Page 38 of Bad Ball Hitter

“Then after Mom…” He chokes on the word and shakes his head. “I wasn’t right in the head. Roy told me I needed to let you go. That I was toxic for you.”

“He said what?” I sit upright. Pain rushes to my head, causing me to grab it. “Whoa.”

“Easy Tiger.” His hands curve around my shoulders to steady me. His touch is light and effortless but as natural as breathing. “We don’t want you throwing up again.”

I groan. “No, but I never liked him. How could you ever be toxic? He’s the toxic one.”

“There may be some truth to that.” He pauses for a second, recollecting his thoughts, and continues, “He told me that everything I touch either suffers or dies.”

I gasp. “That isn’t true!”

“Isn’t it? Dad, Mom, my sister? I couldn’t let anything happen to you. So I took his advice and broke it off. He promised to look after you at college. But when I saw you guys together, I lost it. Thank God Mia was with me and talked me down. Otherwise, I would’ve fucked up my scholarship to play ball. We left right after. She’s always had my back.”

“What do you mean you saw us? I was never with Roy.”

His head snaps to mine.

“I saw you guys kissing.”

My eyes must be as wide as saucers because what the fuck? I never kissed that guy. “When?”

“Out by the bleachers. The day after our breakup.”

“No! What? That never happened.”

“But I saw you.”

“I don’t know what you think you saw, but I would never be with Roy.” My body shudders at the revolting thought. I tried to think about what he could’ve seen. Then I remembered that summer day when I waited for Drake. “I went to the track field knowing you’d be there. I was going to try to reason with you.” A humorless laugh escapes. “Roy showed up and tried consoling me. But when he apologized to me, I just … lost it.”

“What did he have to be sorry for?”

“He said he should’ve told me sooner about how you’ve wanted to break up but never knew how to tell me.”

His face was devoid of emotion. Steam would have come out of his ears if he’d been a teacup. “What did he say?”

“That you’ve been wanting to break up for a while. After that, I lost it. I sat on that bench and cried.”

“No, you were smiling. Laughing.”

“I’m not sure what you saw, but I guarantee it wasn’t laughter. He tried to console me, and maybe I let him for a minute. It took a minute for me to collect myself.”

“It sure looked like you guys were making out.” His tone is still skeptical, but has lost some of the earlier fire.

“Drake, I was devastated when we broke up. Then you left town and never returned. Not even for my dad’s funeral.” Those eyes pour up at me with longing and hurt. But more importantly—truth.

“I did, though. Not during the funeral since we had a tournament, but I showed up at your dorm. Darci was there…” His voice trails off as if he’s thinking. “I got the impression you and Roy were together. Didn’t she tell you I came?”

The mere mention of Darci’s name stirs up a whirlpool of emotions deep within me. She was my confidante, my partner in crime, my best friend. Her absence had left a gaping void I’m still struggling to fill.

“No, she never told me you showed.”

Drake rubs his face nervously, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “I shouldn’t have believed her … I know that now. But back then…” He shrugs helplessly.

“Jesus, Drake. Did we really screw up the best part of our lives over a silly misunderstanding?” My hair falls in front of my face, and he tucks it behind my ear, his fingers lingering.

“We were so young back then. It’s easy to say that now because that’s all we knew, so sure, looking back, it seems silly. But it was significant at the time.”

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I try to process what he’s saying. So much hurt, so many misunderstandings.

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