The Hitting Zone
chapter-420

I started to tear up. I wanted to wipe my eyes, but then Dave would know that I was crying.

"What are you doing to Jake?" Mrs. Atkins asked.

Dave loosened his grip and answered. "Jeremy Patterson isn't a good person, Mom. Noah found a not so good video of him. He's showing Dad right now."

Mrs. Atkins didn't need to question what was said. Just one look at me and she could tell that I was hurting. "Oh, honey. It's...well, let me go see what has happened." She nodded towards the dining room. "Why don't you go eat breakfast with the others?" She jogged up the stairs.

Dave steered me to the kitchen and guided me to my seat before going to his own. Zeke and Kyle were talking about plans for the day, but quieted down after one look at me.

"Don't ask." Dave told them. "If you really want to know, go upstairs and Noah will show you. Jake doesn't want to keep hearing about it." He started to load his plate.

Zeke got up first, not hesitating like Kyle. He immediately left the kitchen, and Kyle quickly followed after a glance my way.

"They have to know." Dave told me.

"I know." I slowly reached for a bagel and started to pick at it. It's not like it's a big secret. It's all over the news. Jeremy Patterson doesn't claim having a brother.

As I slowly ate my bagel, the Atkins started to come down in the order they went up. Mr. Atkins. Mrs. Atkins. The three boys.

"What should we do now?" Kyle asked their dad, looking unsure of what to do.

Mr. Atkins sighed. "There's nothing for us to do. Everything else is between Jeremy and the state." He looked at me. "Let me know if you want to visit Dr. Moore at any time, okay?"

I nodded. "I'm okay. He can live his life and I'll live mine."

Mr. Atkins shared a frown with Mrs. Atkins, but they didn't say anything else about the topic. My wave of sadness passed as I thought it through. Jeremy and I don't have any real connection. I was three the last time I saw him...a ten-year-old him. That's it.

Mr. and Mrs. Atkins took a longer time to go to work, but after making sure that I would be just fine with their sons, they left.

"Let's go to the cages?" Kyle offered, looking at me.

I shrugged, stabbing the cut up fruit on my plate. "I don't really feel like it."

"Don't be lying." Noah nudged me. "You know it'll make you feel better. Get your mind off things."

Get my mind off the fact that my brother didn't even ask about me after finding out that our mom almost killed me? I doubt it. I sighed. "Okay, sure."

Noah smiled with relief.

So after breakfast, we packed up and left the house together. We were just at The Arcade last night so the employees were a little surprised that we would come two days in a row.

Zeke bought the tokens for all of us without Noah's nagging so he must be pitying me too. Just a boy that only strangers want. I sighed to myself for the millionth time this morning.

We seemed to stick together as we moved to the cage with a good speed. Or more like, they stuck with me. They were probably still worried about me exploding or running or just-just being sad. It made me feel worse that these acquaintances could care more than my blood relatives. Just stop. Stop thinking about it.

I shook my head trying to clear these thoughts.

The boys let me go first, but that was a mistake. I was still muddle-headed and made a few mistakes in the cages. I even swung and missed on such an easy pitch. With another sigh, I left the cage.

"Jake-" Noah started.

Zeke cut him off. "Noah, you go next." He glanced at the twins. "Shouldn't you two start somewhere else?"

The twins got the hint and left us alone. Noah waited an extra beat, but with Zeke staring him down, he caved. Zeke sat down on the bench between cages. "Come on. Sit down and relax. It's a nice day for late April. We usually get more rain."

The corner of my lips tugged into a mocking smile. "It's so cloudy here all the time. I've never seen so many cloudy days in my life."

Zeke chuckled as I sat down. "It's called the marine layer. Just clouds rolling in from the coast. But you know, there's a saying that Mom used to tell us when we complained about the rain."

"What..?" Not really understanding where he was going with this. Did he think talking about the weather would get my mind off my family situation?

"'April showers bring May flowers.'" He quoted. Then after a silent pause. "'Every dark cloud has a silver lining.'" He glanced down at me. "Are you understanding what I'm trying to say?"

I laughed, feeling a little lighter. "I'm in ninth grade, I know what an idiom is."

"So you know this thing that's troubling you will pass." He stated. "If you know that, then why are you dwelling so much on it?"

"Well..." I thought about it. "He's my brother..."

Zeke shrugged. "Your brother? Or a stranger? What do you know about this man that you haven't read about or seen in the news?"

That's right. He's a stranger to me. Just like I am to him. He won't claim me, so I don't have to claim him.

"I know someone who thinks of you as a brother." Zeke told me in a soft tone.

Immediately my eyes looked to Noah, batting. "He thought of me as a brother from day one. I didn't even talk to him and he called me his little brother." My eyes stung. "Is something wrong with me?"

Zeke patted the top of my head lightly. "No. If there was, we wouldn't all take a liking to you and let our parents adopt you."

I looked at him.

"Mom and Dad checked with me and the twins before starting the adoption process." He smiled. "Remember the night that the twins got their pitching backstop? Mom and Dad asked them separately about their thoughts so you know, all of us like you."

I warmed at the thought.

"Honestly, you don't need to be officially adopted to feel like a part of the family." Zeke told me. "You're already a brother to us. A son to Mom and Dad. You were one of us from day one."

And that was thanks to Noah and Mrs. Atkins. They pulled me in and didn't let go.

"Thanks Zeke." I told him, feeling a sense of relief. "For the record, you're what I wanted my big brother to be like."

Zeke looked surprised for a second, then laughed.

"Jake! Want to try again?" Noah asked, coming out of the cage.

I lifted my bat. "Yea." I went back in there, put in the token, and then started to swing. Every ball was sent back the way it came. It was a good feeling. No negativity was hanging around like a heavy fog. Instead, it was sunny. Bright. Warm.