Chapter 177 Lilian Baker

Chapter 177 Lilian Baker

“Tell me.”

"Dad always believed Andrew was going to be a star when it came to basketball," Lewis started.

There was something almost nostalgic in his voice as he continued.

"He used to tell everyone that Andrew was special. Not just good. Special."

I could almost picture it.

A young Andrew on a basketball court. A father standing somewhere nearby, watching proudly.

Lewis continued, "Andrew was good. Really good. He worked harder than everyone else. He practiced longer. He would wake up early just to train."

That sounded like him.

"Everyone expected him to make it, but something happened."

My curiosity spiked.

"At first, we thought it was just the pressure."

"The finals?"

"Yes," he nodded. "The finals were getting closer, and Dad was putting more pressure on him. Every conversation became about basketball. Every meal became about basketball. Every mistake became a lecture."

"That sounds exhausting," I said, looking down at my hands.

"It was," Lewis sighed. "Andrew started changing."

"How?"

"He stopped joking. He stopped hanging around with us. He was always training or watching game recordings."

"And nobody noticed?"

"We noticed,” Lewis paused. "But we thought it was normal."

He looked toward the window.

"We thought he was just focused. Then he started getting angry."

"How angry?"

"At first, it was little things," he shrugged. "Someone would make a bad pass, and he'd snap. Someone would miss a shot, and he'd yell. His teammates started complaining."

I shook my head.

Lewis's voice became quieter.

"Then it got worse."

I waited.

"He started getting into fights with his teammates."

My eyes widened.

"Andrew?"

"Yes."

"Actually fighting them?"

Lewis nodded. "Not every day. But enough that people started noticing."

"Why?"

"We never knew."

"Did he explain?"

"He always said people were getting in his way."

I frowned.

"And your father?"

"Dad was furious."

Of course he was.

Lewis continued, "Then Andrew started getting into arguments with opponents."

"During games?"

"Sometimes."

"That must have been terrible."

"It was,” he said before looking down. "The coach warned him. The team warned him. Dad warned him. But nothing changed."

I sat quietly, trying to reconcile the Andrew I knew with the person Lewis was describing.

The Andrew I knew was strict. Sometimes impatient. Sometimes frustrating. But he was controlled. He thought before he spoke. He rarely lost control. So the idea of him getting into fights sounded almost impossible.

"Then it happened with Dad."

I looked up and asked, "What happened?"

"They had a huge argument," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Dad told him he was throwing away his future."

"What did Andrew say?"

"He told Dad that maybe he didn't want the future Dad had planned for him."

"Then what?" I asked.

Lewis was silent for a moment.

"Andrew left."

"Where did he go?"

"Out."

"Just out?"

"Yeah."

I waited.

"And that's when the accident happened?"

My stomach tightened.

"What kind of accident?"

"He was walking near the road when a motorcycle hit him."

I froze.

"He was taken to the hospital,” Lewis's voice became softer. "He had broken bones. He couldn't walk properly for a while."

I covered my mouth.

"But the worst part came later."

"What do you mean?"

"We discovered it wasn't exactly an accident."

My heart dropped.

"What?"

"One of the guys Andrew had fought with had been involved."

I stared at him.

"You mean..."

Lewis nodded.

"We found out that there had been an argument before it happened."

My mind raced.

"So someone hurt him?"

Lewis didn't answer immediately.

"We couldn't prove everything."

"But you knew?"

"We knew enough."

I felt cold despite the warmth of the clinic.

"Did Andrew know?"

"Eventually."

I looked down. "And after that?"

Lewis sighed. "After that, basketball was over."

"Just like that?"

"Not exactly."

He shook his head.

"His injuries took time to heal. By the time he was physically capable of playing again, things had changed."

"How?"

"He didn't want to."

I stared at him.

"Andrew?"

"Yes."

"He just stopped?"

"Basketball stopped being something he loved. It became something that reminded him of everything he'd lost."

I didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, so many things about Andrew made more sense.

The way he watched Lewis play. The way he became overly protective of him. The way he reacted to every little risk. The way he'd been so angry when I called him about Lewis.

He wasn't just angry, he was terrified.

"What happened to your father's expectations?"

Lewis laughed bitterly. "Dad believed Andrew had thrown everything away."

I shook my head.

"That's not fair."

"I know."

"And Andrew?"

"He stopped arguing."

That sentence hurt more than everything else.

"Why?"

"Because he was tired."

Lewis looked at me.

"After a while, he stopped trying to convince Dad that he was hurting."

I remained silent.

I thought about the Andrew I knew now.

The teacher… The serious man who always seemed to have everything under control. The person who was constantly telling everyone else to be careful. The person who had nearly panicked when he heard Lewis was injured.

Suddenly, I understood.

He wasn't simply being overprotective. He had lived through losing the future he once wanted. And he was terrified of watching his brother lose his too.

I looked toward the door again. Andrew was gone, but somehow, it felt as if I could still see him standing there.

Everything about his reaction suddenly made sense to me. And for the first time, I wondered how much of Andrew's life I had never understood.

I had always thought he was pushing me away because of rules and consequences of breaking those rules. But maybe he had spent years learning that the things people loved could disappear without warning.

I looked at Lewis again.

"Does Andrew still miss basketball?"

Lewis was quiet.

"Maybe."

"Does he ever talk about it?"

"Never."

I nodded slowly.

That sounded like him. He would rather carry something silently than admit it still hurt.

I leaned back in my chair.

My thoughts were moving too quickly and everything was getting more complicated because now I knew something about Andrew that I hadn't known before.

Something that explained his fear. Something that explained his anger. And something that made me realize that perhaps pushing me away wasn't as simple as him not wanting me.

Maybe he was trying to protect both of us from a life he had already learned could fall apart.

I looked at Lewis again.

"And your father?"

Lewis's expression became guarded. "That's another story."

"There's more?"

He nodded. "A lot more."

Of course, there was a lot more.

His father was cheating on his mother with my mother and there was no way I could tell him that now.

I didn't know who Derek Walker was… maybe if I found out more about him from Lewis, it might help me understand the kind of person he was.

Before I could ask another question, the door opened slightly and the nurse appeared.

"Your brother asked me to tell you that he would come back later," she said.

For some reason, my chest tightened as she mentioned Andrew.

Whatever had happened between him and his father was only the beginning of the things I need to know about him.