Page 35 of Home Run Fiancé
I hear someone breathing hard and I swivel my head, only to realize it’s me. I’m panting by myself in the car, feeling worse than I’ve ever felt. She’s trampled on my feelings, manipulated me to get the press she wanted for her precious YouTube channel, and now I have to deal with the fallout. All the hurt I feel snowballs into a raging inferno of anger, threatening to explode and wipe out anyone in my path.
My phone rings again and this time it’s Asher.
I hit the answer button and put it to my ear, a scary smile on my face. “Found out who the mole is yet?”
“What? No. I just got off the phone with Bobby. Plus Rhys called and said she can’t get ahold of you and she’s worried.” Asher sounds calmer than this morning, but at this point I don’t care. His own sister caused all hell to break loose today.
I scoff and slam my hand on the steering wheel. “Worried, huh? She should be worried. She should be worried I’ll sue her for slander. Drag her name through the mud and ruin her YouTube channel.”
“Whoa, dude, what are you talking about?”
I’m seething, voice rising to match the volcano of anger I feel. “Rhys is the mole, Asher. You should have seen her in front of the paparazzi yesterday at the diner. She had them eating out of her hand, passing out business cards like she’s a professional. You should have told me your sister is an attention whore.”
“Hey! Hold it right there. Nobody calls my sister a whore. You don’t even know if she was the one to leak it!” Asher’s yelling, his mood finally matching mine. We’re both angry and I swear there will be no talking me down from my anger this time. His sister sold me out. This whole thing was Asher’s stupid idea anyway. He should have known whether his sister was to be trusted or not.
My phone beeps and I pull it away from my ear to glance at the screen. It’s Rhys. I ignore her call again, even though a part of me wants to hear her voice explaining away everything I’ve come to believe about her. I grit my teeth against the emotions that got me in this trouble to start with and focus in on my conversation with Asher.
“Tell your sister to stop calling me and I’ll think about not ruining her.” I hang up on him, my words ringing out in the confined space of my car, ominous and not quite true. If she leaked the story, she will pay no matter what. I’ll make sure of it.
* * *
My teammates give me a wide berth on the flight to Phoenix. Whether it’s because of the rumors about me leaving to Texas, or because of the permanent scowl on my face, I don’t know. I’m glad for it though as I truly love these guys and would hate to lash out at them and regret it later. It’s not their fault my life is falling apart.
The game is a tough one, but we squeak out a win, no thanks to two errors of my own. I evened things out with another home run though, so the coach didn’t give me too much crap about my mistakes. I’m hard enough on myself. My head wasn’t in the game like it should have been. It was on everything else going on in my life and all the mental training over the last ten years wasn’t helping.
When I get to the locker room to shower after the game, I see a missed call from Damon. I check messages and hear him explain that he had to take Mama to the emergency room today after she fainted. He said she’s all right, just staying another night in the hospital for doctors to keep an eye on her, but it’s like the straw that broke the camel’s back. What else could possibly go wrong in my life right now?
I’m officially numb. Emotionally beat up and resigned to life sucking for an undetermined length of time. It’s like the barrage of bad news and bad feelings between me and everyone in my life has left me hollowed out.
Rules are something I follow religiously in my career, but for the first time ever, I skip the post-game press conference and head back to our hotel by myself to lick my wounds in peace. I know I’ll hear about it from Tommy, but I also think my copout is good for the team. All the press would be asking about is my possible trade and I won’t discuss that. Might as well be absent and let the other guys have some time to talk about what matters: the game.
As soon as my hotel room door slams shut, I pull off my suit and lie back on the fluffy wide bed to stare at the ceiling. My phone pings again from the pocket of my suit pants and I roll over to check it. I haven’t heard a word from either Asher or Rhys since I hung up on Asher earlier today. A pang of regret settles in nicely with the disappointment, frustration, and unease swirling in my stomach.
At the top of my email inbox is a message from Sliders Corporate. I click on it and scan the email. I barely register what all it says. Instead, I hit the attachment and read through it like a starving man.
I have a contract.
The Sliders are ready to sign me.
The dollar amount toward the bottom is just as generous as the Dangers contract, a figure that no man should expect for throwing around a ball all day. That thought just reminds me of Rhys. I flop back onto the bed and close my eyes. The worry starts to ease, leaving me with just regret and disappointment to keep me company.
I lie there for who knows how long, going through everything and making plans for my future. Everything I want is in my hands. I just have to sign on the dotted line and I’m now a Slider. A few calls and my condo will be packed up and sold. I’ll be on a flight to move back home and be there for my family when they need me most.
I should be happy.
I should be ecstatic.
But as I stare up at the white ceiling, the whoosh of the air conditioner turning on and the ping of someone exiting the elevator on the floor outside my room, all I feel is nothing.
Empty.
I gave my heart away to someone who crushed it and now I don’t feel anything.
15
Rhys
Yesterday was a long day. Made longer by the fact the two most important men in my life weren’t talking to me. I left Jake with something ugly between us I couldn’t figure out. But it was there alright. He wasn’t even picking up my calls.
