Foul Ball
Chapter 20: Macey

I had three missed calls from my mom when I finally got home that night, and I was almost too tired to call her back. After the guys had left earlier in the evening, much to my dismay and everyone else's, we'd been hit with a sudden onset of emergency calls, something that was bound to happen every once in a blue moon. Addy and I had completed eight medical calls alone, not including the fire calls where we tagged along for in case of injuries or casualties. Now it was after eleven, and I'd already told Jayce I needed to go home and sleep, but I knew mom would still be awake. She hadn't slept much since Melanie.

Sure enough, she answered on the first ring, sounding just as harassed and cranky as usual. "I called you three times, Macey," she said, starting in on it before I could even open my mouth.

"I'm sorry, Mom. We got swamped at work."

"Well I'm sure," my mother sniffed, as if this was obvious. "It's a full moon."

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the edge of my bed to kick my shoes off, wincing as the soreness in my feet traveled all the way up my shins. "What's up, Mom?"

"What's up is that your cousin Beatrice is getting married, and you should be at the wedding."

"My cousin who?"

"Beatrice. You used to play with her all the time as a child, Macey. You and Melanie both.” Her voice cracked when she said Mel's name, just slightly, but it always did. And then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and her composure was regained in an instant.

"Oh yeah," I said. "Bitchy B."

"Macey Kate Britton."

"Sorry, Mom." With a small groan I flopped onto my back on the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling with tired, puffy eyes. "When is this wedding?"

"Next month."

"Next month?" I sat up abruptly, sending my head into a spinning whirlwind. "Mom, you do realize I'm in school, right?"

"Yes, Macey, I'm aware."

"Okay then, you know I have classes to go to. I can't just take a week off."

"It doesn't have to be for a week," Mom huffed. "It's over the weekend and it's not until next month. The fifteenth of April. You can fly in on a Friday, attend the wedding on Saturday, and fly home Sunday." "Does Bit-Beatrice even care if I come? We haven't really seen each other since we were, like, four."

"She's family, Macey," my mom said, but her tone held that steely ice cold I was all too familiar with. "You could at least try to pretend like family means something to you."

A migraine began to tug at my temples as a dooming sense of dread overcame me. That was her favorite line, ever since Melanie passed away. A storm cloud hovered above the relationship my mother and I had, ready to burst at any tiny moment and drown us into oblivion.

"I'll see what I can do," I said. "That's all. I'll see what I can do."

"Please, try."

"I will, Mom. I have to go to bed, I have school in the morning. I love you. Tell dad I send my love."

"I will, Macey."

The line went silent, but I kept the phone to my ear for a moment longer, waiting to hear the words she hadn't spoken to me since Melanie's funeral.

I love you, too.

~ ~

I agreed to meet Jayce on the quad the next morning for coffee and a bagel before class, knowing that if anything could help me get through this day, it was seeing him. Sure enough, as soon as I saw Jayce walking towards me with a latte in each hand and a bag of bagels tucked between his fingers, I could feel my own face light up. I hadn't slept well last night, and I wasn't sure if it was because I hadn't been with Jayce, or if it had been the conversation with my mother. Maybe both. Probably both.

"Iced Chai Latte," he said, handing the cup to me before leaning in for a kiss. "And a pumpkin chocolate chip bagel with cinnamon cream cheese."

"Oooh, yum," I squealed, reaching for the bagel. "Has anyone ever told you that you are the best?"

"Once or twice," said Jayce with a shrug. "I do what I can." We sat down together at the edge of the fountain that sat in the middle of the quad. It was a lovely spring morning, chilly, but with the shining sun bearing down on us. It was late March, and the things in Colorado were starting to wake up, unfreeze.

"What's the matter, baby? You seem kind of...forlorn?" Jayce said, pulling me into his side from where we sat on the edge of the marble. "I don't know if that's the word for it. Deep in thought, maybe? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Smiling, I leaned over to kiss him, but Jayce wasn't about to let up.

"Did something happen last night after your shift?"

If you're loving the book, nel5s.com is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you!

"No. I mean, I talked to my mom," I said with a shrug. "That's almost always going to put me in a pissy mood just because it's my mom."

"How is your mother?" Jayce asked politely, and I laughed.

"Same as always. Disappointed in me and wishing she had her favorite daughter back."

"Don't be silly," Jayce scolded.

"It's whatever. What she really wanted was to tell me to go to my cousin's wedding next month."

"In Michigan?"

"Yeah."

"Are you and your cousin close?" Jayce asked.

"When we were three, maybe."

He grinned. "Are you going to go?"

"It would make my mom happy, that's for sure," I said with a sigh, and Jayce shrugged.

"Would it make you happy?"

I rested my head against his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of him, the subtle way his arm snaked around my waist as we walked, how his hand gently caressed my hip as we strolled. "I think I'm plenty happy right here," I said quietly, and Jayce's grip tightened on me as he pulled us to a halt and turned to face me, touching the side of my face with his knuckles.

"I am, too," he said. "Truly. But I don't want you to feel like you have to avoid your family to be with me, or even that you would want to. If it would mean a lot to your mom, maybe you should go."

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I'll think about it. That's all I can promise anyone."

"Fair enough," said Jayce. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes, plans for tomorrow night."

"Plans for tomorrow night," I confirmed. "You will find me in my bed with a good book and a glass of wine."

"Sorry," Jayce said. "No can do."

"What? Why? That's the perfect weekend extravaganza."

"Unfortunately for you, my dear lady," Jayce said, hand lingering on my ass as he pressed his body against mine, "you are now a girlfriend, and not a lonesome single woman, and your boyfriend wants to take you on a date." "Fine, but can't I go home and sleep after?"

"Not in your bed, no."

"In your bed?"

"Getting closer."

"Jayce." I smacked his hand away from my ass to glare at him, but he only smiled that wickedly beautiful smile and bowed to me.

"Pack an overnight bag," he said. "We'll leave tomorrow after your last class."

~ ~

"So where is he taking you?" Kylie asked, her eyes scoping out the mess I had on the bed. A backpack set empty, and piles of clothes were strewn around the bed in a frenzied panic.

"I have no idea," I said, reaching into my top drawer for some panties that didn't have holes in them. I shoved them into the backpack and then folded up my pajamas-short shorts and a raggedy old t-shirt-then grabbed my overnight bag with my toiletries in it and stuffed it in after. Kylie watched me do this curiously, as if she was trying to decide what in the actual hell I was doing or why.

"Somewhere overnight?" she guessed as I stumbled over a pair of sweats on my floor and nearly fell. She reached out, steadying me, a grin curling on her lips. "Take a breath, girl, before you have a meltdown."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just nervous." I inhaled a long breath and held it for a moment before releasing, hoping to settle my nerves.

"Don't be nervous," said Kylie. "Jayce is crazy about you, Macey, and it's clear to everyone who knows you. Whatever you do or wherever you go, it will be fun."

"Until he figures out just how cool I am not," I said with a sigh. "We are two very different people, Jayce and me. I'm just waiting for him to realize what a mistake this relationship was." Even as the words spilled out of my mouth, I wasn't sure I believed it. Sure, I had my quirks, but so did he, and that's what made us work. The true test would be whether or not he had to meet my parents and whether or not he'd survive. At that point, I wouldn't blame him for bailing out the door and never looking back. I know I would.