"The heart is always the last one to leave the fight."

~ Jay Long

"Give me the remote, you're not even watching anything!" Jonah whined from the leather-clad recliner to my right.

He was right, I had been surfing channels mindlessly all afternoon. It was a weak attempt to distract myself from a certain someone. Without hesitation, I tossed the remote in Jonah's direction.

"Ow, what the hell, dude?" He winced overdramatically as the plastic connected with his thigh, falling short of his jewels.

Sorry, not sorry.

"Suck it up, dude," I responded with the sweetest smile.

After skimming through the channels Jonah came to a halt at a rerun of Tom and Jerry. My eyes stalked Jerry as he cunningly tiptoed around Tom, in an attempt to make it to the kitchen. Tom began fidgeting in his sleep, his fluffy tail flailing about like a snake ready to attack. Jerry dodged the assailant by burying himself in Tom's pale blue-gray fur.

Tom groggily woke up, assessing his surroundings only to find an empty view that aided him in returning to sleep. Jerry poked his head out of Tom's fur before regaining the courage to tiptoe once again. Unfortunately for Jerry, this time, as he cautiously made a run for it, he landed on a thin pink strip of what seemed to be a carpet, but in reality was Tom's tongue.

"What with the attitude? You've been Godzilla all morning," Jonah remarked rather abruptly, switching the T.V off.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" I felt my pent-up feelings bubble.

"See?" Jonah rolled his eyes, gesturing towards me to validate his point.

I heaved a sigh, not wanting to explode on him, "Can you please just not be so annoying right now?"

"You know what? No, no I can't. I take enough shit from Mom, Dad, Stacy, and the whole fucking world. I don't need this shit from you, too," Jonah replied, clearly upset.

His reaction wasn't without reason. I had been snapping at him without a justification for my crankiness.

"It's not like th--"

"So, what? What is it like?" he interrupted me with haste.

"I--I just--it's nothing." I deflected his question.

"You know you can still talk to me, right? Just because I smoke up at parties doesn't mean you can't trust me anymore." Jonah reasoned.

"I do trust you. I'm just having a shitty day, okay?" I explained, dragging my words.

"No kidding," was Jonah's sarcastic reply.

"I just don't know what to do, okay?" I admitted with frustration.

"Is it your--"

"No," I cut him off quickly, "Not that."

"Tobias, then?"

"I don't know. Yes. No. Maybe. Okay, fine. Yes. Tobias." I confessed, my chest feeling lighter having said it aloud.

"I mean, you obviously like each other. What's the problem?" Jonah asked with furrowed brows, leaning onto his knees with his elbows.

"He said there was nothing between us," I whispered.

"And you really believe that?" He deadpanned.

"It's just awkward now. And I don't know how I'm supposed to act around him."

"So, tell him how you feel."

"Jonah, that's going to make me look like a complete fool because he clearly doesn't feel the same way." I scoffed.

"Who doesn't feel the same way?" Stacy waltzed into the living room, fully caked with make-up.

"No one," I swiftly replied.

"None of your beeswax," Jonah said at the same time as me.

"Why do you both always have to exclude me from everything?" She said with a bitchy glare. "I'm your sister too, you know."

"Save the speech, Stacy. You haven't been a sister in a long time. Don't put this on us." Jonah's tone was bitter.

"Whatever. I have a fashion show in an hour. There's an after-party so I'll be like super late. Oh, and don't tell Dad if he calls. I've messaged Mom about it." And with that, she left the house.

"I'm telling Dad." Jonah threatened as he stood up.

"She'll know you did it. Then she'll be more of a bitch to you. It's your choice." I shrugged.

He turned around to leave but paused, "Oh, and, sissy."

"Yeah?" I turned over my shoulder to catch his stare.

"You do know that I've known Tobias longer than you have, right? This isn't the first time he's come into town."

"What?" I was just flabbergasted.

Jonah elaborated, "A few months ago I got into a fight...with Dad. I took off. Pissed. Got drunk out of my mind. Caused a fight at this bar. Tobias stepped in--"

"Hold on, Tobias stopped a fight instead of getting into one?"

I needed a minute to wrap my head around what Jonah was telling me.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You haven't really been in the mood to talk to me, sissy. And I honestly didn't know you were this whipped." I rolled my eyes at his words but didn't correct him.

He continued, "Anyway, even a blind person can see that, uh, he's, uh, clearly taken a liking to you. He's probably just in denial about it."

"Thanks for the wisdom, baby Yoda." I cracked a smile.

"Tell him how you feel." He sang before chucking the remote back at me and leaving the living room.

After our conversation, I started feeling really bad for how I treated Jonah. I lay upside down with my eyes towards the ceiling and my curls cascading to the floor. I was about to holler his name when I heard my phone chime. It was a message from Dan.

DanTheMan: We still on for jonahs footy game, rite????

Me: shittt its today??

DanTheMan: pick u up in an hour u noob.

Shit, I can't believe I forgot.

----

Amidst twenty or so testosterone-pumping bodies, Jonah's beady eyes caught mine, wide with shock at first but then softening with happiness. Breaking away from his teammates, he strolled towards me.

"You're here." He narrowed his eyes with a confused smile.

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." I cocked my head. "Good luck, Joney. Break more than a leg." I grinned, pulling him into a tight hug before letting him go.

"Thanks for being here," he said with a goofy smile, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"Go get 'em." I patted his back, ruffling his hair and giving him another short hug. "I'm sorry, for, you know."

"All's forgiven, sissy," he replied.

Jonah and Dan exchanged pleasantries and handshakes before Jonah jogged back to his teammates. When Jonah's closest friend, Abdur, short for Abdul Rehman, passed a two-finger salute from the distance, I held up a supportive thumbs up.

Once Dan and I settled into a pair of untenanted seats high up on the bleachers, my eyes traveled across the vast football field. The dark green field burned brighter, illuminated by the blinding stadium lights. Suddenly my mind teleported me back to a dark place, a memory I had been burying for too long.

"Ariel, don't. It's not worth it." He warned me, knowing all too well where my thoughts had taken me.

"You're right." I forced a smile, shaking my head.

As the players captured their positions on the field, I couldn't help but feel proud of Jonah, who stood with confidence, his back straighter than a ruler and his stance aggressive.

Ever since I could remember, Dan and I had supported Jonah by going to every single one of his games. That was, of course, until college happened. Jonah always wanted to play professionally but Dad held him back, much like Dan and his father. That was one of the reasons why Dan and Jonah always got along so well.

"Hey, Dan." I turned to face him.

He handed me my coke, "Yeah?"

"Thanks for always being there for me. For Emily. For Jonah. For everyone really." I smiled, gratefully.

Dan was slightly taken aback but he masked it was a chuckle, "Well, someone's gotta take care of you knuckleheads."

"I just want you to know..." I beamed, "I'm here for you too, okay? You don't always have to keep it in."

"I know--"

The high-pitched sound of the starting whistle resonated through the bleachers, interrupting Dan. Our conversation became secondary as the game commenced. Brutal tackles, rough shoves, and piercing studs. Jonah, who was playing left-winger, flicked the round sphere towards Brandon. After skillfully claiming the ball with his left foot, Brandon directed it towards Abdur, who was playing as a central-attacking-midfielder. 

Abdur emerged through numerous players, dodging their callous tackles. When his path was obstructed by a gigantic player of the opposing team, I winced. 

"Oh, crap," I mumbled.

Their encounter resulted in the loss of possession as the towering giant, who resembled The Mountain from Game of Thrones, savagely nudged his massive shoulder into Abdur's, which must have surely felt like colliding with a wrecking ball.

My anxious eyes flickered between Jonah, Abdur, and The Mountain. I was hyperventilating. I exhaled deeply as I released my lower lip from the grasp of my teeth, unaware of how intensely I had been gnawing at it.

Jonah retrieved the little ball, dribbling it between the sanctity of his feet. An opposing player approached Jonah, closing in like a hyena near the left wing of the pitch, a menacing grimace dancing on his square-shaped face.

The player charged towards Jonah like a hostile bull. My eager eyes instantly caught the void between his legs, his aggression presenting a golden opportunity. It was as if Jonah had read my mind, he dodged the player's tackle by rotating three-sixty degrees with the ball. The Bull was caught off guard, the ball flying through from between his legs.

"Yes!" I pounded my fist with pride.

"That's right, Parker Junior!" Dan encouraged Jonah with a holler.

The ball darted through to the other side, Jonah side-stepped to regain it with his right boot. Snaking past two Bulldog players, Jonah's boot collided thunderously with the ball volleying it towards Abdur, who anticipated the long ball and controlled it with ease.

Abdur, who was situated in the center of the field, struck the ball with immense force to pass it over to Brandon, who claimed the right wing of the field, opposite Jonah. Abdur's tactful shot was regrettably stonewalled by The Mountain once again. 

Abdur was getting frustrated, his frown creasing harshly and his ears turning crimson. Luckily, as Brandon and The Mountain struggled for dominance, Abdur hastened towards the ball, using the distraction to his advantage.

As Brandon and The Mountain parted ways, Abdur immediately passed the ball back to Brandon, this time his attempt proving fruitful. 

"Look for Jonah!" I yelled.

Without wasting a single second, Brandon fired a cross into the penalty area which was the rectangular box that enclosed the Bulldogs' goal. It was as if the ball had decelerated in mid-air on its way towards the players in the center of the box, one of them being Jonah.

Acting instinctively, Jonah leaned back, raising his left leg in the air permitting his right boot to beautifully connect with the ball. He momentarily hovered in the air, flicking the ball over his head causing it to roar past the goalkeeper and magnificently puncture the back of the net like a bullet piercing through flesh.

"Did he just score a bicycle goal?" I gaped, clearly awestruck.

"I wish I could replay that." Dan whistled.

The crowd gathered in the stands bellowed in celebration of Jonah's goal. Dan and I were louder than the rest.

Eighty minutes in, the game was at two to zero, in favor of the Wolves. Jonah hadn't scored the second goal, but he had beautifully assisted Abdur to score.

I watched and sipped my coke simultaneously. Jonah was on the ball, cutting down the right. Abdur and Brandon supported him down the center. Ready to put in a deep cross, Jonah flung his leg. The opposing team's number three inserted his leg to block the shot but caught Jonah's knee-joint. Jonah tumbled to the floor, crash-landing, my drink slipped through my hands, doing the same.

I felt my heart lurch out of my throat.

Clutching his leg, my baby brother was reduced to a puddle of sharp winces and grunts. Loud curses and whistles from the players and referees echoed but I couldn't focus on anything other than Jonah. He was jerking around in pain, pounding the ground. 

"Dan." My breathing got ragged.

Number three's brutal tackle on Jonah caused a domino effect. I couldn't see Jonah over the bodies that were shoving each other and butting heads. The referees repeatedly blew their whistles in an attempt to cease the violence, but they too were caught in the crossfire.

"Fuck, Dan, w--where's Jonah?" I wheezed, hyperventilating. "Dan, he's h--hurt. What I--if--"

I can't fucking breathe. 

"Shh, it's okay. Breathe. Just breathe, okay?" Dan rubbed my arm reassuringly. "Ariel, look at me. Look at me. Just breathe. Deep. In. Out." Dan cradled my face, his words soothing me in the slightest of ways.

"Come on." I stumbled down the steps, clinging onto Dan's arm.

After that point, everything was just a red blur. 

Jonah's deafening screams and heart-breaking cries engulfed the ambulance. He kept hitting the side of the stretcher, biting down on his lip in agony. His breaths rapid, in and out. My chest felt tight like something was squeezing the life out of me. 

"Fuck, Jonah. Just hold my hand." I secured his jittery hands into my own, "Here, I know it hurts. Just squeeze." I breathed shakily, letting him crush the life out of my hands.

I didn't know what to do other than let my emotions consume me.

----

So, Tobias wasn't in this chapter and he's feeling kinda left out.

Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share if you enjoyed this chapter.

Love, Ari