The Hitting Zone
chapter-699

"Today was fun." Noah sighed as we got ready for bed. "I'm going to miss the seniors. Zeke too."

I nodded along in agreement. I checked my phone one more time before sighing and getting into bed.

"What is it? Did Jeremy never call you back?" Noah asked, picking up on my restlessness.

"He didn't even text back." I answered, getting under the covers. "It probably wasn't anything important to begin with, but I-" I stopped.

"But you worry." Noah finished for me. "I understand. There's obviously something going on in his life, but he doesn't want to share." Noah sighed. "All adults are like this. It's so frustrating. It's like they think we're useless."

Noah rambled on while turning the light off and getting into his own bed. He was getting off topic, mostly talking about how adults treat us like children even though we would be able to drive soon. I hummed in agreement whenever he asked something, but my mind was still on Jeremy. Something has been going on with him for weeks now, and it gave me an ominous feeling.

I had trouble falling asleep even after Noah had quit talking. My night was filled with a lot of tossing and turning. By the time the sun had risen, I felt like I didn't sleep at all. Just a simple blink and Noah was suddenly asking me if I wanted to go to the cages before we had lunch at Alisha's.

I agreed.

I had assumed we all would be going together, but at the breakfast table, the twins told us differently.

"We're going to Mitchell's." Dave informed us between bites of his waffle.

"How are you going to get there?" Noah asked. "Zeke already said he would take us to the cages so we'll have the car."

Kyle looked to Mom. "Mom, you and Dad can ride to work together, right?"

Mom squinted. "We could, but do I trust you with my car? No."

"You trust Zeke. Loan him your car and we'll take the family car." Dave suggested. He saw her wavering and continued on. "Please?? Kyle and I want to work on our pitching with Mitchell. Especially now that we aren't throwing the same. We have to prepare him before the camp starts."

Mom looked to Zeke. "And you're just taking the younger two to the cages? For how long?"

"Until lunch." Noah spoke up for Zeke. "Then we're going to Alisha's." He looked to the twins. "You guys can come too. Mitchell as well if he has time."

Kyle laughed. "Why would we go to Alisha's? Wouldn't that be awkward for her? Surrounded by a bunch of dudes?"

Noah rolled his eyes. "Obviously she invited some girls too." He smirked. "Like Marie and Kaylee."

Kyle rubbed his nose. "Well, it would be rude to turn down your invite. We'll meet you there after we get some work in with Mitchell. Is there any particular time we have to be there by?"

Noah shrugged. "She said her dad was gonna grill some hotdogs and burgers at noon."

"Her parents have enough food for everyone?" Mom asked, worried.

Noah shrugged again. "How am I supposed to know?"

Mom looked at Zeke. "Before going over, stop at the store and take some fruit platters with you." She looked at Noah next. "Make sure to ask her if they need any extra meat when you get to the store."

"Sure thing." Noah answered.

"You okay, Jake?" Dad asked me.

I poked at my scrambled eggs. "I'm okay."

"He's just worried that Jeremy isn't okay." Noah added.

"What's going on with Jeremy?" Mom asked before Dad could. She looked as worried as I felt.

"We don't know." Noah answered. "That's what's making him worried. Jeremy called yesterday, but we were playing baseball. Jake sent a text saying he had his phone on him, but Jeremy never called back. He's been a little off since he canceled dinner on us. He went into a slump for a week, but he seemed better these last few days."

"Have you tried calling him?" Dad asked me.

I shook my head. "I don't want to bother him."

"A phone works both ways. To receive calls and to call." Dad said. "You can't just expect Jeremy to call you all the time. If you want this relationship to be on even ground, you have to do half the work. Why don't you give him a call after today's game?"

"What do I say?" I asked.

"What would you say to Noah if you haven't seen him for a week?" He asked back. "A simple 'how are you' can open up the conversation."

I nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll call him a little bit after his game. I think they're coming home after being on the road for so long." I looked to Noah to be sure.

Noah nodded. "Yep. Almost two weeks worth of away games! Now they're going to be on a home game stretch. I know they have tomorrow off."

Not long after breakfast, we all started to go our own ways. Mom and Dad had an open house to show. The twins went to Mitchell's house. While Zeke took Noah and I to the cages.

We had some fun blowing off steam in the cages. Noah worked on changing his stance and swing, occasionally asking me and Zeke for suggestions. Zeke and I worked on aiming our hits a little better, discussing how much hip power you need when trying for homeruns.

As we got closer to lunch, we packed up the car and stopped at a grocery store on our way to Alisha's. Zeke loaded the cart with a couple of fruit platters like Mom had instructed, but then also added some bags of chips.

"Better to have more food than less. You have to figure that the twins will bring Mitchell along. Who knows how many other people will come." Zeke explained.

Noah looked up from his phone. "Alisha said the head count is already over twenty. Apparently Marie and Kaylee invited some of the softball girls."

Zeke frowned. "Alisha and her parents are okay with this many people coming? Sounds like a party."

Noah shrugged. "I guess so. She said some of her parent's friends came and brought their kids too. She said to bring Mom and Dad, but I already told her that they have work."

"Do we need to get any meat? Anymore food?" Zeke asked.

"Let me double check." Noah started to type. After a minute, his phone dinged. "She said no more meat needed. I guess they'll have enough. She did say to grab a few more bags of chips."

We backtracked to the chip aisle again and threw a few more bags into the cart. Heading to checkout, we had passed by the bakery section and Noah convinced Zeke to grab a few containers of mini brownie bites.

"You better not hog them." Zeke warned. "Camp starts tomorrow. Try to take better care of yourself."

"I promise." Noah grinned, eyeing the cart.

Zeke sighed and shook his head. He looked at me. "Jake, it's going to be up to you to keep Noah in check. Stay away from the sweets. Fruits have natural sugars and are way better for you."

Noah laughed. "Don't preach what you can't practice."

"If I give up sweets, will you?" Zeke raised an eyebrow.

Noah pursed his lips. "What's in it for me?"

"Increased energy and mood. Mental clarity. Weight management." Zeke listed the benefits of giving up sugar.

"But what will YOU give me?" Noah asked.

Zeke squinted. "What do you want?"

He shrugged. "Nothing off the top of my head."