Page 170 of Unhinged

He grabs my shoulder. “Greg, you are so made for this. You’ve been delayed. Who cares? Greatness doesn’t come easily. You doubted yourself, but you’re driven and have the mindset and tenacity. You’ll be a respected attorney in a courtroom. You always look for fairness and equality for everyone, and you’ve mastered the art of persuasion. Those are excellent traits in that field.”

I smirk at his optimism. “I don’t know about respected.”

“You’ll be well-known for your personality and flair to do things your own damn way. That can be a good thing.”

“Not to a judge.”

“You’ll learn to balance it. And I’ll be proud of you no matter what you decide. You have a good head on your shoulders and know what you want, even if we both question it at first.”

“Like getting married?”

“Yeah. We didn’t know you met someone. It seemed sudden.”

“I’ve loved her for a while, Dad.”

“I see that. Love looks good on you.”

As we enter the kitchen, I see Sherry, Tabby, and Ashley crowding around Simone at the counter, giggling and shrieking while picking at a vegetable tray with hummus. Simone’s perky smile reflects off their faces as she talks.

My dad elbows me. “Looks like you’re not the only one who’s fallen for Simone.”

Like I said. It’s easy to fall for Simone. I just made it more complicated than it should’ve been.

Ashley says, “Look what we have for you. You’re favorite.”

Scratching my jaw, I smile and walk over. Glancing at Sherry, I say, “Thanks.”

“You know it.”

I put some carrots and broccoli on my small plate and then spoon hummus onto it. This is the good shit too. I stand next to Simone, half-listening to Ashley and Tabby argue about school.

Tabby rolls her eyes. “No. Ash, they won’t let you play on the boys' baseball team. You have to play softball with the girls.”

“That’s not fair.”

“I don’t make the rules.”

I dip a carrot and bite into it when Tabby asks, “Did they let girls play on your baseball team when you pitched in high school?”

“Uh…no.” Simone bumps into my arm, and I catch her stealing globs of my hummus. “What the hell?”

She grins up at me as she scarfs it down. “Yours tastes better.”

“It’s the same damn thing!”

Between chewing my stolen food, she states, “You said you didn’t play sports.”

Dad scoffs, “Are you kidding? Greg was varsity and their star player. He was phenomenal at pitching and hitting. He was on his way to a scholarship to play for Duke but quit three seasons in.”

“I don’t remember why.” I shrug and drag my plate further from Simone, who giggles but then looks at me, confused.

Sherry sighs. “After all these years, stop denying it. You quit because of Eden. During your junior year season, Eden had sinus and bowel surgeries. Baseball games kept you away from home. You constantly worried because her recoveries were rough. You thought she wouldn’t make it, Greg. The anxiety got too much. You quit to take care of your sister after school while your dad and I worked.”

Irked they’re talking about this, I say, “I don’t know why you think that. I didn’t like baseball that much.”

Everyone laughs while Simone stares at me with an odd look. “Why didn’t you mention it to anyone on our softball team?”

I inhale, loathing this conversation. “It’s not a big deal. I wasn’t making baseball my life like your brother.”

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