Page 35 of The Way We Swing Back

And Monday? We had our last high school game of the year. And there was no way Coach Berrios could keep me out of that game.

Chapter 17

I’d gotten four at-bats in the last game of the season, hitting a double to the gap and two more line drives right at their second baseman, the first one nearly snapping his glove out of his hand.

My shoulder hadn’t hurt in over a month, but I still had this overwhelming fear it could snap at any time. Nate said that was normal for a couple of months, but he kept increasing my throwing limits (slowly). He’d even said I was allowed to throw twenty pitches off a mound this week.

We’d finished up the last day of school two days ago, which meant not only could we swim and hit all day again but also that Tanner was done with college and spending more time at the house. With that came a heavy dose of phone calls from Calvin, which always signaled my time to exit to another room.

I’d been helping my grandma plant flowers this morning; she got confused halfway through, though, so I had to take her inside with Grandpa. I needed a distraction, and Gavin was usually a good one.

I strolled in to the sound of an unwatched TV coming from the living room and made my way to Gavin’s room. Not home, apparently. I crossed the hall to Zach’s room, hoping for better luck.

“Any idea where Gavin is?” I said after knocking on his door.

“He went to Jake’s house. Said they were going for ice cream,” Zach said, music coming from his phone that sat on his stomach as he lay on his bed.

“You want to hit?” I asked.

“Not really.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“I’m not feeling baseball right now. This season took a ton out of me.”

“Since when?”

He shrugged, eyes fixed on the wall. “I mean, I enjoy it. But it’s basically a job sometimes.”

I grabbed the chair at his desk, fell into the padded seat, and rotated back and forth while he talked. “What do you mean?”

“I dunno, man. It’s just a grind.”

“I’m not following.”

“Exactly. It’s not a grind for you. Or Tanner. Or Gavin.”

“I guess not. I’m not sure what else I’d be doing if I wasn’t hitting.”

“Which is why Tanner and Gavin like you better than me.”

I swallowed quickly, not sure how to handle such an uncharacteristic comment from Zach. “They love you, dude.”

“Sure. But sometimes I don’t think they like me so much. If I didn’t play baseball, I don’t think I’d fit in with them.”

“Are you saying you want to quit?”

“Fuck no.”

“What are you saying then?”

“That I don’t want to hit right now.”

I scrunched my nose and shook my head. “That’s fine, dude. We could lift?” I asked hopefully.

“Already did this morning,” he said, and I believed him—Zach never missed a day at the gym.

“Want to do something else, then?”