“They barely fed me, Hayden. My mom let men come over to fuck her for drugs when my dad was at work. Some of them liked me more than her, so she made me watch them jerk off as payment. My parents hated my guts because I needed clothes, food, and attention. My life was shit.”

“I know. We all know. Poor Aleck needed so much because he was given so little. Richard and Midge put so much into their new little boy, they didn’t even realize what was going on with the one they already had. All they did was repair one boy’s pain while ignoring the other’s.”

I swallow hard, my brow dipping curiously. “Tell me then. Tell me what you went through. I’m all ears, but this is your last shot with me, Hayden. Because I’m tired of feeling like I did something wrong just because I was adopted by your parents.”

Hayden sniffs, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. He plops back onto the couch, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter…” No longer riding a surge of adrenaline, he lets his head fall back onto the cushion. “I’m fucking tired.”

I let my muscles rest and shake my head. I sit back in my leather armchair, my eyes scan the mess I made when I flipped my coffee table. That was a $800 bottle of single malt, damnit.

“She used to go to every game… Every single practice…” Hayden’s voice pulls me back to our conversation.

“Mom?”

His head still resting back and his eyes still closed, he nods. His chest rises and falls at a steady, relaxed pace. “Until the day she got the call that a little boy needed a home, that is. She left my game early that day. I didn’t even know she was gone until Coach told me he spoke with my mother and he’d be giving me a ride home.”

Hayden’s shoulder and arm slide down the cushion until he’s lying on his side, his hands steepled under his cheek like a sleeping child. And for the first time, I see a man so flawed it’s almost endearing. Human even.

“Coach…” he mumbles. “Leaf Gunner… It’s hard to forget a name like that. I’ve never forgotten, but for different reasons entirely.”

I stare at my brother, a cinder block dropping in my stomach. “Hayden…” He doesn’t answer. “Hayden, what happened with Gunner?”

“She never attended a practice after you came to live with us. Only made it to half my games. Even when I begged for her to come or at least send a driver to pick me up. She said that you needed her more, and I should be understanding. And if Coach Gunner was so kind as to offer his services, why send a driver? Plus, all the trouble I was getting into… She thought spending time with him helped me stay on the right path.” His hooded lids open slightly, his eyes glazed over. “You were the worst thing that ever happened to me.”