Page 34 of Batter Up!

“Oh, I could get used to that, baby,” he said, and at the endearment, I burst into tears. “Molly? Are you okay? What did I say now?” The concern in his eyes was so sweet.

“I have to tell you something.”

“Should we sit down?” he asked, and I nodded.

We stopped at a picnic table, and he gestured for me to sit down. I sat, and he climbed up behind me on top of the table with his feet bracketed on either side of me on the bench. He began to rub my shoulders. “Ok, what’s going on?”

I sighed and turned to sit sideways, so I could face him better. “I’m just going to rip off the Band-Aid.”

“That’s the story of my life. Rip away,” he said.

I looked down at my feet, unable to meet his eyes, knowing it was the only way I could get through what I needed to say. "Um…," I start, gulping in a deep breath, buying myself a moment for composure. "I-... I'm pregnant, Tyler. We're going to have a baby." The words rushed out of me, and before I knew it, he was off the picnic table and pacing back and forth. “I know we don't know each other that well. I'm so glad I found you and was able to tell you. If you, um…” I looked at him and hated to say what I said next, “If you don’t want to be part of our lives, I understand. My business is doing well, and we’ll be okay.” I didn’t want to be a single mom like Pen, but the man in front of me did not look like he wanted to be a dad.

“When did you find out?” he asked quietly but still he didn’t look my way.

“The day your brother came into the bakery.”

“Wow.” He paced away from me, and then began walking towards me again. “Have you been to the baby doctor yet?”

I shook my head. “Being a new patient, I had to wait. I have an appointment a week from Monday.”

He nodded and began pacing again. He was pulling at the short strands of his brown hair and shaking his head. “Fuck. My dad was right. I’m a fuck up,” I heard him mumble, and I could tell he was no longer talking to me but himself. I remained on the picnic table because I knew this was a shock. I’d had weeks to process it all. “I can’t afford to be a dad. I have to concentrate on baseball. Girls really are a distraction.” He then looked at me and had very sad eyes. “I hate to ask, but it’s mine, right? I mean, I always use a condom. We used a condom, right?”

I closed my eyes to tamp down my anger at his accusation. “You’re the only person I’ve been with in a long time,” I said matter-of-factly. “And, honestly, Stone, I can’t remember if we used a condom or not. We were both pretty drunk.”

“FUCK!” He yelled and pulled at his hair again. Without looking at me, he broke me with his words, “I can’t do this. Baseball has to come first right now.”

I nodded, got up from the picnic bench, and just walked away. I felt my heart breaking, not just for myself but for the baby growing inside me. I was proud of myself for not crying until I made it inside my bakery and shut the door. I realized I was still holding his first home run ball and I sat on the floor next to the front door and just cried.

When you first take that pregnancy test and you're so excited to share the news of your pregnancy, you run to tell your partner. Though once you get there and share the words: I'm pregnant! something can happen inside their brains and the nicest things don't always come out.

“Bruh, what is wrong with you?” Cooper asked as he turned around in his seat in the locker room and looked at me. “The last few games were the worst games I’ve ever seen you play, and I wasn’t pitching, so you can’t use that as an excuse.”

I just nodded and groaned, “You were right; girls are a distraction.” We had just lost to a team that we should have beaten. We lost 3-1, but I went 0-for-4, with three strikeouts and one ground out. The worst part was there were several pitches I should have been able to nab in the dirt but rolled away and were counted as wild pitches. On our long road trip, we hadn’t lost every game because of me, but I knew I wasn’t playing my best. We had a homestand for a few more games, and I found myself distracted by looking for her in the stands. She had not been there. The guys had even mentioned going to see her at the bakery, but I chose to work out or watch film instead.

The coaches were not happy with me at all. McAlister had pulled me into his office and asked what was going on and what had changed. I decided to confide in him because I really looked up to him and respected him. “I got someone pregnant, and I reacted badly when she told me,” I said as I hung my head down.

“I didn’t know you were even seeing anyone,” he replied as he got up from his desk. “What can I do to help? You can share your honest feelings with me, Stone. I won’t tell the guys.”

I gave a half-hearted laugh. “I’m not really seeing her… she was actually a one night stand, kind of, but I think I want her to be more. She means a lot to me. She was actually the woman I helped on the side of the road.”

“It can be scary, but if she made you want to jump off a bus with your team still on it to help her, she means more to you than you think. You should definitely let her know that what you said was out of shock. You’re a good guy, and I know you’ll be there for her and the baby.”

”I really think I did make a mistake with how I reacted.” This whole time since she told me, I have wondered if she was okay. I hardly knew her, but I missed her like crazy. That had to mean something.

“Then find her and tell her. I’ve learned honesty is the best policy,” Coach Mack replied. “Getting someone pregnant can be scary. Ash got pregnant a few weeks before our wedding and we were scared to death, even though we had been together awhile. But it has all worked out and I wouldn’t trade Ashleigh or my boy, Nico, for the world.” I smiled, thinking about his adorable four year old son that had come to several practices and liked to help his dad coach. I thanked him and left the office.

I shook my head when I noticed Hayden, Cooper, and Ivan surrounded my locker, along with Jude and Dominic. “What? Is this an intervention?”

“What happened, Stone?” Hayden asked. “You were on fire and so happy about finding Red. Then, you lost that spark. We have to get it back.”

“She’s pregnant,” I blurted out and sighed heavily. I sat down and covered my face with my hands. I had just told my coach, so might as well tell my friends.

“Are you the father?” Cooper asked in shock.

“Yes,” I said simply. I never doubted that. I know I asked her, and it was an asshole thing to say. I regretted it the second it came out of my mouth.

I felt Ivan sit down next to me and bumped me to move over so he could sit on the bench seat. “Your girl pregnant?” His English was really coming along, and we had all been working with him on the long bus rides.

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