Page 214 of Catch Me
*****
“Where the hell did you go?” Kai asked when I got back to the suite.
“Uh, I walked around, then I threw up, then I ate a lot of fatty food.”
“Why?”
“It’s not important.”
“Nah, talk to me.”
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to the wall. The way he crossed his arms told me he wouldn’t let me get out of this unless I resorted to physical violence.
“I was talking to my dad.”
His nose wrinkled. “Today of all days?”
“Yeah, well, I’m an idiot. You know that already.”
“Mm. Why’d that lead you to have a meltdown.”
“I didn’t have a meltdown. I just needed a minute. Is that allowed?”
“Alone? No.”
I rolled my eyes, then leaned against the wall. “The first problem is that he owns a canvas of the entire team and he has no idea who the artist is.” He pointed at me with a questioning look, and I nodded. “It pissed me off, and since Travis is his favorite player, I told him that he’s gay. And he was an ass about it.”
“So, you went into a spiral involving your fear of disappointing your parents.”
“Sure, I guess.”
“First of all, what he has on his wall should make him proud, except he’s an absolute dumbass. I know you told him that you were doing art for the Braves, so he obviously didn’t listen. And if being gay and in a happy relationship is a disappointment to him, then you should stop caring about him being proud of you.”
“Iknow. It’s still there, though.”
“Sen’s the same way. It’s better now, but he still has those moments. Honestly, man, he’ll find out one way or another. If you wait five years, is his opinion about gay people gonna change? Will it hurt less then? I’ll answer that. No.”
“Top of the ninth,” Linc announced.
Kai patted my cheek hard, then rejoined the group. He plopped onto Sen’s lap sideways and grinned at him.
I stood at the edge of the window and watched Travis walk onto the pitcher’s mound. He looked up at the suite, and even though he couldn’t see me, I smiled. Atlanta was one ahead, so as long as they didn’t let the Red Sox get a single run, the game would be over without the Braves having to bat at all. I could tell he was tense, but once he got ready to pitch, he became laser-focused.
“You’ve got this,” I whispered.
The batter hit the third pitch and made it to first, which was fine. It could’ve been worse.
When the bases were loaded, I started to get anxious. If this guy got a good hit in, they could get more than one past home. Then, Atlanta would have to fight for those runs in the bottom of the inning.
“Come on, Travis.”
The bat hit the ball, and I put a hand over my mouth.
“Foul ball!” Kai shouted. “Sucker.”
Aside from the entire month of December and January, I’d never been this anxious. I put my hands in my pockets, then pulled them out again. My foot was tapping, and I didn’t have high hopes for the state of my jaw by the end of this.
Two strikes. Two outs. This was the pitch. It was going to be either the best or worst memory.
