The Hitting Zone

Chapter 1152 V3 ch386



We got the informative text about Sunday before we even got home from school. Coach and Rose didn't waste any time. Everything was settled; we would meet near the home plate gate before noon and Rose would lead everyone in, family included. That led to a lot of happy replies from the team.

"What if someone took advantage and brought like a family of twenty?" Kyle muttered.

"We're the big family, you dope." Noah rolled his eyes. "No one on the team is like that. They're just happy to go along. We should be happy that they're happy with a Sunday day game. Otherwise we wouldn't get to be recognized with the team anyways." Noah sounded very fair.

I nodded. "If Rose said there was a limit, Coach would pass it on to us."

Noah went to Dave. "Did you ever find out if University won their division this year?"

Dave shook his head. "No, they lost in the finals though. A close one. 5-4."

"Dang." Noah rubbed his hands together. "I hope we run into each other next year so I can rub it in."

I immediately starting shaking my head. "No way. No thanks."

"You baby, Bambi." Noah pulled me into a playful headlock. "We're 1-1 against them. We need a deciding edge."

"And you think you can win without us?" Dave scoffed.

The bickering went back and forth until Grampa came in our room to check on us. "Doesn't sound like a lot of homework is getting done."

Noah stood up and stretched. "It's about time Jake and I login for our online portion of driver's education anyways."

I got up too. We both grabbed our laptops and took them downstairs to the kitchen table. Mom already told us that she wanted us to do the online part down there so there could be an adult keeping an eye on us, making sure we were paying attention.

I was. I had never imagined driving before moving in with the Atkins. Even after, there was always someone else to do it. In fact, I don't plan on fighting Noah for time behind the wheel like the twins did with one another. I was mostly going along with it because now Mom and Dad expected me to get my license like Noah. And honestly, Noah waited a couple extra months until I was eligible so it was only right to follow through.

For most of the week, that online course took up our free time. Just a couple hours a day to get it going. Our next in person class was Thursday night, which coincided with being the final night of conference pool play. Which was hard to understand. Despite having a good season and all, Zeke's team could still miss out on the playoffs? The format gave me a headache. I just went off of what Noah said, happy to know that Zeke was already safe from elimination. He would definitely be playing Friday night.

Alisha made plans with Kaylee this weekend while we were going to be gone. Kaylee was finally in a better place with her pain levels, and planning for her next surgery to be Monday. I felt a little guilty that we weren't going to be around all weekend, but she said we could pay her back by taking great notes in the classes that we shared. There would be a chance that she could miss the whole week, effecting her studying time for finals. Nothing she could do about the timing though. This is what the surgeon instructed. She couldn't wait too long or the bones could heal incorrectly. But she couldn't rush it earlier because of the swelling. Her recovery hasn't been smooth sailing at all.

When I brought this up to Noah as we prepared our overnight bags for the weekend, he knew what I was getting at. "Don't worry, like I said before, Kaylee is no wimp." He grinned and patted my shoulder. "She's got you to look up to, ya know."

"Me?" I was stunned. "What? How? I've never had a devastating injury like that."

"But you sort of did." Noah pointed out. "You almost died, remember?"

I was taken aback. "That…" I trailed off, not saying the full sentence of: that wasn't the same. Because…I did have some horrific injuries. I spent months at the hospital, recovering and then physical therapy. I did think of a difference though. "I wasn't trying to come back to a starting spot on the varsity team." I pointed out.

Noah didn't seem bothered. "No. Probably wasn't on your mind at all. But, I bet you had a goal in mind."

I shook my head. At that time…I had nothing. Knew nothing. Knew no one. "I was just going through the motions."

"Maybe you thought so." Noah told me. "But I think you secretly had a goal. Maybe not to play baseball. But to be back in the cages. It was probably nagging you in the back of your head as you got better and better."

"I don't think so…I kind of felt betrayed in that moment of time." I sounded unsure because I was. It's hard to remember that time of pain as it was, yet alone if I was thinking about getting back into the cages.

"Yea, you probably did." Noah agreed with me again, making me confused. "But think of it this way, Kaylee probably feels betrayed too. By the very sport she loves. In a position she's good at, by a teammate she knows. It hurts. No doubt. But for people that love something so much, it's just a stepping stone for a comeback. Just compare her to last week. Now with the swelling down and a different kind of surgery in place, she's starting to come back."

I nodded. "Yea. Okay." I relaxed my shoulders. "I'm glad you think so. I just keep thinking the worse."

Noah shrugged. "Some people are like that. Just look at Rhys. He didn't bounce back as well as I had thought. He needed a little extra help."

I started to worry again. "Do you think we should have Dr. Moore check in on her?"

"What? Like a house call?" He laughed.

I held up my hands, helplessly. "I don't know. Dr. Moore helped me. I think he could help her a little."

"There's not a lot of time in school left." Noah thought it over. "If she wanted to see him, it would have to be for reals and with her insurance. Plus it's messy if she's moving." He frowned.

Eventually he scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh. "Okay. I don't have all the answers. If we think she's falling in a hole, we'll make a move or something. Like spontaneously visiting her before school starts."

I nodded, satisfied with what he came up with. "I like that. I just worry that she won't take care of herself and her family is just…not good."

"She's got someone like Alisha caring for her. She won't be alone." Noah said.

"Yea, but Alisha isn't going to move down south with her." Kaylee was already in a bad mood about the move, so I don't think she'll be doing her best without softball to occupy her time.

Noah groaned. "I swear, I'm going to have her text you every dang day to assure you that she's fine."

"That would be great. Thanks." I was relieved.

Noah facepalmed his forehead. "Dude. I was joking."

We spent most of the night talking about Kaylee, that Friday morning Noah was eager to ask her how she felt. About her surgery. Recovery. Moving.

Kaylee rested her injured arm on her desk. "Pretty hopeful."

Noah gave me a pointed look. Like 'see, I told you so'.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I really recommend Dr. Moore." I told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yea, I know. I've been to his office a few times. He's pretty chill."

I relaxed a whole lot, knowing that she wasn't afraid to talk to a professional. Dr. Moore knew his stuff and was very reliable. I think him becoming a high school counselor was the best thing to happen to this school.

"What brought all this on?" Kaylee asked. "You guys scared for me?"

"I'm not." Noah stated. "I have complete faith that you'll be back on the field, making waves at your new school. Jake is just endless with his worry."

Kaylee looked at me and nodded. "Yea, that sounds like Jake. Probably has some kind of weird emotion scale. Extreme empathy?"

"Yea, Jake doesn't do well when others are hurting. But for himself…"

I glanced at him. "I care about myself too."

"Meh. You have two modes." Noah told me. "First, flight. Something happening that you don't like and causing you too much emotional distress? You pass out. Throw up. Extreme weakness."

Kind of hard to argue that when I feel queasy just at the thought of my future and colleges.

"Second mode, you get physically hurt." He continued. "Then it's no big deal. You busted your leg last summer, easy peasy. Your arm need stitches from a game, wasn't even bothered. You just have two extremes."

"He was wired wrong." Kaylee laughed.