Page 5 of Despite It All
“Mostly staying with my sister. I’ll see my parents the weekend before heading back.”
While my parents are great, being in their house for two weeks sounds like a nightmare. I would love nothing more to have a peaceful two weeks off and if I stayed with my parents my mom would have every day packed with shit to do. Staying with Anna is much safer.
Anna and I, of course, had the typical brother/sister dynamic growing up. She annoyed me, I annoyed her, but as we got older, the less she pissed me off.
“Oh, are we talking about Jett going to visit his hot little sister?” Justin asks, walking over to us. Justin is our short stop, who I could really take or leave. He’s a hell of a ball player, but it almost doesn’t feel worth putting up with his shit.
“Fuck off. My sister wouldn’t give you the time of day, Justin.” I say that with so much confidence. One, because I wouldn’t allow it. Not in the way that she can’t date any of my teammates, but in the Justin isn’t good enough for her way. But more importantly, Anna has extremely high standards, and rightfully so. But I know for a fact, Justin couldn’t meet a single one, even if she lowered the bar.
“Oh yeah, I can take that challenge.” Justin puffs out his chest, and I can’t contain my eye roll.
“She’d skin you alive.” Adam laughs then turns back to me. “You’re going for two weeks, right? Are you planning on sneaking away to Nashville again in hopes of finding your girl?”
“Nashville is a good seven-hour drive from where my sister lives. I don’t think sneaking is really all that possible. My flight back here may happen to have a long layover there though.”
“I knew it.” Adam laughs. “How long exactly?”
I shrug. “A day.”
Adam laughs. “Awfully long layover.”
“Hold on, Jett. Please don’t tell me you’re still holding out for that girl from what?” Justin stumbles like he can’t process the concept of time passed. “Forever ago?”
I really want to walk away and ignore Justin’s question completely, but he’s got the personality of a child. If I don’t give him some sort of answer, he’ll pitch a fit and annoy the shit out of me for days about it.
“I’m not ‘holding out’ for her. I more… keep an eye out for her when we’re in Nashville for games or visiting an old buddy of mine.”
Wyla is my one that got away. And honestly, it’s a total lie to say I’m not holding out for her, but I really don’t feel like getting into all that with him.
It’s no secret that I travel to Nashville multiple times a year when our schedule allows it, but Adam and Justin are the only two who really know why, considering they were the ones who dragged me out to the bar that night.
Truth is, I want to find Wyla, and every time I go, I hope it’s the time I run into her. You don’t have to believe me but it was love at first sight with Wyla. I’ve been kicking myself for five years for agreeing to one night only.
Justin shakes his head. “Dude, that’s sad. Was her pussy golden or something?”
I can’t punch a teammate. I can’t punch a teammate.
“Justin, quit being a prick.” Adam hits him in the stomach. “We’ve got a workout to do, and Jett’s got a plane to catch”—he turns to me—“who knows, maybe this time you’ll find her.”
I wake up around eight the next day to music blaring from what I’m guessing is the kitchen. Growing up, our dad was an early bird and not a quiet one either. Despite his best efforts, he was only able to convert Anna into a morning person.
Baseball is really the only reason I get up early now, but that doesn’t mean I like it.
Knowing the music will only probably get louder, there’s no way I’m falling back asleep. I throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt then head to the kitchen.
Anna flops some pancakes on her plate then starts to dig through the fridge. I walk past her speaker and immediately turn it down to a normal volume.
“Hey! I was listening to that,” Anna snaps. She turns around with whipped cream and strawberries in her hands.
“I realize that. That's why I didn’t turn it off completely. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I guess. I just didn’t realize you were Dad 2.0.”
Anna scoffs. “You take that back.”
I take the strawberries from her and pop one in my mouth. “No.”
It’s been years but strawberries were Wyla’s favorite. I can’t see them and not think of her. They’re a damn staple in my fridge at this point.
Anna rolls her eyes. “Careful, J. I’ll send your butt out of the guestroom straight to Mom and Dad’s house. Give you a real dose of Dad in the morning, then you’ll be grateful.” She tries to take the strawberries back but I pull them away while walking over to the table. She sighs. “You’re making it hard to be happy you’re here.”
