Broken Bases

by Nikki Pennington

  There is nothing like the feeling of stepping on to the ball field. When it’s all lit up, and the stands are full, it’s a feeling I can’t even describe.

  I heard there is a scout from Florida here, if I could get out of Illinois and get to Florida that would be great, I need to make sure I put on a good show. Baseball has been my life since I was 4 years old playing t-ball. I'm in my element on the field, and it's my ticket out of my parent's empty home. It's my ticket for life. Baseball is all I have ever known, and it's the most important thing in my life.

  Chapter Nine

  Shay

  "I can't believe I let you talk me into this Emily."

  "Why? Ryder will love it. He loves baseball, and you love it to. Not to mention, you know I love baseball players, I’m dying to see some guys out there in their baseball pants.”

  "I know, but I have to work overnight at the grocery store tonight stocking shelves. I should be at home getting some sleep."

  "Oh, live a little, have some fun with your boy, you can sleep when you’re dead."

  She knows how to get me. Using Ryder always works. I always want to do things that he loves. And the boy loves baseball. His t-ball games will be starting up this weekend and I can't wait to see him play. After I get Ryder some popcorn we head up to the bleachers.

  I love the atmosphere at a ballpark. I love the game. And I'm so happy my boy loves that too. I look out onto the field and see Luke. It's like this guy is haunting me. He is everywhere. He really irked me today asking about my bruises like he cared. I almost for a second believed he did. I already got enough crap from Emily when I showed up to work today, I didn't need it from someone who doesn't even know me. Getting stared at all day has been enough punishment for me.

  As the game goes on, I realize Luke is really good. I have been to many games, high school and college, and he is playing on the college level as a high school senior. He is going places. He plays 3rd base like it just comes naturally to him, and he is amazing to watch. I look down and see Ryder is just as hypnotized by him as me.

  "Mama I wanna play like that when I get older."

  I smile down and say, "I have no doubt you will, buddy."

  Ryder leans over and asks, "After the game can we go say hi to him?" Even though that is the last thing I want to do, I know I have to try for my boy.

  "Sure, buddy." I sigh.

  We win the game and Ryder is so excited. He is jumping up and down just dying to meet Luke, the star player of the game. I grab his hand and head down to the field. As I approach, I notice Luke looking at me, eyebrows raised.

  "Hey, Shay who is this little guy."

  "Hi, I'm Ryder, this is my mama. She told me she would bring me down here to meet you, and I wanted to see if you would sign my baseball, I think you’re gonna be famous one day." Luke's face lights up, he looks genuinely happy.

  "Thanks, buddy, I hope so, and I'd be more than happy to sign that, are you a Ballplayer too?"

  "Yep, my t-ball games start this weekend, you should come to watch me. I think I'm gonna be just as good as you one day." Ryder looks so proud and confident and his happy mood is contagious.

  I laugh and look up at Luke and say, "Oh I'm sure Luke is busy with his baseball schedule buddy, but that was nice of you to invite him."

  Luke looks at me and smiles. "Actually, I'm free this weekend. And I plan to be there. I have to see you play, especially if you’re as good as I think you are." He winks. Then waves bye and walks away.

  I stand there holding Ryder's hand and wondering what just happened. Ryder looks up at me with pure joy in his eyes,

  "I like that guy."

  I groan and shake my head, of course, he does.

  Chapter Ten

  Luke

  She has a kid.

  My mind is reeling from this. I knew this girl had a story, but that was not what I was expecting. I obviously can't get involved with her. She has all this baggage. A kid, a black eye, 2 jobs. She has way too much going on. Yet here I am standing on the field agreeing to come and watch this little boy play t-ball. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm losing my mind.

  Jimmy looks at me from across the field with a smile on his face. When I walk away, he comes running up to me like I knew he would. He always has been so damn nosy.

  "What was that all about"

  "That was Shay and her son," I say.

  He raises his eyebrows. "Wow, was not expecting that one."

  "Yeah, me either, and apparently, I'm going to watch a t-ball game this weekend, wanna come?"

  "Are you kidding? I love watching little kids do what we love, I'm in." He smiles and heads towards the locker room.

  Valerie is at the locker room door. She walks over and puts her hand on my chest. "Hey baby, I've been waiting on you, want me to come in and take a shower with you?" I look at her and laugh.

  "What part of this isn't happening anymore didn't you get?" I say.

  She looks at me shocked. "This is because of that slut from the diner, isn't it? I saw you over there talking to her and her bastard kid, get real Luke you're a kid yourself and you don't need to be playing house with some nasty skank when you have more important things to worry about. You will come crawling back soon enough." She laughs. "You will be calling me by the end of the week, because you know I'm right. You know you can't afford to screw up what you have going for you, and you know I'm an easy lay." With that, she walks off, so sure of herself.

  She might be right, that I can't afford to screw anything up, but she's wrong if she thinks I'll come crawling back to her. She is such a whore, what did I ever see in her? Now all she does is make my life a living hell, she's going to be hard to get rid of, and she isn't worth all this trouble.

  After my shower, I head for my truck. I decide I need a ride to take some things off my mind. I'm about a mile down the road when I see Shay and her son walking down the side of the street. I pull over

  "Hey, do you guys need a ride, it's pretty dark out."

  She looks over. "That would be nice. He needs to get to his grandmas, and I have to go home and get ready for work."

  "Hop in".

  Once we get to Ryder's grandmas and he is dropped off she waves me on. "Oh no, I'm not letting you walk in the dark. Get in. I'll take you home you can get dressed and I'll drop you off at Newman's."

  It's on the tip of her tongue to say no, but I'm not taking no for an answer and I think she gets that. She hops in and points me in the direction of her house. I can tell she is uncomfortable. I pull up the dirt road and we get to a small blue house. It's nothing special and I can tell she is embarrassed.

  "I'll wait in the truck for you. Take your time." She looks over and mutters thanks as she closes the truck door. She glances at me a couple more times before she reaches the house. She seems tense like she's afraid something will happen to me while I'm sitting out here. I just turn the radio up a bit and relax while I wait.

  Chapter Eleven

  Shay

  This is a really bad idea. I know I shouldn't have let Luke take me home, but I'm going to be late for work. I don't know where Gunner is. I haven't seen or heard from him since he popped in the other night. The last thing I need is for him to show up right now while a guy is sitting in the driveway. This could be a complete disaster, so I'm trying to rush, as fast as I can.

  Just as I'm grabbing my bag, I hear another vehicle pull up and I panic. I knew better, this is what happens when I try and make life a little easier and I accept help from people. I rush outside to see Gunner approach Luke's truck.

  "Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing at my fucking house" He yells.

  Luke looks at me and back at Gunner. "Um sorry, I'm Luke I'm just giving Shay a ride to work."

  Gunner shoots daggers at me and stalks my way. He grabs me by the arm "You fucking whore. You brought one of your guys to MY house."

  "Let go of me, Gunner. This isn't your house. You don't live here and I'm not your property." I run towards Luke's tru
ck just as I see him getting out of the truck. "Don't Luke! It's not worth it just let's go, please go."

  He looks at me concerned, but he actually listens and hops back in the truck and puts it in reverse. A few minutes pass, and I know I'm going to have to explain some of that.

  "I'm so sorry about him."

  "What was going on there, is he the one that gave you all those bruises?" He gestures towards my face. I turn away embarrassed.

  "That’s Ryder's father." Luke stares at me waiting for me to elaborate. If he thinks I’m going to spill my guts to him about my personal life, he’s wrong. I purposely avoid the question about the bruises.

  I give him the short version and tell him we haven't been together in 2 years, but he won't leave me alone.

  Luke looks at me sympathetically. "Maybe you should call the police." He doesn’t say it, but I know he’s already figured out that’s how I get all my injuries. I appreciate that he isn’t trying to pry, even though I can tell it’s killing him.

  "I can't he's Ryder's father, I can't do that. It's just a complicated situation." He looks over at me with sadness in his eyes. "Look I don't need sympathy, okay? I've been dealing with this for 4 years now, I'm fine, and I'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Thanks for the ride."

  I notice we have pulled up to Newman's, I get out before Luke has more time to ask questions that I don’t want to answer. I don’t want him feeling sorry for me. I thank him for the ride, wave and walk into the store.

  I take a deep breath after I get inside. This day has been too much for me. I cannot let Luke find out any more about me. I can't drag him into this mess that is my life. And I can't let him become a distraction. I saw how he was on the field, it's obvious to me he is going to have a career in baseball, and I have no plans to chase some guy around the country. I have a son to think about, and I've been planning our ticket out of here for a while. I can't afford complications, and I can't afford to be the one that complicates somebody's life.

  Chapter Twelve

  Luke

  My mind is still reeling after dropping Shay off at work. What is going on in this girl’s life? She’s obviously not safe there, but we don’t know each other well enough for me to say that to her. I wanted nothing more than to grab that guy and punch him right in the face. He had his hands on her, it’s so obvious that it's a common occurrence. I had my hand on the door ready to jump out when she told me to stay put. She just brushed it off like it was no big deal. That doesn't sit right with me. How long has this been going on? Why is it bothering me so much?

  I head home needing to get this girl off my mind. I can't get involved in all that. A kid, a psycho ex, I have ball to worry about. I have to get out of this town, and I can't do that if I'm tied up to some girl I barely know. I keep telling myself to stay away from her, and yet she still won't leave my mind.

  When I get home, I have a message on the machine from my dad. "We are in Paris, will be home next week sometime. Behave."

  That's it. No "I love you, or I miss you, or how was the game" - These people don't care. They are practically strangers to me anyway.

  I lay on the couch and turn on the game, but I'm struggling to think of anything but Shay and that beat-up face and the look of fear in her eyes when her ex showed up at her house. I'm afraid the dude will show up at her work to pick her up. I feel like I need to be there before he is.

  I figure an overnight shift is probably over around 6 so I set an alarm and try and get some sleep. I know I need to keep my distance, try not to get attached, but I also feel it deep in my gut that she needs my help, whether she wants it or not.

  When my alarm goes off, I throw on some shorts and head out the door. I pull into Newman's and just wait for some employees to come out. She is like a breath of fresh air when she walks out the door. Her long dark brown hair thrown up in a messy bun, and her bright green eyes shining. When she sees me, she looks confused but walks over towards my truck.

  "What are you doing here?" she asks.

  "I thought you might need a ride home and I was out doing some early morning workouts anyway." I lie.

  "Oh well, thanks. I appreciate it." She looks at me again and then walks over to the passenger door.

  We drive in silence when I finally look over and say, "Look I would just feel a lot better if I could maybe give you my number and you call me if something happens or an emergency comes up."

  She looks over at me and smiles "Is this some corny way to try and get my number?"

  "No," I say honestly. “I just want to know your safe." she sighs, takes my phone and puts something in it. “Send me a message or something with your number okay. I promise I'll call you if some crazy emergency arises.”

  She smiles and hops out of the truck with a wave. I watch her walk inside and I am just flabbergasted at this girl. She is driving me crazy. And while I'll still deny it, I think I'm hooked, and she is going to be hard to turn away from.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Shay

  I shut the door and put my back up against it. What is wrong with me. Was I just flirting with him? I do not have time for this. I don't have time to text and flirt and hang out with devastatingly handsome guys that play baseball. Especially cocky, overly confident ones.

  I hop in the shower, then fall on my bed to lay down. Just as I'm drifting off, I imagine ocean blue eyes and jet-black hair staring back at me, and I finally fall into a deep peaceful sleep.

  When I wake up a couple hours later, I throw on some clothes and walk down to Tammy's to pick up Ryder. I pick up my phone and see a message from a new number.

  Just wanted to make sure you knew this was me, I'm thinking about you, worried about you, I don't know what's happening to me. I'm going to hit send before I chicken out and delete this.

  I smile, and I blush. This is bad, but he makes me smile, and when is the last time I did that.

  I type back- Everything is fine here. I'm fine. I was thinking about you also. Just heading to get my boy. His first game is tonight, you know?

  I see the three dots pop up that he is messaging me back. "Can I take you both to the game?" My grin explodes.

  "Well sure, you don't have anything else going on?"

  "No, I'm turning down your road now."

  I look up and there he is with a huge grin on his face. He reaches over and opens the passenger side door.

  "Hey there beautiful, hop in."

  Once we get to Tammy's house Ryder is so excited to see who is taking us to the game. He insists that all the other kids are going to be so jealous. And I just cannot stop smiling. Luke looks over at me with a huge smile on his face too. "I hope it's okay I invited Jimmy to the game too. He loves watching little kids play ball." I smile.

  "That's sweet. Jimmy is such a nice guy. So much nicer than you." I laugh and he shoots me a dirty look. We pull up to the ball fields and Jimmy is waiting by his truck.

  "Hey, ya'll. This must be the little man Luke was telling me about. I hear your quite the ballplayer." Ryder beams up at him.

  "I am, I can't wait for you guys to see. Mama says one day I might play for the Birds."

  The guys look at him smiling and both say, "We do not doubt that."

  My heart swells. These guys are so sweet to my boy, and they don't even have to be. These are the kind of men I wish Ryder had in his life.

  Ryder runs over to his friends and I turn to the guys. "Thanks for that. He looks up to ballplayers like you guys." They both smile.

  We head over to the bleachers. I spot Em sitting in the bleachers. "Hey girl what are you doing here?"

  "You didn't really think I'd miss my nephew play his first game, did you?" She smiles and then I see her eyebrows raise as she notices who I am with.

  "Emily this is Luke and Jimmy. They came to watch Ryder play some ball."

  "Well hello boys," She smirks and nudges me as I shoot her a dirty look. She is never going to let me live this down, I can already tell.

  Once the game gets started,
I notice the guys are into just as much as I am. Hollering at the coaches and umps like we’re all at a big-league game. Luke looks over at me grinning. "Are you seriously a baseball fan?"

  "Of course, I am" He looks at me, surprised and I watch Jimmy whisper something into his ear.

  I love it when I can surprise guys with my love of baseball. It's like sometimes they think that women aren't allowed to love it as much as they do. It gives me a bit of satisfaction. I bite back the grin that is dying to overtake my face.

  “Shay isn’t just a baseball fan, she’s a fanatic,” Emily says with a laugh. “She knows more about baseball than most people. She’s been a diehard fan of the game for as long as I’ve known her.”

  "What? A girl can't love her some ball?" I ask, with a huge smile on my face. They both just look at me and shake their heads.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Luke

  I am in love.

  Not really, but I could see it heading that way. This girl has it all, fiercely independent, a great mama, hard worker, beautiful, AND a baseball fan. I must have died and gone to heaven. It's easy to forget all the baggage she has when she has so much more going for her. Jimmy leans over to me and says

  "I do believe we have met the girl of your dreams."

  I punch him and look away. Absolutely not. Luke Baker doesn't have a "girl of his dreams" I have absolutely no time for that. And there is no way I could be a dad to a little boy. I have had no one to show me an example of what a good dad should be, not to mention, I’m only seventeen. I haven't even graduated high school yet. This whole scenario had disaster written all over it.

  And yet I can't help but stare at this beautiful woman hollering at the refs and doing all kinds of crazy things to my head. She is incredible. I have to detach from her immediately.