The Hitting Zone
chapter-629

After the show, Jeremy and Rose walked us through a secret exit, getting us to the parking lot. They wanted to walk us to the car so I could sit in the wheelchair longer, but Zeke had refused. It made sense. Jeremy was easily recognizable amid the A's fan base so walking around would just hinder us from getting back to the house.

Zeke helped me into the backseat and we left.

Rhys's mom was waiting up for us even though it was nearing midnight. The extended family had already left so it was just her, alone. It made me feel bad knowing that she didn't have anyone until we got home. But she didn't look bothered at all.

She brought out the sparklers and a lighter. We sat on the curb, holding the lit sparklers over the street. Zeke didn't seem too interested while the other two were trying to make shapes appear by swinging theirs around.

Fireworks continued to go off all night, making the dogs bark and car alarms go off. We all went to bed and fell asleep despite the noise.

As instructed, I took the boot off and put a couple of pillows underneath my leg to keep it elevated throughout the night. Noah offered to sleep on the floor or the couch downstairs, but that was too much. We've shared a bed before so I know he won't be kicking me in his sleep or anything.

The pain woke me up early as the sun was rising. I gasped and held onto my knee, trying not to make any noise.

Noah still woke up though. His bleary eyes looked me over, trying to figure out what was happening. "What's wrong? Your leg..?"

I nodded.

He immediately got up, more awake. "I'll go get some ice!" He ran out before I could say a word.

Noah came back five minutes later with Mrs. Johnson following close behind. She gave a warm smile. "Good morning, Jake. I heard from Noah that your leg is hurting?"

I nodded, feeling a little shy.

She stood beside the bed and started to place some items on the nightstand. "I've brought you some pain killers and water. And a granola bar because you shouldn't take pills on an empty stomach."

I sat up and took the pills with a sip of water. Then I ate the granola bar in three bites. Feeling tired, I laid back down and got comfortable in bed.

Noah revealed my left leg and put a towel on it before putting on a bag of ice. Him and Mrs. Johnson helped me get comfortable and then I fell back asleep.

I woke up with more clarity the next time around, and noticed that someone had gotten the bag of ice off me. I hopped around on one leg and changed clothes before strapping the boot on. Then I went downstairs.

Mrs. Johnson was in the living room, watching tv. She got up and smiled. "Good morning, Jake. Are you hungry?"

I nodded. Then cleared my throat. "Where is everyone?"

"The backyard." She led me to the kitchen and started to move around. Pulling some sliced fruit out of the fridge. Putting a bagel in the toaster. "Anything else you might want? We also have cereal."

I shook my head. "That's good." I awkwardly waited for the bagel to be done while Mrs. Johnson asked about my leg. "It felt bad the first time I woke up, but now it's okay."

"It'll probably be like that the next few days." She handed me a bowl of fruit and the bagel. "They're in the bullpen."

"Thanks." I grinned and went out. Mrs. Johnson was really nice. On par with Mom. I hobbled over to the bullpen, munching on my bagel.

Zeke was standing behind the fence, watching Noah and Rhys face off. "Noah told me you woke up in pain?"

"I'm okay now." I told him.

"That's good." His eyes went back to Noah, who was struggling against the fastball.

"Why didn't you guys wake me?" I asked.

"The injured needs their rest. Noah wanted to run around once he was up so we three jogged through the neighborhood. Came here afterwards." He told me about their morning. "Noah still can't catch up to Rhys's speed."

"He's getting closer." I told him between bites. "Slightly better than yesterday."

Zeke looked down at me, squinting.

I shrugged.

We watched them play a little longer, until Noah's arms got tired from swinging. He didn't get a single hit off Rhys, but still came out with a smile. It brightened when it saw me. "Hey! Doing better?"

I nodded.

We headed back inside so the three of them could shower for the day. We ended up staying for lunch, and Rhys even invited us to the Giants game tonight, but Zeke said no. We had an early softball game tomorrow after all. Or at least...they did. I guess I was spectator #1 now.

We went home after lunch so Zeke could do his school work. He set up his laptop and books in the kitchen while Noah and I got comfortable in the living room. He sacrificed the bigger couch to me so I could lay down and prop the injured leg up. I took off the boot and he fetched a bag of ice.

Noah came back with the ice, a bag of cookies, and a giant grin. "Look what I found!" He put the ice on my leg and sat on the floor in front of me, resting his back against the couch.

"Did Zeke see you?" I asked.

"He did. Said we could have half the bag." He greedily opened the bag and took out three cookies, then held the bag out to me.

Seeing that they were Mom's homemade cookies, I also took three. If I didn't, who knows if I'll be able to have anymore. Noah didn't have any self-control.

Sure enough, Zeke came to us half an hour later and looked at the near-empty bag of cookies. "I said half."

Noah nodded. "Yea, I get half and Jake gets the other half."

I laughed outright.

Zeke shook his head and snatched the bag away from Noah, going back to the kitchen. "You still have to run before tomorrow's game."

"I don't mind!" Noah licked some chocolate off his fingers.

"We're running double the distance since Jake isn't participating." Zeke said from the other room.

Noah rolled his eyes. "He's such a liar. There's no way he would leave you home alone."

"You guys ran this morning." I pointed out.

"That's because I was already awake." Noah said. "Plus, Mrs. Johnson was there for you in case you woke up while we're gone. Zeke takes his babysitting job seriously. Responsibility." Noah laughed. "So yea, I don't think we'll do any running actually."

That's true. Zeke wouldn't just leave me on my own, but- "What if he does the wagon idea?"

Noah stopped laughing. He had a look of terror on his face. "Wagon...double the distance..." He jumped up. "Zeke! No! Don't do this!"

I laughed as he ran out of the room to plead his case to Zeke. He came back in less than a minute, sent away by Zeke so he could do his school work in peace.