we're two sparks tumbling along

 

Brick felt so somber. Yes, he slightly remembered being the life of the party, but those days were over. He'd decided to live at Grand Betty's (his grandmother). He knew no one would understand, but he needed a vacation of some kind.

His mom had two crying toddlers. Not that he minded so much. He'd always helped out, but this was just devastating.  Sure, he'd done his best to prepare himself for Lily's departure. After all, he'd thought he'd been the wise one and would be with her forever. And then she said she wanted to breakup.

She might as well have stabbed him in the heart and turned the knife not just to the right but the left too. He was truly heartbroken, but what of it.

He knew what he needed to do, but doing it was two different things. Granted, he felt closer to Kevin over the last few years, but he remembered when Matty used to talk to him. And now Brick had nothing to say to him nor Kevin.

So dribbling and shooting were all he could do even if it were going through the motions. Yes, he'd felt he'd known the real Lily who was much more than a pretty face. Although, she wanted to be a princess from time to time. Yet, she was a warrior too who always wanted to do the right thing. She loved art. She loved making the silliest crafts, but she was a rock collector, always thinking ahead what could something old be made new again. 

What would he do without her? Would he remember all the things she said? Even now he was certain he would choke on tears, wishing he could hear from her. 

He hoped she felt as sad. 

"I don't know why she broke up with me," he finally let the words out. Of course, neither Kevin nor Matty had an answer for him.

"You'll get through this," Matty finally gave him a pat on the shoulder as if he had faith that Brick wouldn't go off the deep end. "You'll see, you're a lot stronger than you even know."

Thankfully, Matty didn't say he'd meet someone else. Matty said Freshman year was harder than most wanted to remember. "You'll need all the skills to study right now. " He talked of the future. Right now he needed to be making plans. College would be here before he knew it.

And Matty said he'd hang out with him when he could, but he worked at the grocery store. "I'll put a good word in for you, if you ever want to work there."

Brick knew he was crying now, but the thought of a job made him laugh. Yeah, he'd like to work.