Broken Bases

by Nikki Pennington

  “Tammy, really, going to parties and hanging out aren’t priorities for me, you know that. I got all of that out of my system a while ago. I just want to make sure my boy has a better life than I do. You don’t need to worry about me. I am grateful for you, and all of your help though, so I will take you up on a ride if my car isn’t home by morning.”

  She gives me a weak smile, she knows why my car wouldn’t be home, and I know she feels like the way he treats me is somehow her fault, but she couldn’t be more wrong. Tammy is a good person, a saint, it’s not her fault that her son is the way that he is.

  We make the drive down the long dirt road to my little country house. I tense up as I see my car in the drive. This is going to be a long night, and I just really need some sleep.

  "If he is home, why didn't he pick you up?" Tammy asks irritated.

  "Shay, I wish you would stand up to him. I know he is my son; I love him, and I try to do right by him, but he just isn't a good person baby. You and Ryder deserve better than this. I worry about you guys." She looks at me with sadness in her eyes. It makes me uncomfortable when people care, I'm not used to that.

  "Don't worry about us Tammy, everything will turn out fine you'll see." I give her a small smile and open the door. "Thanks for the ride."

  I don't have too much time to think about what she said, because I have to figure out how to get Gunner out of the house before my dad gets home. I open the door and Gunner is sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand. He looks like he is about to say something, but I put my hand up and motion to Ryder. I don’t want him to cause a scene in front of our son, and I hope I don’t pay for that later.

  I take Ryder back to our bed and tuck him in. I kiss him on the forehead and quietly close the door.

  "What are you doing here Gunner, if you were already done with my car why didn't you bring it back to me? I had to walk home in the rain."

  He turns to me, with rage in his eyes. "You're such an ungrateful little bitch. I'm out looking for a fucking job, because you insist that I need one, and you're already bitching at me the minute you walk in the door."

  "You need a job because you have a son that you should be helping to take care of. It shouldn't all be on me, all the time." I scream. I have had such a crappy day; I don't feel like putting up with him right now.

  He jumps up and shoves me against the wall. "Don't ever talk to me like that again, I will make you sorry if I want to use that car I will, and if I want something from you I will get it, you will never get away from me." He sneers.

  He pushes me to the floor, walks out and slams the door. I hear my car start-up and gravel fly. I sniffle a cry and pick up the pictures that fell off the wall and hop in the shower before dad gets home.

  I just crawl into bed when I hear him pull up. He comes crashing into the house slamming things, throwing things, and cussing. I thank God I'm already in bed, so he doesn't have me to direct his drunken anger on. I finally hear him slam his bedroom door and the house is quiet again. It's already 2 am and I have to be up and at the grocery store by 7 am. I don't know when the last time I actually got some rest was, and I'm afraid it's going to catch up to me soon.

  Chapter Six

  Luke

  Jimmy pulls up to the lake. It's our typical after game party spot, or really anytime party spot. I notice Valerie, wrapped around some random guy. She has her tongue shoved down his throat, when she sees us pull up, she jumps away and runs over.

  I wish she understood that I don't care what she does. She can't make me jealous; I feel nothing for her. Plus, I can't get her big green eyes and sassy mouth out of my mind. It's starting to kill my mood.

  Valerie walks up slips her hands up my shirt and puts her mouth to my ear. "Where have you been, I've been waiting for you, I still have that surprise for you." Her hands travel down to my zipper. I swat her away.

  "I'm not in the mood right now, I push her aside and walk towards the guys.

  "You’re such an asshole!" she yells as she stalks back to Mr. Random, the one she was hooking up with when I got here.

  Jimmy looks at me and smirks. "You can't get Shay out of your head, can you? That girl was something. Unquestionably a mystery."

  "Whatever dude, that girl means nothing to me."

  He just laughs and turns his attention back to the guys. They are discussing the next game, and I just can't get into the party spirit. I don't know what's with me tonight, but I refuse to admit that Jimmy might be right.

  So, I chalk it up to Valerie putting me in a bad mood. I'm done with this night, and I’m done with this crowd, so I walk over to ask Jimmy if he can take me home. He has no issue with it because Jimmy isn't big on parties anyway. He isn't a drinker; he only comes to hang out with the guys.

  Once we’re in the truck he looks over at me, “Is everything okay, bud?” He asks questions in his eyes.

  “Oh yeah, I’m fine man. I just wasn’t feeling like partying tonight.”

  “I get that, I never feel like partying.” He says with a laugh and turns the radio up, understanding that I’m just not in the mood for chit chat right now.

  When I get home, I notice nobody else is there, a big surprise. My parents haven't been home for at least a month now. I have no idea where they are or what they are doing. They will call me soon with an obligatory update and that will be it.

  I raid the fridge for a snack and head upstairs for a shower and bed. I'm beat, and I want to get this girl out of my mind. As I'm lying in bed drifting off to sleep the last thing I see are big green eyes, full of mystery.

  The next morning when I get up Rosa calls me from the kitchen. She's our maid, but she is more like a mom to me. She comes to all my games and has practically raised me since I was born.

  "Hey honey, good morning. I need a few things from the grocery store, do you think you could go for me, I still have some cleaning to do around here."

  "Sure." I smile. I would do anything for Rosa. She means the world to me.

  I grab my car keys and my hat and head out the door. I walk into the store; grab the few things I need and head to the checkout.

  "Good morning, did you find everything okay?" A familiar voice says. I look up and I'm met with those green eyes I fell asleep dreaming of.

  "Oh, it's you." She says. "Are you stalking me or something?"

  "Hey beautiful,” I smile. "You would be a hard person to stalk, considering you won't give me the time of day."

  "How many jobs do you have?"

  Me trying to have a conversation with her only seems to piss her off more, which makes me only want to continue to do it.

  "Not all of us have everything handed to them on a silver platter from mommy and daddy." she snips and practically throws my change at me. "See ya."

  Damn she is mean, and aggravates the hell out of me, she obviously doesn't care for me, and I should just drop it, but I kind of like seeing her get all riled up.

  I doubt she would even give me the time of day to find out what kind of story she has. She really doesn't like me. I just need to shake her off. Maybe I should call Valerie. She can help me forget. She can remind me why I don't get involved with girls that have baggage. Why I always keep things easy.

  I get home and unload the groceries. I sprawl out on the couch and watch a game and finally, I'm sick of being bored, and I'm sick of laying here thinking about a girl that doesn't acknowledge that I exist, so I give in, pick up the phone, and call Valerie. She picks up on the first ring.

  Val shows up an hour later and I take her to my room, right away she’s is on her knees unzipping my pants. When she sticks my dick in her in mouth, usually I can forget whatever was troubling me before. Her need to please me helps clear my mind of anything that's been bothering me.

  Usually, she can get my mind off anything. I'd like to say she helped me forget, but even as I pushed her down on the bed and pushed myself inside of her, all I saw the whole time were big doe eyes and long chestnut hair.

  Chapter Sev
en

  Shay

  After Luke left the grocery store, I was aggravated for the rest of my shift. Why am I letting this idiot get to me? He is so rude and cocky. Clearly nothing I'm interested in. He knows that he bothers me, yet he continues to try and talk to me. He is getting under my skin, and while he enjoys it, it only makes me angrier.

  I clock out and head to Tammy's house to get my boy. He is out front and so excited to see me when I walk up to the gate, "Hey baby I missed you," I say as I hug him.

  "I missed you to mama."

  "Thanks, Tam, for keeping him, again. And all the other times you have. You help out way too much, and I will never be able to repay you for that."

  "It's my pleasure. Me and Ryder have so much fun and I love him like he is my own, I didn't raise my boy to treat you like he does, and I absolutely didn't raise him to be a worthless father, but I honestly appreciate you letting me spend time with my grandson, it means so much."

  "Well. it means a lot to me also. When my mom passed, I was always so sad thinking I'd have kids one day that wouldn't know their grandma, but that's not true now thanks to you."

  She smiles at me and pulls me in for a hug. I wipe a tear from my eye quickly, because I don’t want to cause a scene. When she pulls away Ryder runs up for a hug, and we say goodbye. We head down the street towards the house. Luckily, it's nice out and we only have about a mile walk.

  I get home and find my dad passed out on the couch. It's 1 in the afternoon. I wish this was surprising behavior. I lay Ryder down for a nap and just lay next to him lost in my thoughts. How did my life end up this way?

  Everything spiraled out of control after my mom died. When I was thirteen, I lost my mom in a car accident. She was driving home from the hospital she worked at when a drunk driver hit her head-on, and she was killed instantly.

  My father was never around when I was young, he’s always been a drunk.

  I fell into the wrong crowd and that's how I met Gunner. He said all the right things that a girl in my mindset was looking for. I was thirteen and he was seventeen and I was on cloud nine. I found out I was pregnant when I was fourteen. And he left me hanging. My dad had already turned to the bar for company and I was completely alone. Thank goodness Gunner's mom is a kind woman. She took me under her wing and helped me get everything I needed for me and Ryder.

  The day he was born was the happiest day of my life, but it's been a life full of obstacles ever since.

  Between my dad being drunk and mean all hours of the day, and Gunner continually putting his hands on me and calling me nasty names, life is hard. And I know, without a doubt that if I didn't have Ryder, I wouldn't be here today. He keeps me going and he keeps me alive. This is why I work 2 jobs, and I'm trying to graduate high school with honors so that I can make a better life for the two of us. I don't want him to struggle like I have. And I don't want him to know how sad his mama is, or how hard it is for me to wake up every day.

  Finally, my thoughts catch up to me and I fall into a somewhat peaceful sleep, with my baby boy next to me.

  That sleep doesn't last long when I hear a loud banging on the door about an hour later.

  "You whore, where are you? Who the fuck do you have dropping you off from work? I'll kill him and you."

  I shoot out of my bed.

  I have to get out there before he wakes Ryder up. I don't want him to see his dad being like this, it will scare him. I rush to the door and open it. Without even allowing me to explain Gunner smacks me hard across the face.

  "You’re such a whore, I knew you've been sleeping with guys all over town."

  "You haven't even let me explain." I cried. “I didn't have a ride home, and someone pulled over and asked if I needed a ride. He dropped me off at your mom’s and that was it. I don't even know him."

  "You’re such a liar. You want me to get a job and take care of that bastard so you can go out and whore around."

  He hits me once more and grips my chin in his hand. Tears are welling up in my eyes, and I know if he doesn’t let go soon, he’s going to leave marks on my face.

  I try to push him off me, but that only makes him tighten his grip, I don’t know how far he will go, so I try to will myself to calm down.

  "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but you are mine. You can't say no to me, you can't get away from me, and you’re sure as hell not going to be hooking up with whoever you want whenever you want. You answer to me and that's it. You have no other options you, whore." He slams my head to the wall and stalks out of the house.

  I fall to the floor and cry. I can't go on like this. My lip and nose are bleeding and I know this time he left a mark. He usually tries to leave them somewhere someone won't see them; he must be on something.

  The bedroom door opens, and Ryder comes shuffling out. He lays down next to me and says "Mama are you okay? Why is daddy so mean to you?” I just cry and rub his back.

  "Don't worry about mama baby, I will be fine." I carry him back to bed and head to the bathroom to clean myself up.

  I have to work both jobs tomorrow, this will be hard to explain. Especially to Emily. She will be so upset. I thought keeping Gunner around was a benefit for Ryder, but I can see that I was wrong. He is getting older, and he is starting to understand what's going on. While I thought keeping his daddy around would be beneficial to him, I can see now that I have made a terrible mistake.

  Panic quickly starts to set in. Now I need to find a way and find a way quick to get Ryder and me out of this situation.

  Chapter Eight

  Luke

  I roll over and come face to face with Valerie. God, why did I let her stay over? I can't even stand her, yet I keep calling her over. I can't do this anymore. I shake her awake and tell her she needs to leave.

  She starts to pout, and I say, "Stop! - I'm done doing this, I don't even like you, you mean nothing to me, this is going nowhere, and you need to go."

  "You’re such a dick Luke, you can kick me out again, as usual, but you'll be calling me in a couple of days begging for me to come back and suck your dick." She stomps off. And I'm hoping she finally got the hint this time.

  I sigh and jump off the bed to pull up my shorts. Rosa is standing outside of my door shaking her head.

  "You know I don't like that girl Luke. Why do you keep inviting her over? You deserve someone better."

  "Rosa, I don't have time for anyone, nor do I have time for your third degree either. I just invite her over for fun and that's it. She knows what this is, and she's fine with it." I roll my eyes and walk down the stairs.

  Immediately, I feel bad for talking like that to Rosa, none of this is her fault. She isn’t the reason that I make some of the stupid decisions that I make. I turn around to tell her I’m sorry and she just smiles up at me.

  “I know you are Luke, but at some point, you have to realize that you deserve good things too, and sometimes good things come from the most unexpected places.”

  I give her a strange look because it’s almost as if she’s talking about Shay, even though she knows nothing about her. I just shake my head and walk out the door.

  I'm supposed to meet Jimmy at the ball field to practice my swing. But I'm starving and want to grab a burger on the way. I open the door to the diner and I instantly see her. She has her back to me, but I would recognize her anywhere. It's like my body is tuned to hers or something.

  She turns around to say hello and stops dead in her tracks. I search her face and I see the black eye first, then the bruise across her face.

  "What the fuck? What happened to you?"

  She shoots me a dirty look "I don't think that's any of your business, can I help you or what?"

  I stare at her in anger, she’s right, it isn’t my business, but I can’t help but ask. I’m not used to seeing girls walking around with bruises all over their faces. Maybe if I chill out a little, she will talk to me. I know the two of us aren’t friends or anything, but I also know whatever happened she didn’
t deserve.

  "Sure, I'll just take a burger, are you sure you’re okay?" I ask, sincerely.

  She looks at me for a minute then turns her head towards the window to drop off my order.

  "I'm fine, nothing you need to worry about, your burger will be out in a few."

  It feels really crazy that I'm concerned about her. Those aren't injuries from falling or running into something. Someone put them there. I can't figure out why someone would do that to someone. And it seriously drives me crazy to think someone put their hands on her. This girl doesn't owe me anything, but I wish she would open up so I could help her. I don't know what's gotten into me. I need to forget this chick. She isn't my problem and I don't know why it is bothering me so much. I have a game tonight that I need to concentrate on.

  I look at her one last time before I leave, "For what it's worth, I know we don't know each other, and I know it's none of my business, but whoever did that to you deserves to have their ass beat."

  She looks at me curiously and then I take my burger and head out. I get to the field and Jimmy is already there.

  "Hey man where have you been"

  "Sorry I needed to grab a bite, not sure when I'm going to have time with the game tonight and all"

  I debate telling Jimmy about Shay at the diner, but I don't want him reading into it, and I really need to just forget that chick, so I don't say anything and concentrate on practice. I've only had a few interactions with her, and she is already affecting my concentration. This is what coach means when he tells us to stay out of relationships during the season. Girls only distract you, and Shay, she obviously isn't just some regular girl.

  Later that night I'm standing in the locker room with the guys, and I'm completely in my element. This is where I feel at home. And I can't wait for this game to get started.