Page 6 of Pitcher

She never looks up, but her head jerks in a firm no, making the soft curls bounce along her black dress.

I let out a heavy sigh.

“Have it your way,” I warn, already hoisting my body weight on the divider. Both legs sweep over the side of the wall gracefully, and I linger on the edge a moment before I drop in front of Anniston. “Good thing you’re small enough to wedge in beside the toilet—yuck, by the way—but at least I didn’t land on you.”

My backhanded skinny compliment goes unnoticed, just like my plan to talk to her as usual flushes down the proverbial toilet. Anniston’s soft cries are swallowed up by her dress, and my stomach clenches with the fear my girl won’t be the same after this.

“They’re gone,” she mumbles, never looking up. “All these people keep telling me to call if I need anything.” She hiccups, finally lifting her head up to meet my gaze. Blue eyes, swollen and streaked with harsh red lines, blink back at me. “But what I need, nobody can help me with.” I squat down and reach for her when she continues. “I have no one anymore.”

I snag her arm and pull her along the floor and wrap her in a bruising hug. “That’s not true,” I promise with something clogging my throat.

She cries into my shirt.

“You have me, Ans. You’ll always have me.”

I swear it. She’ll never be alone. Her cries become harsher, and I hear the door to the bathroom open and close quietly.

“Do you hear me, Anniston?” I push her back and grab her quivering chin and force her to look at me. “You have me. You willalwayshave me. Nothing will ever separate us. Do you understand?” Her lip trembles, but she nods. “Now, you’re going to get up, dry your face, and we’re going to leave.”

She tries to argue, but I shush her with my finger. “This is not about appearances. We can come back later for you to say your goodbyes. You’re not a parade float. You don’t owe these people a smile or a sweet story. You got me?” She nods, already looking stronger. “We’re going to your house and packing your shit.”

Her eyes go wide. “What are you saying?”

I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m saying we’re going to find an apartment between our colleges. You’re going to live with me.”

“But—”

I cut off any excuses about me staying on campus to room with the baseball team by pulling her to her feet. Fuck the baseball team and the school. If they want me to win them a championship, they’ll be flexible.

“I won’t leave you,” I promise with a stroke of my fingertip. Her lips turn down, and she fights back another round of tears.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” She sniffles, the glimmer of hope outweighing the sadness.

What she doesn’t know is that, even if her grandparents were still alive, I would make the same promise. This girl is mine. I will never let her go.

Not now.

Not ever.

“Who says I can’t keep my promise?” I taunt, trying to lighten the mood.

She shrugs, vulnerable and insecure. “We’re friends, Theo. You don’t have to feel guilty. You’re destined for a life bigger than Madison. I won’t be the one to stand in the way of your dreams.”

If she wasn’t so delicate at the moment, I would shake her. Full-on shake the shit out of her. Is she crazy? Does she not see the hold she has on me? Yeah, we’re friends, but something more has been brewing under the surface all these years. Something neither one of us is brave enough to acknowledge.

“Don’t argue with me, McCallister. You’re moving in with me. Now, come on. The only time I stay this long in the women’s bathroom is for head.”

I lift a brow, teasing, and she pushes at my shoulder.

“You’re disgusting.” Her grin says she doesn’t mean her words, though.

Pulling her close, I wrap her tight in my arms until she’s strong enough to leave.

Two days later, donned in black and gold gowns, Anniston’s name is called to walk across the stage. I see her rise, holding her head up high like she can take on the world alone.

But she doesn’t need to because she has me.

And grudgingly, Thad.

---