Chapter 25 Punch Every Man

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Jace took a step back, his heartbeat hammering in his ears. His eyes darted between the towering legends of the game; their eyes locked onto him with an intensity that made his stomach churn. The Idea of having to face them every time he went to sleep was crazy and not something he looked forward to.

"The is no opt-out button but there is an option to adjust the difficulty setting. To start off it will be at Heisman difficulty which should push you for a while as you proceed with all the different training options available." Coach Cash stated with a light smile as the players visibly de-aged to their younger selves.

They still looked formidable, but they were now more like their college selves or what they would have been. However, they didn't seem any less threatening to Jace matter of fact they looked more athletic. They were at the peak of the college level and no matter how good he was he knew he was fucked especially after seeing the offense he would receive.

In front of him stood the replica of the LA Bruins offensive team and no matter how famous the school is they did not match up to names like Ray Lewis and Reggie White. Jace exhaled sharply, tightening his grip on his helmet. "So let me get this straight. I have to read the defence, make the right call, and execute—all while these monsters are coming for my head?"

Coach Cash nodded. "Exactly. Welcome to the proving ground, shorty. This is where quarterbacks are forged. Do you want to reach the next level? You need to survive this first. Before that you should probably wake up, see you, next time kid." with that said he tapped Jace on his head causing him to lose consciousness as a drowsy feeling washed over him.

In the next moment, he found himself staring at a familiar ceiling with peeling paint and mould at its corners. "Guess that was a dream," he voiced as he tried to sit up only to wince slightly prompting him to look down at his bandaged abdomen. "I expected it to hurt more than this though," he voiced as he remembered just how much he was bleeding considering his Hollywood-like tendency to bleed like a fountain at the slightest cut.

"Big brother you're awake!" the loud yell of his little sister Kyra snapped him out of his thoughts as he finally noticed the little girl on his bed. From the looks of it, she had been sleeping here and from the streaks of dried tears, Jace could tell she must have been worried.

"Don't worry ladybug, I'm Ironman remember, no matter how much I get hurt I will always pull through in the end," Jace said stretching out his hand to ruffle her curly shoulder-length hair. "Besides I still have to walk you two down the aisle,"

"hmph, I'm never getting married, so you are not allowed to die like Mom and Dad, plus boys are so annoying," Kyra responded with a pout as she proceeded to slap his hand away in a huff.

"hahaha that's my girl, all boys are bad so the next time you see them breathing in your direction you punch them in the stomach, OK?" Jace responded with amused laughter but to Kyra her brig brother looked even more serious than even when he played in games.

"But you are a boy too brother," She responded causing his reassured smile to falter for a second before lighting up as he seemed to come up with a solution. "No, I'll be 18 in a couple of weeks so I'm a man, but you should also punch every man that comes too close except me. If you punch my face I won't find a wife,"

Jace's lips quirked at his sister who liked she would say something that would blow his reasoning out of the water. "Anyway, you get what I'm saying, right? Don't let any boy bully you and no dating until college. You don't even have to get married your big brother will take care of you,"

"But college is so long away, my friend Bonnie already has two boyfriends," Kyra responded with discontent not believing her brother's words since all her friends always talked about boys. It would be weird if she was the only one who didn't have a boyfriend all the way to college.

"Well, your friend might be sick cause you should probably stop being friends with her or you might catch what she's got," Jace responded with a straight face as he once again patted her head before pulling himself up from his bed. "Don't think too hard about it, let's go get something to eat."

Kyra hopped off the bed, rubbing her eyes as she followed Jace out of the cramped bedroom. The hallway was narrow, its peeling wallpaper hidden behind picture frames hanging from the wall in an attempt to brighten the atmosphere. The 3 of them had decorated the house together to the best of their ability as they built their new family.

Jace led the way into the kitchen. The single overhead bulb flickered ominously, and the cupboard doors hung slightly ajar, showcasing their modest collection of mismatched plates and bowls. As he swung open the fridge, a small sigh escaped him. A half-drunk carton of milk, a few slices of processed cheese, a couple of eggs, and some leftover takeout Chinese—probably too stale to be safe—were all that greeted them.

"How do you feel about pancakes, Ladybug," he said, turning to face Kyra. "I could probably whip up some grilled cheese with what we have here, but don't blame me if it tastes more like charcoal than cheese."

Kyra giggled, tugging at his shirt. "I don't care what you make. I'm just happy you're okay. But big sis Yara will nag you for days if you burn anything in her kitchen,"

"Sigh Pancakes it is," Jace exclaimed with a smile as he started placing the ingredients on the plastic dining table that was in the kitchen.

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[09:00]

Yara didn't have a good night and barely managed to fall asleep around 5 am. She had spent most of the night making sure her brother was ok with little Kyra who promptly fell asleep after the clock struck midnight. Luckily, he only caught a light fever but that also quickly faded, and his bleeding also seemed to stop after she changed his bandages once.

The wound still looked rough, and he would need to spend a couple of weeks healing but other than that he should be fine. Only when she made sure both of her siblings were ok did she get a chance to exhale and close her eyes? Looking up at the depressing ceiling she found herself remembering the two-story house they used to live in.

She hated it growing up as all her friends lived in bigger houses with some even having pools and she couldn't go off to college fast enough. Now however she wished for nothing more than to be able to go back to those days when she had the freedom to act upon her little whims. Exhaling a tired sigh, she gathered her energy ready to face her siblings with a smile as she tried to assure them that everything would be okay.

If she was being honest, she never believed that notion for a second not allowing herself to dream after that fateful day. Now all she did was try to get what remained of her family through each day step by step. The responsibility she carried felt crushing, but she had to endure otherwise her little brother would kill himself trying to take on the burden. He was already doing more than he should be doing and if he took on anymore, he would be crushed under the pressure.

Lifting herself onto her wheelchair and proceeded to wince in pain as she swung her legs onto the chair. She looked intently at her legs before pulling a blanket meant to keep her legs warm. Wheeling herself out of the room she was about to head for the bathroom to get cleaned up before a tantalising aroma followed by laughter flooded her senses.

"No don't you dare Jace," Kyra's shrill voice resounded in the house followed by Jace. "That's big brother to you," He retorted followed by Kyra's high-pitched laughter. Wheeling herself through the hallway she was met with the sight of the cornered Kyra as Rakim sprinkled dough onto her face.

"What do you two think you are doing?" She asked the two in a stern tone as they froze mid-motion. They animatedly turned in her direction like cartoon characters caught mid-crime as they looked her way. For a second they made eye contact before smiling brightly causing her to feel uneasy. "Get Her!"

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To Be Continued...