Becoming My Best Friends Brother
This story is a work of fiction. All names are made up and all linked pictures are published CC0.
While there is no sexual contact in this story, please be aware of the rules in your community for reading this or other stories on Nifty.
Comments can be sent to stories@jento.mobi
Picture #1: http://jento.mobi/image/161511716049
This was me at the beginning of this baseball season. I was living high and fast and it cost me dearly. My name was Ryan and I was just about to turn eighteen. I was the star 2nd baseman for my school's team and the city league while getting average grades to finish up my senior year. I knew that a scholarship was out of the question and I would have to find a trade or be stuck selling in a shop for the rest of my life.
I had in the car with me, Nick, my best friend and killer shortstop as well as his 7-year-old brother Nathen. Nick helps train his brother's little league team on the weekends and it gives him time to spend with his little brother. We were heading back towards their place and I screwed up. They lived up on the ridge above town and the fastest route uses a narrow cliff hugging road. One side is a rock wall and the other is just sky. I was going too fast and misjudged a turn. Heading toward me was another car and I had to swerve. I hit the wall and spun out and around the other car, bounced off the double railing and back in to the wall.
As the car came to a stop, I realized that I could see the wreckage from above. I had popped out of my body right before the final impact. I could see that Nick survived and was fighting to get his seatbelt off and check on Nathen. I knew Nathen was gone. I couldn't feel him in his body anymore but somehow, I knew that Nick too was quickly realizing his brother was dead. In was in a panic now. I looked over at myself and knew I wasn't going to be going back to my body. I looked as dead as Nathen was. Frantic, I focused on Nathen to see if I could maybe bring him back or something. I got or something when I felt the pull of his little body. I found myself a moment later looking up in to the eyes of Nick.
"Ni..." I tried to speak but I found it harder than it should have been.
"Oh my god, Nathen you're okay! He hugged me close and a moaned as the pressure hurt. He stopped and quickly apologized. "Sorry, I thought I lost you."
"Nick, I..." I still found it hard to get enough breath to speak.
"Shhh. Don't try to talk, I think you have a broken rib and a punctured lung."
As he said that we heard sirens coming up the hill. No more than two or three minutes later we were on stretchers and being loading in to the ambulance. Our parents were already at the hospital when the three vehicles arrived. We were rushed to the trauma bays and I, as Nathen, got a chest tube, a neck brace and a major concussion. Nick ended up with a mild concussion and a sprained wrist. My real body was pronounced Dead on Arrival. I had received a broken neck, two punctured lungs and nasty cut to my side. One would have been fatal but three was a promise of death.
About three days after the accident, Nick had finally been able to come to my room in the ICU. I was laying in the best wondering what I was going to do. He sat down in the chair and I turned to him. He held his finger to his lips to remind me not to talk. My lung needed to heal and I had a tube in my throat to keep it inflated.
"Nathen, I'd hug you if I could. I was so worried about you. I'm sorry to tell you this but Ryan didn't make it. They said he was speeding when we were on Canyon Road and we are lucky to be alive." Nick started to weep as he spoke. "He was my best friend. He did so much for us with mom and dad working so much. I cannot even imagine how Ryan's parents are dealing with losing him. His mom won't even look at me."
I grabbed a notebook and a crayon and tried to write a note.
Nick
I not Nathen
Nick looked over at the paper and surprise spread over his face. He fell out of the chair and started backing up and holding the cross around his neck out.
"Demon get out of my brother!
I scrawled out fresh year and turned the paper toward him. He stopped and fell to his knees. He was silent for a good five minutes until a single question came from his lips. "Ry-ry?" I nodded and held out my hand so he would come closer.
"But, how?"
I reached out and touched his shirt with my finger. I tapped on his chest a few times and tilted my head since I couldn't speak. He looked down and his face fell. I motioned a phone to my ear and he pulled out his cell phone. I opened a note app and started typing as fast as the autocorrect would allow.
I jumped my body as we crashed. I knew Nathen was gone and I was trying to pray him back alive somehow. I thought maybe I could pull him back and go in his place. I didn't know that it would pull me in. I just felt a tug and then I was staring in to your eyes. I just wanted him to be alright.
As I finished I felt tears starting to flow from my eyes. I handed the phone back to Nick and he dropped it in my lap as he read. He looked at me and I saw the disbelief in his eyes. I held up our secret sign from when we were kids. He started to cry harder as he sat down in the chair. I knew he was now realizing he hadn't just lost his best friend but he had lost his brother.
At that time, my night shift nurse came in and ushered Nick out and gave me my next dose of pain meds and antibiotics. As I fell asleep I was wracked with guilt seeing my best friend hurting. I also knew that neither he nor I could tell anyone unless we wanted to be committed to the looney bin for the rest of our lives.
Nick came back the next day and after his parents left to give us privacy he had a million questions. He did his best to keep them to yes or no answers as they were all just a quiz to make sure I was who I said I was. He asked about school and baseball first and then ended up on freshman year. That was the year we started fooling around. It started out hot and fast but quickly burned out as we realized it was ruining our friendship. Ever since, we have played a few times but only as friends.
After he had given me the third degree he told me that my mom had finally sat down and talked with him. She had apologized for ignoring his family and said she would let us know when the service would be. She also gave Nick the picture of him I had in my wallet. She didn't know why it was there but figured he would want it.
Picture #2: http://jento.mobi/image/161511720479
"I forgot you had it in your wallet. I was glad she didn't want an explaination. I think it might have killed her if she knew." He came over and carefully tried to hug me. "But what do we do now? Your trapped in my brother's 7 year old body. You know things he won't know for ten years and don't know things he would have."
I took my free hand and play hit my head then shrugged. Then I took my finger and wrote out play dumb and then hit my head again. Nick laughed and agreed it might just work. He then had to leave to go take a make up final so he could still graduate. I cried after he left because I should be graduating in a few days too but now that was another ten years away. The nurse heard me and thought I was in pain again so she gave a bit more pain meds. In about 5 minutes I was out like a light.
I woke up with a bright light in my eyes. I looked around and I looked like myself and Nathen was standing next to me. We were in a room that looked like his bedroom. He looked at me and smiled. He ushered me to sit on my bed and he sat down at my computer desk.
"Hi Ry." He giggled "I never heard Nick call you that before."
"You heard that?" I looked at him questionly. "It was his nickname for me a long time ago."
"Yeah, I have been keeping track of my body as best as I can. I know you really prayed for me at the crash site. I passed instantly being a pure soul. You were a good person so you were given a second chance. The car you spun us around was being driven by a drunk driver and would have hit us anyway. All three of us would have been pushed off the road where a guard rail post was weak. Four people should have died but instead of one did. Your 'recklessness' actually saved two lives." He smiled at me.
I frowned. "So I saved the life of a drunk and took the life of my best friends brother? Doesn't sound right to me. You and Nick should have lived and that drunk should have died if he was going to hit us anyway."
"No, you got it wrong. He did die, just not then. He thought he caused the accident and he drank himself to death the next night. You and I died but you were not finished here. That is why to popped out of your body. You get a second chance to live. Not many people are given that as it is a true gift from heaven." Still smiling he got up and hugged me. I felt a strange warmth over take me. "As my personal gift to you I gave you my memories. Take care of my brother, no take care of your brother."
"Nathen..." I looked down strugling to find the words. "Thank you I guess. I still wish I would have gone instead of you. You had so much to live for. You were so happy and either my fault or not you shouldn't have died."
"Ryan, it's okay. I am glad that Nick is okay and that you are there for him. I really did love you like a brother and I don't want you to feel guilty. I know you still loved him too. I came to you here so I could pass on what you will need to continue as me. I know Nick already knows you are me but it's best you don't tell anyone else. Don't let him know you have my memories either."
I look a little shocked but then I realize why. "You don't want him to know what you knew about him and I before."
He nods. "I have to go soon. The last thing before I go is I need to ask you a favor. Will you let me trade images? I don't want to look like a kid forever and I think it will help you integate in to your new life."
I tilted mt head. "What's that?"
"I want to switch how we see ourselves." I lifted my head back up. "In heaven, we look like what we think we look like. No scars, no wrinkles, no injuries from Earth."
"You want to look like me in heaven? Why?"
He laughed. "You are drop dead handsome. Who wouldn't want to look like you?"
I thought for a moment. It felt right to give him my image since I took his body.
"Ryan, you didn't take my body. It was given to you because I wasn't going to need it anymore. Too much pain would have been caused to my family and yours. Come here and grab my hand."
I got up and walked over to him and grabbed his hand. At once I felt a burning in my arm that took over my whole being. I saw the world get a bit taller and suddenly was staring at my old self. I turned to look over at the mirror on my closet door and saw Nathen staring back at me.
Picture #3: http://jento.mobi/image/161511721934
"It's done now. Thank you for everything you did for me and Nick. I'll check back on you Nathen."
I tried to argue but something in me had accepted that I was going to be called Nathen for the rest of my life. "Thank you Nate. You're welcome anytime."
He smiled at being called Nate and disappeared. I sat in my old room for a long time before I got up and walked through the door. As I did it all dissolved behind me in to the blackness.
I woke up in the hospital room again and something was different. I felt more in tune with Nathen's body. No, it was my body now. I also realized the tube was removed while I slept too. I looked over and saw Nathen's, no, my mom sitting there. She smiled as she saw me waking up.
"You gave us quite a scare young man. I'm glad your okay. Nick's been waiting to see you since the doctor said you looked like you might come around soon." She left the room and in walked Nick.
"Ry?" He cried as he pulled the curtain across. "Man you scared me when you dropped in that coma."
"Coma?" I had talked without realizing I could. My thoat also didn't hurt anymore. "I only fell asleep because the nurse gave me more drugs."
"No, you were out for 8 days. They were not sure why it happened but you were medically fine. Your brain activity was off the charts so they just let you sleep. They took the tube out a few days ago because they said you were breathing fine."
"I feel really good now. I don't hurt anymore and I want to go home." I looked up at Nick and smiled. "Besides, this bed sucks."
"I'll ask mom when you can come home. I mean to my home not yours." Nick look like he was trying to make everything sound right.
"Our home is what you mean." He looked confused still. "I am Nathen now and that isn't going to change. I'm going to be your brother for the rest of our lives. I don't know if I should tell you this but I saw him while I was out. He told me a lot of things but the important one is that I am now your brother. He wants you to be okay with this. He loves you so much."
"Ryan..."
I stopped him. "I am Nathen now. Ryan is gone."
Nick started to cry a bit. "How can you say that?"
"I told you, I saw him and he wants you to be okay. He knew you needed your brother but he couldn't stay. He passed instantly and I was pulled in to his body. He gave me his body so I would be there for you." I started to cry a little. "He blessed me with a second chance because he loved you. He already saw me as a big brother and knew I would take care of you as you would take care of me. I wish I could explain it more but this is a gift."
It took a few minutes for him to let this sink in and then Nick hugged me tight. He went out to find out when I could leave. I had to stay a few more days but soon I was released and we went home. The service for Ryan was held a few days later. It had been postponed when I fell in to the coma. Nick and I were given pendants that had some of Ryan's ashes in them and mixed with a colored solution so it would swirl around.
Well that was almost a year ago now. I had no lasting injuries from the crash. Over the fall and winter, I had Nick secretly practice my motor skills at the Rec center and the next spring I was able to go back to playing baseball. It surprised the coach just how good I was at 2nd base all of a sudden. I told everyone that I wanted to play Ryan position because he saved me. Only Nick really knew the reason I was so good. Playing dumb at what I did and didn't remember worked for a while and then started working in my gifted memories until my 'memory loss' cured itself. I have seen Nate a few times and he is happy with how things are going. Who knows how the future will go but I can't wait to be back in high school again. I miss watching the guys change. I'll keep you up to date on that but right now I have practice to get to.
Picture #4: http://jento.mobi/image/161511724624