Page 138 of Spotlight
“I’m good,” I say, confirming his thoughts.
“All right, then. What do you say? Wanna play catch one last time?”
“Yeah.” I nod, adrenaline working its way through my body.
He turns to get back behind the plate.
“Yo, JT,” I call out to him.
He stops and arches one brow as he looks to me. “Yeah?”
“Just thought I should warn you I’m going to throw hard and fast.”
He grins. “No warning necessary. I can tell by that look in your eye.”
That’s probably true. He can read me better than any catcher I’ve ever played with.
We finally get set. I throw to JT until my arm is warm and loose, then the New York batter moves to the plate.
I’m laser-focused and filled with a confidence that I’ve never felt before.
I strike out the first guy in three pitches.
The next batter steps up, smirking in a cocky way that makes me want to laugh. Sorry, bro, tonight is not your night.
Three more pitches and he’s walking back to the dugout with the same fate.
One more batter. One more out.
The stadium is loud now. I let the noise in for only a moment, not wanting it to distract me or pull me out of my flow. I swear I can hear Brogan’s voice in the chant that still yells my name.
I used to think that all fields and all stadiums were basically the same. Interchangeable. But this one is special. It isn’t the nicest, but there’s an irreplaceable sense of family and community here. Fans like Earl who have loved this team through all the tough times. It would have been easy for them all to give up, but they didn’t.
And I’m not going to now.
The next batter for the Renegades comes out. Nice guy. I met him when I was in New York earlier this week. I even threw him a few. He’s consistent and patient. I won’t be able to sneak anything by him now.
He fouls off the first pitch, hitting up and back behind the plate out of play. He’s expecting my fastball, so I give him a changeup next.
“Striiiiike,” the umpire calls. The crowd is electric.
I find Olivia. She thinks I’m bullshitting when I tell her I can pick her out from here, but there’s no missing her. She looks as confident in me as ever. I don’t know what I did to deserve her support and love, but I’m not walking away from it.
I get set and look to JT. He already knows what I’m going to throw so as soon as he gives the signal, I nod.
One last fastball. One last strike. One last win.
34
OLIVIA
The stadium goes wild when Flynn strikes out the last batter. His teammates crowd around him and everyone in the stands jumps up and down in celebration.
“They did it!” I say to Greer.
She grins at me, her sadness temporarily forgotten in the moment. “Hotshot was on fire!”
Ruby and Gigi are yelling and clapping along with everyone else.
