Page 62 of The Best Friend and the Shortstop

“This was a bad idea,” I say, pulling the Velcro loose from my batting gloves.

I pace the batter’s box while my dad stands still, tossing a ball into his own glove at an annoying synchronization. I kick at the ball he pretended to get me out with, and it rolls to the back of the cage.

“Get it all out,” he says.

My gaze snaps to him, and my hands form fists at my sides. I leather of my batting gloves stretches around my fingers. I’m not going to hit him. But damn, does a part of me want to.

“How could you?” I finally let out. Hot, angry tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

“There it is,” he says, dropping his glove to his feet and crossing his arms over his chest. He’s so predictable, even in his posture.

“There I am?” I step toward him, stopping inches from his face.

“Let it out, Mijo.”

I growl in his face, my voice echoing around the surrounding concrete.

“You fucking cheat!” I point at his face, and he flinches, but he doesn’t move. “How could you do that to her? To us? And with someone I went to school with? Was it going on?—”

“No,” he butts in, shaking his head. He pulls his glasses from his face and meets my stare. “It absolutely did not start when she was a student. We didn’t even talk until she was student teaching.”

I laugh out hard.

“Oh, good. That’s good. I should give you a prize,” I say, my belly burning.

“No, you shouldn’t,” he says.

I rush him and lunge into his face, our noses inches apart.

“I know!” He takes a step back this time, but he doesn’t back down.

“You hurt her,” I say, my voice lower as I talk about my mom.

“And I hate that I did.”

I laugh again.

“You don’t have to believe that. But it’s true. I hate that I hurt both of you. I hate what this has done to our relationship. I hate that I’m divorced.”

“Well, now you can go run off into the sunset and move in with your girlfriend,” I toss out amid jaded cackles.

“Vanessa and I aren’t together,” he says.

I fall back on my heels for a beat. I didn’t know that. And Brayden said they were living together. Of course, Brayden also wants my girl and would say anything to get under my skin.

“Well, I’m not sorry it didn’t work out,” I grumble.

My dad chuckles, but I’m not amused.

“She’s moving to Florida, and I’m getting an apartment near the school. Vanessa and I were not real. We never were. We were a symptom.”

“Pffft! The fuck does that mean?” He must have gone to a therapy session. Those aren’t Alex Senior words.

“It’s not an easy thing for me to explain. And I’m not proud of any of it. What happened to me and your mom, that was all my doing. Somewhere along the way, I quit.”

Like Mom said. At least they agree on this.

“Well, I’m sorry life didn’t work out the way you wanted. You should have gone pro instead and never looked back,” I mumble, pulling one of my batting gloves free and tossing it at my gear bag.

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