Foul Ball
Chapter 35: Jayce

Our first big game of the season was Tuesday night in Denver, and Macey drove down there after class to watch me play, sitting at the top row of the bleachers with a huge sign in her hand that read, Jayce is Ace! In multicolored letters. Candace sat next to her, sneaking sips of what I could only assume was vodka through a colored water bottle. My mom had texted me earlier in the day apologizing profusely for not being able to make it. She was working a double shift at the hospital but promised to be at the next one. But that was okay. My mother did all she could for me at every moment. I had to give her some slack, especially after meeting Macey's mother.

"That girl really has a thing for you, doesn't she?" said Dalton as we walked out onto the field for the game. I stopped on the field and looked up at Macey who was laughing about something with Candace, her smile alone seeming to light up the evening sky.

"I hope so," I said. "Because I really have a thing for her, too."

Shaking his head, Dalton punched me playfully on the arm, and then we resumed our positions on the field. On the sidelines, coach yelled encouraging threats at us, as always, and by the time the game was nearly finished, we were in the lead. "You got this, baby!" Macey yelled from the bleachers, still waving her sign. Hunkering down, I clenched the bat between my fingers and steadied myself, bringing my arm and shoulder back to get into position. The other team's pitcher sunk down, reeling his arm back to throw. It was a perfect throw, a throw that met my bat with the kind of force necessary to win a game. And I ran. I ran until my legs burned and my chest tightened with exhilaration. I ran, hearing Macey's cheers in the crowd, until my foot touched home base and I slid into place, meeting the ground with my body, but I didn't feel any pain.

Cheers erupted in the stands, so loud, so overwhelming, but I loved it. Relished in it. I'd been concerned that our first game of the season wouldn't hold up, as coach had told us more than once that no college sports team at ERU had ever lost their first game. Apparently, thank God, we wouldn't be the first.

"That was great," Macey said as I climbed the steps of the bleachers and took her into my arms, swinging her around.

"Did you enjoy the game?" I asked, and next to us, Candace laughed.

"It was great. The booze made it greater."

"Whatever," Macey said with a grin. "I didn't get drunk and I still enjoyed the game."

A moment later Dalton joined us, kissing Candace before taking a swig from her bottle. "I'm hungry," he said with a loud belch. Candace punched him in the arm, but then giggled and took another drink from the bottle.

"What about dinner?" Macey asked. "Would the team be up for dinner? We're already in the city, we could find someplace fun."

"That sounds awesome," I said, and Dalton and Candace nodded.

"We're in."

"Sweet," Macey said, reaching into her pocket to glance at her phone. I hadn't realized it, but her phone was ringing. She saw the number on her screen and turned away from us. "I need to take this. Do you guys want to go find out who wants to come? Invite your coach, too."

"Sure," I said, dropping my hand from her shoulder. I wanted to stay and see who she so desperately needed to talk to, but not because of jealousy. Because she was waiting to hear news, and the wait was getting longer and longer. "Hey," I said to Candace as the other three of us walked back down to the field. "Does Macey seem okay to you?"

"She seems great," Candace shrugged. "Tired a lot, but great."

"You noticed it, too?"

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! "Yeah. She tries to hide it sometimes, but it's obvious. She can barely keep her eyes open."

"Yeah, thanks, Candace." Squeezing her shoulder, I turned to coach and a few others on my team just as Dalton announced that plans were open for dinner.

"Count me in," coach said, surprising us all. "We need to find a place with alcohol. To, erm, celebrate."

"I'm sure we can manage," I said. A few of the other guys agreed to go, while the rest went home after a celebratory good job speech from coach. I found Macey at her car already, leaning up against the driver's side door with her arms folded over her breasts. "Hey," I said, taking her into my arms. "As much as riding here with Kurt and Dalton and a drunk Candace was a blast, would you mind driving me home tonight?" I asked, teasing her lips with my own.

"I suppose that's acceptable." She smiled and kissed me, hard, before pulling her face away to search mine.

"That was the hospital on the phone," she said. "They want me to come in tomorrow."

A painful, metal vice seemed to tighten around my lungs. "Did they say why?"

Macey shook her head. "They just said they had the results in and would like me to come in to see the doctor."

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! "Okay," I said, even though all I wanted to do was curse the sky and scream. "That's okay. They didn't say it's bad news."

"Exactly." Macey smiled even wider now, but her eyes gave her away. I could see it, the haunting fear behind those topaz blues, the way her fingers trembled, just slightly, as she reached to take my hand. "It's fine. It's going to be fine." It was difficult to focus on anything else the rest of the night, despite how much fun we had-or tried to have with the guys at dinner. We ended up all agreeing to a fun place in downtown Denver that served booze and food, the best of both worlds. Macey didn't have much of an appetite and neither did I, but she was four drinks in by the time I finally asked her if she was ready to go home. She wasn't, I could tell, but I knew why it was happening. She was scared. We both

were.

"If you want to keep drinking, fine," I said. "But how about we go home anyway and drink just the two of us?" If I could get her to bed, there was a better chance she'd fall asleep before seeking out more emotional painkillers. "Fine," she mumbled, taking the very last sip of her sixth vodka cranberry. "We can go home."

It wasn't even a good time to tease her about the fact that she'd referred to my apartment as home, even if it did make me happy to hear it.

Coach was drunk and still singing some sixties tune that nobody recognized but let him do it anyway, so we waved goodbye to the table and I helped Macey out to her car. She was so drunk she almost fell multiple times, to the point that I almost picked her up and carried her to the car just to move this along.

"I'm driving," I said, leaning Macey against the side of the car so I could dig into her pocket for the keys. She muttered a cuss word under her breath and then took a swing at me. Not a big one, mind you, but an annoyed one that almost sent her careening again.

"Just ask,” she snapped, grabbing the keys from her pocket herself. She tossed them to me—or more specifically, threw them at me and then opened the door and crawled into the passenger's seat of the car. I leaned in after her and clicked her seatbelt into place, sneaking in a quick kiss on her lips as I pulled back. She glared at me as I shut the passenger's door behind her and crossed around to the driver's side to slide in.

We drove in silence for a few minutes. Every time I looked over at Macey, she was focused on the window instead, her eyes taking in the scenery as I drove, expression impassive, head in her hand. I knew how she was feeling, what she would be thinking right now, and I longed to help her, wished I could say something, anything, that could make this moment less of a nightmare.

"Hey," I said, reaching over for Macey's hand. She resisted at first, but after a moment her muscles relaxed and her hand molded to mine. "I'm here for you," I said softly. "I'm here for you, Mace, and whatever happens tomorrow, you will still have me. I promise."