
By the time they found me, both my hands
were broken, and I had a couple of cracked
ribs. I’d never play basketball again.
Mom was on a business trip and missed my
calls for help. She was a mess of guilt and
tears, promising to get revenge.
My sister pulled strings, getting me the best
medical team in the city.
く
Lying in the back of the ambulance, I
overheard her whispering.
“Mom, did we go too far, hiring those guys to
mess with Danny? I mean, even if you wanted
to clear the path for Ryan, stop him from
screwing up his tryouts, there were other
ways, right?”
Mom dabbed at the sweat on my forehead
with a tissue, sighing.
“Danny was always giving Ryan a hard time at
school. Had to teach him a lesson, keep him
from getting in Ryan’s way.”
“I’ll leave Danny the company to run later.
That should make up for it…”
<
But Mom, basketball was my whole life…
Hot tears dripped down my face.
The happy family I thought I had? All a lie, all
a setup!
“Patient’s in critical condition. Medical team’s
prepped and ready. Should we schedule
surgery ASAP?”
Mom hesitated, then said, “Wait ‘til
tomorrow.”
The doctor looked surprised. “Both hands are
broken. If we don’t operate right away, the
bones might not set right. He’ll have trouble
“I heard he’s a basketball player. If we don’t
treat this quickly, he may never be the same
again…”
My sister’s face tightened. “Danny’s still
young. We can’t just leave him crippled.”
“That’s exactly what I want! It’s gone this far,
I have to make sure Ryan kills it at tryouts. As
long as Danny’s out of the picture, Ryan can
chase his dream without any problems.”
“Alright, just get the doctor to give Danny
some painkillers for now!”
I clenched my fists on the hospital bed, my
whole body shaking.
After Dad died, Mom’s whole attitude toward
me flipped, and I thought it was because of
L
Now, here she was, hurting me like this for
some charity case she was sponsoring!
And my sister, always so caring? Turns out,
she cared more about some other kid than
her own brother.
I couldn’t figure out how things had gotten so
twisted…
My crying caught Mom’s attention. She
rushed over in her heels, asking what was
wrong.
“Nightmare? It’s okay, Danny, I’m here.”
Her eyes were full of worry, and she started
crying too. “Those animals, they’re monsters!
Don’t worry, Danny, I’ve already hired
someone to investigate. We’ll catch them.”
<
Mom was putting on a show, and anyone
watching would swear she loved me.
My sister spun around and ran off to find a
doctor. “Give him the strongest pain meds
you’ve got! My brother can’t be in any more
pain!”
They were good, playing their roles to
perfection.
But it made me sick, living this lie, getting
hurt and betrayed.
My heart was pounding, and I felt like I was
about to pass out.
The doctor pushed through the door, quickly
cutting open my clothes and prepping the
meds.
Mom explained, “Danny, you’re hurt bad. I’m
afraid of doing surgery right away in case
something goes wrong. I promise we’ll wait
until tomorrow when we get the best medical
experts to the hospital for you, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I promise you, you’ll be back on
the court!”
A tear slipped from the corner of my eye.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Mom, will I really be
able to play basketball again?”
Mom froze, looking away.
After a few seconds, she sighed and said,
“Danny, when have I ever lied to you?”
That was it. I was done.
I looked down. “Okay. I trust you, Mom.”
Mom smiled. “Good boy, Danny…”
But she stopped short when the doctor cut
away the pants leg, revealing the skin
underneath.
“What the hell?!”
Seeing the shocked looks on Mom and my
sister’s faces, I said quietly, “Those thugs
were having a contest to see who could hurt
me the worst.”
“They were smashing me with rocks, burning
me with cigarettes. They even broke my
arms…”
My sister covered her ears. “Don’t, please
L
Mom was crying, her eyes full of pain.
The doctor shook his head. “What kind of
sickos would do something like this? Kid,
hang in there, this might sting a bit…”
I shook my head slowly. “It’s okay…”
The pain on my body didn’t compare to what
was happening to me internally.
While the doctor was putting on the ointment,
I heard my sister and Mom talking outside.
My sister asked quietly, “Even with Danny like
this, should we still spread those rumors
online about him getting into the State team
by cheating?”
Mom paused for a moment, then said. “Yeah.
<
The good sports colleges, they care the most
about reputation. They won’t take anyone
who cheats.”
I worked my butt off, sweating and bleeding,
to get into the State team and win those
medals.
How could they… just erase all of that?
Tears welled up in my eyes.
The doctor asked, worried, “Hurting you?”
I shook my head, not knowing if it was the
pain from the wounds or the pain in my heart.
The two most important women in my life
were destroying my body and my reputation.
I wanted to ask them, were we family, or were
we enemies?
A few seconds later, my phone started
ringing.
I checked it and saw videos about me bribing
the coach posted on all the college forums.
The comments were brutal.
[This guy’s name is Danny Sawyer, and he’s in
my class. He doesn’t know anything about
basketball, just got in by cheating!]
[I can vouch for that. He’s got a terrible
attitude, always bullying people. He deserved
what he got.]
[Wonder what his CEO mom thinks now that
Every word felt like a knife in my heart,
making me shake all over.
