Page 212 of Catch Me
Roman:They’ll pull through
Dad:Hope you’re right
Travis wasn’t pitching, but I knew they’d pull him in. He was usually a starter, but after he saved that game in Boston at the end, I figured he was their trump card here. It was the right move with Carter starting. He had a solid arm, right behind Travis.
I sent my dad a picture of my view from the suite, then put my phone away. We were in the bottom of the fifth inning, so Atlanta was batting, and I decided to work on my drawings from the previous games.
We were only behind by two points, so I was still feeling confident. I hoped Travis was too. He’d been significantly better by the time we left the house, but a lot could happen in five innings, especially since he was stuck in the dugout watching someone else on that mound. I wished I could be down there with him when he wasn’t on the field.
Til dropped into the seat beside me and stared at the tablet. I turned it away from him and continued.
“You let Travis watch.”
“You’re not Travis,” I pointed out.
“Art is meant to be shared. Linc agrees.”
Linc came up behind me and leaned his forearms on the back of my seat. Since I was being attacked from all angles, I turned off the screen.
“Art is meant to be created, then guided by the artist,” Linc said. “I like spreading the feeling that comes from my music, but the only person who hears me compose and practice is West.”
I smirked at Til. “That means I have permission to tell you to fuck off.”
“You’re getting fed to the mutants when the apocalypse rolls around,” he replied coolly.
“No sacrifice this time?”
“Your soul isn’t desirable to the demons. It’s too corrupt already.”
“Guess there are plus sides to everything.”
“You’re grumpy.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Are you and Travis fighting already?”
I shot him a withering look, then focused on the game since I couldn’t draw in peace. Peace didn’t even exist anymore. Not until the game was over and I could see him after his win.
My phone buzzed, and I thought about ignoring it, but I’d been the one to text him. I hadn’t talked to my dad much over the past year, which had been both good and bad. There was a certain relief to it and it helped me work through my sexuality. If I’d been in constant contact with him, I would’ve gone back on coming out. There was this lingering fear that if I opened up communication, I’d still do that.
But Iwasout, except for with him. No going back. And no going forward because the only thing left to do was stop hiding. That included my relationship with Travis. If he wanted that to be public information. He was a known figure, and when the Braves won, he’dbe in the spotlight even more. Maybe he’d prefer to keep it quiet for now.
Fuck, we needed to have a lot of conversations.
Travis’ dad had come around eventually. Yeah, he sent him to conversion and their relationship was pretty shit throughout high school, but they were good now. I could see how much his dad loved him. Maybe mine would come around too.
What if he didn’t? I’d thought about that extensively. There wasn’t much I could do about it, and it was his decision. I still had my mom, my stepfamily, and all of my friends. And Travis. Those were the most important, and I knew that all of my relationships would be better if I let go of this fear. The guys didn’t even post pictures that had me in them because they were all gay and it would rouse suspicion.
The only person who could understand was Sen, and we’d already talked a lot about it. In a way, I saw his situation as easier. Noteasier, but it was different. He had reasons not to like his family, and even though I knew he still loved them, he’d found a way to take ownership of the situation and know that he was better off without them. While my dad was a dick, I didn’t have an explicit reason to hate him.
I wished I had a dad that could see me the way Ross did. Hetriedwhen it mattered, and he didn’t even have an obligation to me. Mine taught me how to bleed and called it love. And still, I reached for him, bloody-knuckled and hollowed out. That fucked up desire to have a relationship with him would eat at me, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Putting it out of my head, I pulled out my phone. He’d sent a picture of his living room setup, including the TV with the game on. I blinked a few times, then zoomed in on the wall. Was that...
Roman:You got one of the Braves canvases
Dad:Kathy bought it for my birthday last month. Like it?
