Luke's couch wasn't the most comfortable bed, though Ty suspected the floor would've been worse. Despite the different sleeping arrangement, and the vast changes made to his life in a short, twenty-four hour period, Ty began what had become his usual routine.
Thankfully, his exercises were still things he could do with just his own body, and occasionally a sturdy bench, chair, or—in his current case—a couch. He kept his voice down, suppressing his huffs and grunts, as the light of dawn was only just filtering in through the shutters and blinds, yet even so Luke surprised him by wheeling into the room.
'Christ, Tyrese. Do you ever give this shit a rest?'
'What?' Ty sat on the couch, catching his breath, and wiping sweat from his brow. 'How can I rest when there's a championship to win.'
'First, there is no championship to win, we're in the off-season. Second, how do you think you fucked up your knee in the first place?'
Ty's teeth ground together for a fraction of a second before he clenched his jaw, halting the chainsaw. 'And who pushed me so hard?'
'You pushed yourself… but all of your coaches encouraged you. Which is why I'm gonna make sure that doesn't happen again, and that means you need to take it easy and rest more.'
'Hah, well don't worry, Dr Goggins approved of this.'
'That's the guy in charge of your rehab? Hm. I doubt he'd be a fan of you exercising so vigorously first thing in the morning.'
'SHE said I should do these exercises three times a day… never said when, just that I should take breaks in between.'
'You know by breaks they meant hours not minutes?'
Ty rolled his eyes. 'Oh really? I had no clue.'
'Hmph. Smartass…' Luke turned around, heading to the kitchen. 'You want breakfast or not?'
Breakfast ended up being a bowl of muesli, a splash of milk, and a side of silence. Though once Luke finished his and pushed his bowl aside, he said:
'You should message Coach Long, or I could if you want. He needs to hear about this stuff, and I bet you'll want him here.'
'Want him here? For what?'
'For when you talk with your parents, which you're… WE'RE gonna do today. So you're gonna have to call them, and we'll set up a meeting.'
Ty frowned, dropping his spoon into his bowl. Of course. Even if he was staying on Luke's couch for the time being, he couldn't do so without telling his parents. Whether they'd care or not was anyone's guess. But why did the idea of calling his mother, let alone his father, fill him with such trepidation?
'Look Ty, you're not in this alone. We'll be right there with you, and we can meet them at a neutral place if you want. Somewhere public.'
Ty scoffed. 'I don't think I'd want to be in public with them right now.'
'Then we can meet them here, or at your place. Weren't you on crutches? Did you have to leave those behind?'
For a moment, Ty thought about saying he'd already grown past them. He wanted to say that. Instead, he told Luke the truth. 'They're still at my house.'
'Your place it is then, because you'll need to pick those up anyway.'
'That'll give them too much power, being in THEIR house.' Ty knew his father wouldn't listen to anybody, and would take the slightest questioning as the highest insult in "his castle."
'…Maybe somewhere public is just for the best.'
'Alright, Tyrese, you figure it out and message Coach Long.'
'Fine, fine.'
It was a lengthy message, explaining everything that had happened, where Ty had ended up, and what they were planning. Coach Long's response came quickly after Ty sent the message out, and the contents of the response surprised Ty. It read:
'Would you like the day off from school?'
Ty was amazed Coach Long would be willing to accept Ty taking the day off, let alone offering it for him. But after the craziness of yesterday, Ty needed a break, and was grateful Coach Long was so understanding.
A plan was formulated. Ty would stay with Luke at his house for the day, and Coach Long would call up Ty's parents, organising an important meeting with them in regards to Ty. He'd found a better spot than anywhere public, without exposing where Luke lived—Coach Long's office was the best place to have the meeting, even if it might be a little cramped with the five of them. The meeting would take place after school hours, of course, so even if a scene was made, nobody would be around to witness it.
Ty approved of the plan, as did Luke, and the matter was settled. Then there was just the problem of passing the time until the meeting.
'Are you supposed to walk much without your crutches?'
'I can walk fine… for a while anyway.'
Luke shook his head. 'Always gotta make things harder than they are, Samuels. Whatever, just don't push yourself.' He started towards the front door. 'You'll be too busy pushing me anyway.'
It was a fine day, if a little warm when in the sun.
Luke lived in a pretty nice place. It was like a little town compacted into one street. There were a bunch of corner stores around, with mixtures of convenience stores and little markets, to bakeries and food joints, and even an electronics store. Opposite, a couple of apartment complexes flanked a park. The park was a good bit of colour in the space, as well as providing plenty of shade. Ty even spotted an ice cream truck within.
Thankfully, their walk passed through the park, and under the trees. Though Ty wasn't a big fan of how Luke was directing him around; he had eyes that could see the path as well. But other than that it was… relaxing.
Something rehab had taught Ty was an appreciation for exercising he'd seen as lesser or fake, like stretching and walking. Both these things were necessary, of course, but they'd always been tasks that had bored him. Walking was still a little boring and slow for his liking, though maybe that was just because he'd been restricted to only walking for too long, but he could still appreciate walks for the fresh air, and serenity they brought.
Once they were ambling around the park, Luke went quiet; both he and Ty had a lot to think about.
The walk wasn't too long, going around the park and back to Luke's house in under an hour. They passed the time with some more video games before enjoying a simple lunch of some cheese toasties. Then Luke surprised Ty by pulling out a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, and setting it on the coffee table—the picture on the box showed a rolling vista of grasslands and hills, with a massive stone wall crawling all over it like a gigantic grey snake.
'What's this?' Ty asked as Luke started spreading out the pieces, flipping some so they were all face up.
'A jigsaw puzzle. And the Great Wall of China.'
Ty stared at Luke, unamused. 'I know that. But why are you doing it? Aren't these things for old people or little kids?'
Luke picked up the next piece and paused. He slowly flipped it over, looking at Ty. 'I'm doing it to keep my mind sharp. Sudoku, jigsaws, crosswords, they're all great at improving your quick thinking. As for why its THIS puzzle… I'm doing all the wonders of the world… I'll probably never get to see any of them.'
Ty frowned, staring down at the box. He knelt down at the low table and helped Luke flip over the rest of the pieces. 'You just said that to make me feel like a dick.'
Luke smirked, though neither confirmed nor denied Ty's accusation.
They didn't get too far into the puzzle before it was time to meet up with Coach Long and Ty's parents. Mainly they'd set out all the pieces, and put together the border of the puzzle with all the corner and edge pieces.
As they waited for the taxi to arrive, Luke grumbled about how they'd look to the driver. Ty looked down at himself, then at Luke, confusion spreading across his face. They didn't look bad, even if Ty hadn't showered that day.
'What?' he said, confusion spilling out.
'Don't worry about it,' Luke said dismissively.
'You're not old enough for them to think you're my dad, maybe my brother… half-brother anyway, but still.'
Luke stared up at Ty, long and hard, searching for any semblance of satire in the boy's face. The search came away empty. Luke rubbed at his temples. 'You're an idiot sometimes, Samuels, you know that?'
Ty had no time to argue, as the taxi pulled up a moment later, and he had to swallow his indignant response.
***
It was strange arriving at school after most had already left. There were a few stragglers around, but they were more watchful for the bus or car that was supposed to pick them up, rather than caring about one dropping somebody off. The halls were quiet as Ty and Luke made their way to Coach Long's office, and Ty couldn't help wondering how much better school would be if it was always this quiet.
When they reached the small, simple office—which looked like it could've been an extension of the gymnasium, or at least another little trophy and storage room—Ty's parents were already sitting opposite of Coach Long, waiting.
'Tyrese!' his mother cried, standing. 'What the hell is going on? Why am I hearing you got into a fight at school? Look at you. Who are you fighting? Oh, sweet Jesus, look at your face!'
Ty hadn't looked in a mirror that day, and wondered just how bad his face looked. Yet for all the concern his mother showed, she hadn't been questioning where he'd been. Had she even noticed he hadn't been at home? Did she even remember she had a son older than Ty?
Ty leaned away from Luke, scanning the room. Delilah was still performatively frantic, and Dale was glaring at him, as if wanting to blacken his other eye. Was Dale hungover or still drunk? It had to be one or the other. Surprisingly, Ty's crutches sat against the wall behind Coach Long.
'Tyrese, why don't you come take a seat and we can begin explaining,' Coach Long said, standing and pulling a chair over beside his own.
Once everyone was back in their seats, with Ty and Luke flanking either side of Coach Long on his side of the desk, the room felt more like a cage that was built for half the people present.
'Now, let's not waste anymore of your time,' Coach Long said. 'I brought you here today so we could talk about—'
'—Oh, I got something to talk about,' Dale said. 'How 'bout we talk about the window you broke, and how you ran off, leaving all that glass scattered in the laundry? You wantin' me to cut my feet up?'
As good a visual as that was, Ty doubted his father had EVER done a load of washing.
'I understand your anger, Mr Samuels, but please try to stay calm. We're all here to figure this out. The important thing to talk about first is what Ty's living arrangements will be going forward.'
Delilah shook her head. 'Wait, wait, wait. What's happening? What living arrangements?'
'There ain't nothin' to figure out. 'Specially not livin' arrangements. This boy's just tryna run off from the whoopin' he deserves.'
'YOU did this to my baby's face?'
'I ain't do nothin' he didn't deserve.'
'What if I think you deserve a black eye, too?'
'Don't test me, woman.'
'Nobody's going to land another hand on anybody!' Coach Long said. His tone of voice was the same as when he'd break up a scuffle between the boys in training. 'And if I EVER hear you've put your hands on Tyrese, I WILL involve Child Protective Services.'
Dale lowered his hand, turning his glare on Coach Long instead, who stared back unfazed. 'Who the hell do you think you are to tell me how I raise my boy?'
'I'm his coach, teacher… and his friend.'
Ty looked at Coach Long, eyes widened in surprise. Coach Long saw him as a friend? And then he noticed just how agitated Coach Long really was, despite his firm, steady voice. He was doing a good job of hiding it, but on someone as jovial as Coach Long, his clenched jaw and tightly pinched mouth was unmistakable.
'Friend?' Dale scoffed. 'Are teachers supposed to be "friends" with the students?'
Even Delilah looked concerned, backing up her husband with a stern, questioning look, but Coach Long was as unwavering as a stone.
'The good ones, yes. I'm not your enemy, folks. I want what's best for Ty, as you should, and I think what would be best for EVERYONE right now, is if Ty and you had some space for one another for some time.'
'He'll be living with me,' Luke said. 'Temporarily, until things have calmed down a bit, and Ty's in a better head space.'
'Fine,' Dale said, 'he can run off after he cleans up the mess he made.'
'I'll pay for the window to be fixed,' Coach Long said.
'Coach!' Ty exclaimed, eyes almost falling out of his head again. 'No. That's too much.'
'Not at all, Tyrese. You let me handle this.'
Ty bit his tongue, knowing just how pointless it was to argue with Coach Long when he was in a mood like this.
'Besides,' Coach Long continued, 'you can pay me back by doing some yard work for me once your leg's healed up.' He then turned his attention back to the other side of the room. 'Is there any other problems.'
Dale sat back, arms crossed over his chest, chair creaking under his girth. He looked like he'd object simply for the fact of not letting Coach Long get his way. Beside him, Delilah was in nervous contemplation, lightly scratching at the desk with a lone fingernail. Eventually, she relaxed, and a relieved smile spread across her face.
'Yes,' she said. 'That sounds best for everyone.'
Ty looked away. They'd accepted so easily. Their son was going to live with someone else, and they didn't even care. In fact they looked happy. Well, his father was still pissed at Coach Long, but he was probably happy otherwise. Ty should've been glad to get out of that hellhole, but this reaction from his parents made it seem like he was getting cast out… why did that hurt?
Coach Long stood. 'Great. I'm glad we could see eye-to-eye on this, and put aside our differences to do what's best for Tyrese.' He gently shook Delilah's hand, then offered his hand to Dale, who gripped it roughly. Coach Long didn't flinch, nor did his smile waver, as he squeezed back. Dale's jaw tightened, but he eventually pulled away from the hold, nursing his hand.
Still glaring, Dale left the room, calling for Delilah to follow him like one would a dog. Ever the faithful bitch, she hurried after him.
After the door swung shut, Coach Long sighed and sat back. Luke chuckled. 'I need a drink after that and I barely even said anything.'
'Woo boy, you're telling me,' Coach Long said.
'Try living with them,' Ty mumbled. 'I'm sorry about them.'
Coach Long placed a firm hand on Ty's shoulder. 'You have nothing to apologise for, Tyrese.'
'Yeah, and at least you won't be living with them anymore,' Luke said. '…Not for a little while anyway.'
'…Thank you,' Ty whispered.
Coach Long thumped Ty on the back. 'You'll thank us with that yard work. Right?' He looked at Luke.
'Eh. I have a gardener already. Though it will be nice to have someone walk me around the park every day.'
Ty shot a heatless glare his way, and Coach Long guffawed. Luke answered the glare with a shit-eating grin, though as Coach Long's laughter faded, so too did Luke's grin.
'Actually,' Luke said, 'there was another thing we wanted to ask you, Ty.' He glanced up to Coach Long.
Ty looked between them both, not feeling confident in how sombre they were getting again. 'What is it?' he asked, though without truly knowing if he wanted to learn the answer.
'Well, Tyrese, we thought it'd be good if you saw a psychologist.'