Chapter Twenty
School kicked into high gear after the break. Mallory canceled our sessions for the week. She had a couple of freshmen on the verge of nervous breakdowns, so that killed the weekend, too. We ate lunch together when our schedules allowed it, but there weren’t enough lunches or moments.
Sunday evening, we ate at the student union. Mallory video chatted with her grandmother about Aunt Chrissy, who had taken a turn for the worse over the holiday. Grandma wouldn’t be home for Christmas, and it was too late for Mallory to find an affordable flight to Arizona.
“You okay?” I asked as I nibbled on a salad. It was a preemptive strike against my diet. I’d let myself eat too many greasy burgers and fries without enough exercise to stop any weight gain. Not that it was much, but it needed to come off.
Mallory shrugged and stabbed at her own lettuce. “It’s not a big deal. We haven’t spent Christmas together since she went to Arizona when I first started at Westland.”
“Come home with me.” The words shot out of my mouth without any thought, but I didn’t regret them. It was perfect.
“You’re not serious.” Mallory stared at me, her fork halfway between her plate and her mouth.
“Yeah,” I said, setting my fork down and taking her hand. “Why not? It’s perfect. You can meet my parents, my sister. We can spend the holiday together.”
“I don’t know, Aaron.” Mallory pulled her hand from underneath mine. “Can I think about it?”
Talk about an ego deflater, but I didn’t balk. “Sure. No problem.”
Mallory closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to push you away again. I promise, but I just…this is a huge step.”
It was. I should’ve realized that, but I didn’t. So I did what I did best when it came to Mallory, I changed the subject. “Oh, I can’t make it to the library tomorrow afternoon. Carter wants to hit the cages.”
“No problem.” Her alarm buzzed on her cell. Our brief lunch was up. Mallory grabbed her bag and kissed my cheek. “I’ll call you later.”
Monday morning, Coach called me into the locker room along with ten other guys. We stood in line to pee in a cup. Random drug testing had begun. For a moment, I almost panicked. Almost. It had been well over a week since I took anything. I was safe. No way I’d fail.
Seth came out of the stall. He raised an eyebrow at me as I took a cup.
“Relax,” I whispered.
Seth nodded once as he passed by. Nothing to worry about.
Jason showed up on campus discreetly hidden under a Westland cap and sweatshirt. I met him at the parking lot of the training center. Anybody who glanced at him probably thought he was just another grad student. Until he showed up at the indoor cages. Everyone knew who he was then. Fortunately, I’d asked Coach to close the cages for exactly that reason.
“Hey, Carter, great series!” Rosenthal sidled up to him with three balls.
I shoved him out of the way. “Beat it, rookie.” Jason glanced at him, and I smiled. “He’s the reason I’m on the DL.”
Carter shook his head and signed balls while fielding questions for ten minutes before Coach finally freed us from the masses. I had to admit being in his limelight wasn’t a bad thing. Rosenthal weaseled his way back in, and I didn’t kick him out. Jason Carter was everyone’s hero these days. The rookie interrogated me on how I knew Carter and why I’d never shared that particular secret. I shrugged it off, but Jason told him we had a mutual friend. Neither one of us mentioned Mallory. Chuck and Seth stared at me with deadpan expressions. I knew what they were thinking, they’d get me drunk enough I’d tell them how I met the pro. I made a mental note not to drink with them anytime soon.
“All right, stud, show me this swing I’ve heard so much about.” Carter leaned against the protective fence with a smirk.
“Stud, huh? Guess my reputation precedes me.” I tugged on my batting gloves before stepping into the cages. My knee was wrapped tight under the brace. I had popped enough aspirin to kill a normal human. They only dulled the pain. I mentally thanked Seth for the supplements. I’d taken two after lunch, and it was like power surging through me. Even though I knew it was psychosomatic, it felt good to be strong again. Supplements can’t make you feel like Superman. I double-checked the label to see what was in them. There was more B-12 than the body needed, but that was it.
“You better not have a reputation outside the field.” Carter’s voice darkened, and I turned before starting the machine. “Mallory means a lot to me, Betts.”
I nodded but didn’t respond. My gut tightened, and anger raged through me like a volcano ready to blow. He had no reason to say that. Mallory wasn’t his sister. She wasn’t anything other than an old family friend. I reached out and turned the key, setting the speed at seventy-five to warm up. Hitting balls, that’s what I needed to ease the fury swirling inside me.
My grip tightened around the bat as I took my stance.
“Relax, Aaron. You’re too tense,” Carter said behind me.
That arrogant asshole. Just because he played pro ball didn’t mean he knew my stance.
The first ball lobbed in toward me, and I swung off-balance, fouling it back. The constant dull throb in my knee picked up the tempo. All that did was make me angrier. I’d barely gotten myself reset when the next ball flew toward the painted-on plate. I kept my head down and made solid contact.
“Nice,” Carter said, following up with a whistle.
I gritted my teeth. To hell with his approval. My swing felt natural and smooth, except for the sharp pain growing in my knee. After ten swings, the throbbing was too much. I did my best to keep it off my face as I pushed open the door and exited the cage. At least my anger had disappeared.
“Mallory’s right. You’ve got skill.” Carter glanced down at my brace, then back up to my face. “Knee still bugging you?”
“Little. Tweaked it last Friday.” I crossed my arms and dug my fingers into my ribs. Tweaked my ass. The fucker hurt worse than it did after the surgery.
“Just don’t do some anything stupid.” Carter didn’t say anything else about my knee after he stepped into the cages. He took ten swings, letting his arms extend and his hips rotate in a smooth motion. I watched his form, studying the little details. His right foot pivoted on the heel only a fraction. He led with his hips, letting them decide where the ball was going. I hated to admit it, but Carter’s technique was damn near perfect.
Bastard.
“She likes you, Betts,” he said as he swung over a ball, sending it bouncing along the concrete floor. “Mallory keeps herself closed off from the world, but she’s let you in.”
I smiled. “A little bit, anyway.”
He reached over to the machine and turned it off. “More than anybody else I’ve met. And I haven’t met that many.”
“You live in St. Louis. How many could you meet?” I pulled off my batting gloves. There wasn’t a reason to leave them on. My swings were done.
“Yeah, maybe, but I’m home over the winters. I’ve met her ex-boyfriends. Not to mention Amie. That girl is… Let’s just say she’s Mallory’s opposite.” Jason left the cage and stared at where I’d dropped my gloves. “Mallory prefers to spend her time alone. For some dumbass reason, she doesn’t mind you.”
I huffed a laugh.
He leaned against his bat and stared at me. “How much do you know about her?”
Probably less than you. I kept that retort to myself, but it deflated me. “She told me about her parents, about her brother.”
His eyes closed, and he rubbed his hand over the tattoo on his forearm. “Shit.”
“What?”
“You know Faust?” He scratched his chin as he waited for my answer. I didn’t have one. “Okay, not an English lit type of guy, I’m guessing.”
“Yeah, not so much.” My knee throbbed a lonely beat, and I had to sit on the bench nearby. “What’s that got to do with Mallory?”
Carter sat beside me and stared off into space. “Mallory’s the victim of a Faustian situation.”
I tried to figure out what exactly he meant, but it didn’t make a lick of sense. “That tells me nothing, Jason.”
He laughed and slapped my shoulder. “Her dad sold out his entire family to make Danny the best. He sold his soul to the devil, so to speak. When the devil came calling, he took more than Coach V. And Mallory’s left to deal with it.” He waited until I met his gaze. “Just do me a favor, Betts. Don’t think her weak. Mallory’s the strongest person I’ve ever known.”
I didn’t have a response, so I nodded. Of course Mallory was strong. She was a fucking mountain.
“And don’t hurt her.” He squeezed my shoulder. “She’s not a risk-taker, but she’s taking one by letting you in. If you do something stupid to screw this up, it could hurt her more than you realize.”
Too fucking late. I faked a chuckle. “Seriously? I’m bound to do something stupid. I’m a guy.”
“True. Anna’s quick to point out my faults whenever possible. Says it keeps my ego in check.” Carter grinned when he mentioned his girlfriend’s name.
“I won’t do anything to hurt her intentionally.” I let the sincerity seep into each word. Doping wasn’t intended to hurt her. Just heal me. Guilt sat in my stomach. “Believe me on that.”
Jason nodded and rolled his shoulders. “Okay.” He nodded again. “Okay. Enough of this sissy bonding bullshit. Let’s hit some more balls. You up for it?”
I wasn’t, but the competitor in me wouldn’t let this go without a tiny fight. Even if it was one I would lose. “Yeah.”
Carter took the cage first, and I watched as he trashed the balls. Mallory said I had a sweet swing, but it was nowhere near where this guy hit. I could learn from him. Maybe a scout would give me a second glance despite my knee. The roar of the crowd, standing at home plate for my first pro at-bat, the fit of the uniform.
Maybe this dream could become reality.
I smiled, and didn’t stop until I fell asleep later that night.