Chapter 25

Daniel

"What the fuck was that?" Paul Thompson pulled off his batting helmet as he screamed and chucked his bat.

Where I hadn't planned on smacking him with the ball, the fact that I had was pretty damn cool. He charged the mound, and I dropped my glove, punching him one good time in the face before he tackled me to the ground.

"You think she's yours, McAdams? You're fucking wrong." He popped me in the face before I could roll us over and move up to sit on his chest. I hit him several times before Rick pulled me off of him.

"Have you two lost your damn minds?" Rick screamed.

I jerked away from him and walked to the dugout as the crowd booed. I wasn't sure who they were booing at, nor did I care. I was furious at Terra for going over to talk to Paul before the game. What was she thinking?

Was she trying to make me jealous? Cause I was.

"Great way to set me up for a win, dear," I mumbled sarcastically and pulled at my clothes. I'd take a shower and head out. I was going to catch all sorts of hell for my actions, but it wouldn't be tonight. I couldn't hold back my aggression for much longer, and letting it out on Joe, Rick or Terra would be less than smart.

I jerked my locker open to grab a pair of boxers and realized that I had a zillion missed calls on my phone. I slammed the door, not caring who they were from. Probably an unknown number. Whoever the fuck it was, it could wait.

After getting in the shower, I pressed my hands to the wall beside me and leaned against the cold tiles. There were too many moving parts in my life, and I seemed to be half-ass attentive to all of them. Something had to give.

Sadly enough, it seemed like that was going to be me.

"Danny?" Terra's voice filled up the locker room, and I stifled a curse. Of course, she was going to come give me grief over it. I'd been a total dick before the game and now was her turn to get in a bit of payback.

"I'm in the shower. I'll be out shortly," I barked, hating the tone of my voice. She didn't deserve me being a dick, but I couldn't force that part of me back in its shell.

"Alright. Sure." She sounded hurt, but it was getting to be a tone I was used to. Fuck me for being such an ass. I finished washing up and dried off before wrapping a towel tightly around my waist. I walked out to find her sitting on one of the benches, her face filled with either concern or disappointment.

I put my back to her and opened my locker. "What do you want, Terra?" I knew using her full name was another asshole move. The score kept rising for me.

"Did you mean to hit Paul?" Whether there was a hint of anger in her voice or not, I somehow wanted to believe there was.

"Why do you care?" I glanced over my shoulder as if she were a ball boy or someone less important. What the fuck was wrong with me.

"Because I own this team, Daniel." She shot back at me. She was damn good at that.

I turned to face her. "Then remember that next time a rival team comes to our field. Don't run over there and high-five and hug every swinging dick on their team. It looks like shit if you didn't know."

She paled. "What did you say to me?"

"You heard me. Don't think I didn't see the way you looked for Paul. You think I'm stupid?"

"I think you're being stupid." She got up and walked toward me, her face coloring pink. "What's gotten into you? Where is the Danny I slept beside a few days ago?"

"Maybe he's still in the bed. Go wake him up." I turned back to my locker and pulled out my phone. "And who the fuck keeps calling me?"

"No. We're not doing this." She gripped my shoulder. "Turn around and talk to me."

"As my lover or the owner of my team?" I pulled from her and half-snarled over my shoulder. The phone thing plus Paul was fucking my emotions ten ways to Sunday.

"As your girlfriend," she barked.

"Is that what you are?" I pulled the phone to my ear and lifted my finger. "Be quiet for a minute. Someone keeps trying to call me over and over. Probably an ex-girlfriend that just wants to check in."

"You're an asshole." She turned and walked toward the door.

"You knew this," I called after her and turned my back to the door before plopping down.

My mom's voice filled up the line, her tone frantic. "Daniel. We're at the ER again. Your father's not doing too good. Please come up here when the game is over." The call dropped. Next one. "Daniel. It's mom. Just wanted you to know that Lyndsay is with Joan next door to the house. They're hooking your dad up to a bunch of machines. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm a little scared. Say a prayer for us, son. Please?"

Message after message of her growing more frantic.

My stomach turned upside down and it was all I could do to make it to the nearest trashcan to lose my lunch. I wiped my mouth and got dressed as fast as I could. Baseball was my whole world for so many years, but nothing was more important than my family, though I'd almost let it become that way.

I jogged down the long stairs to the parking lot and stopped short at the sound of Terra crying. Fuck. I needed to tell her that I was sorry and that I loved her.

"Hey. He's an asshole. Lots of players are assholes." Paul.

What the fuck was Paul doing on our side of the field? In our tunnel?

"No. He's a good man. He's just going through a lot. I don't need your help, Paul. Please. Seriously."

"I know you don't, kitten, but I'm not going anywhere."

Kitten?!? Rage filled my insides. No fucking way this dude was on my side of the field and now calling my woman kitten. Oh hell no.

"I'm good. Seriously." Terra screamed as I jogged down the hall and crashed into Paul again.

"You sorry mother fucker." I punched him several times before head butting him. He held his own for a little while, but finally curled onto his side and spit blood across the floor.

Terra was frantic. "Stop it! For God sakes, Danny. Stop!"

I got up as she knelt beside him, talking softly to him. Almost lovingly from what I could tell.

"I'm leaving. Make sure he knows that I was your first." I turned and spit blood behind me before walking out into the cool night air. The minute it slammed into me, I knew I'd made a grave mistake. Tears blurred my vision, but I choked them back down.

It wasn't my fault that the world was caving in. I was holding on as best as I could, and doing a rather shitty job of it.

A million regrets raced through my head as I drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital. I parked the bike on the side and jogged into the ER to find my mom teary-eyed and sitting alone in a corner of the waiting room.

"Daniel!" She jumped up and ran over to me, wrapping her arms around me and crying softly.

"How is he? What's going on?" I gripped her tightly and glanced around.

She moved back and whipped her eyes. "It's okay. He's stabilized, but I'm pretty sure he had a mini-heart attack."

I let out a painful sigh. "We told him to come up here and get checked out. What was so damn hard about that?"

"What happened to your face?" She reached up and touch my lip where it was busted.

"Ouch!" I jerked back. "Damn, Mom."

"Don't you talk to me like that." She put her hands on her hips and tried to be hard, but she quickly crumbled into tears again.

"I'm sorry. I got in a fight." I pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. I held her until my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Terra.

"How is your dad?"

I sent a one-word reply and turned my phone off. Okay.

I'd fucked things up, but tonight wasn't the night to figure them out. My mom and dad needed me too much to remain selfishly focused on anything but them.

And knowing me... Ter would always come first.