The Hitting Zone
chapter-702

Eventually, Noah and Alisha did come back. And surprisingly, Kaylee spoke up to apologize.

Dave looked confused. "What happened?"

Alisha looked at Kaylee. "No. It's alright. I should actually expect people to ask me if I'm just doing this for Noah. But I'm not. I'm doing this for me. I want to be part of the baseball team."

"Wait. What?!" Dave looked even more confused.

"She wants to help the team." I whispered.

"Oh. Like a manager of sorts?" Dave nodded. "When I was a freshman, the Varsity team had one. You can ask Zeke about it."

"I already have plans to meet with Coach Wilcox tomorrow." Alisha told him. "Mr. Miller is helping me."

Dave laughed. "You know...some of it is going to be hard work. Mr. Miller will probably ask you to help him with the field and everything."

She nodded. "I'm prepared for it."

With Kaylee's apology and Alisha's determination, all happiness seemed to be restored. Dave went ahead and showed the other two the funny video before moving on to other groups. We spent most of the afternoon at Alisha's and even helped with cleanup after most of the people started to leave.

Kaylee left with Marie while we left with Zeke. The twins drove the other car back earlier, probably trying to get out of cleanup.

After we got home, Noah and I went up to our room and started to prepare our baseball bags for tomorrow. I took out my phone and checked it. No news from Jeremy.

"Are you going to call him?" Noah asked.

I nodded. "Yea. His game is over. I just want to make sure...nothing is wrong." I went to his contact information and pushed the call button. Noah stopped what he was doing and sat beside me on the floor, so I turned on the speaker phone so he could hear.

It rang and rang. Then went to his voicemail.

I shrugged. "Maybe he's already on the flight back."

"No, because then the call would have gone straight to voicemail." Noah pointed out. "Try calling again."

I did so.

This time I got different results.

"Hello? Jake?" Jeremy's voice came on the line. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I was just trying to return your call from yesterday." I replied. "And just to ask, how are you?"

"Oh. My call. That was just-" He stopped mid-sentence and let out a heavy sigh.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, more firmed.

"I'm tired." He said. "Being on the road, game after game. Other things are going on my life that don't necessarily concern you. I don't want you to worry and be stressed like I am. My problems aren't your problems. But soon things should be settled. I just can't seem to catch a break."

"I'm here for you." I said.

He let out a short laugh. "There's nothing you can do. Just enjoy being a teenager for the both of us, okay?"

I thought about it. "If you need someone to talk to, Dr. Moore can help. He can listen and maybe give you suggestions if you want. He's a good person, I promise."

There was a pause. Nearly silent. If it wasn't for the background noises, I would think he hung up on me.

"Why don't you give me his number?" Jeremy said, lowering his voice. "I have off days tomorrow and Thursday so maybe if he's free, I can go and then have dinner or lunch with you. Make a trip out of it."

"Okay! I'll text you his contact information!" I smiled, relieved.

"You really trust this guy, huh?"

I nodded. "Dr. Moore is pretty awesome. He doesn't treat me like...I'm crazy. Even when I didn't talk much, he could still listen. When our school counselor...resigned...he took over and started to help other students that needed it. For free. He's just a good person overall."

He chuckled. "A five-star review from you? I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't really like therapists and how they get in your head. But, he did seem okay last time we met with him." He paused. "If I come tomorrow or Thursday, will you do a private dinner with me?"

I frowned. "Just us..?" I glanced at Noah, who was still listening in.

"Yea. If you're uncomfortable, we can invite Noah or I can just eat with your whole family." He said.

Noah pointed at me and gestured with one finger.

"I-I can eat alone with you." I said, stuttering only for a second. Noah said it was okay after all.

"Great! Don't get me wrong, I like your family. I just wanted to get some one-on-one time with you. Be a little more personable." He sounded much better. "We have some home games coming up if you and them want to come?"

I looked at Noah. Noah nodded enthusiastically.

"Sounds cool." I told him. Then thought about what tomorrow would be like. "But, this week we have our high school camp so it's probably better to wait for the weekend."

"Sure, I understand. It's a bit of a drive and you should be well rested this week. Show off your skills for your high school coaches!" He cheered, making me smile. "Tell Noah good luck too. And the twins. I'll be asking them how it went when I go to dinner with you."

"I don't need luck." Noah snorted, making his presence known.

Jeremy laughed. "Okay kid, if you say so. Hey, does this camp have any standing on what team you're on this year? Or do you have a separate tryout?"

"It's like an ongoing tryout until thanksgiving break." Noah answered. "This week is more important for incoming freshmen, but it's a good way to get noticed before school starts. Jake and I have trained all summer so I think we'll be turning even more heads than ever before."

"Ah. Makes sense. I wish you boys the best. I have to board soon, but I'll text you when I land, Jake. Maybe give Dr. Moore a call tomorrow to set up appointment for Thursday if that works for him."

"Okay. Bye." I hung up.

"Jeremy and you are a lot alike." Noah said out of nowhere. "Like really. So similar even though you didn't grow up together. It's strange."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged and got up. "If you don't see it, then don't worry about it. I'm going downstairs to see if Mom's home yet. You coming?"

I glanced at my bats. "Nah. I want to clean them real quick before dinner and pick out two or three for tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll let you know when dinner is ready." He walked out.

I sat there and took care of my bats, still thinking about what Noah said. Jeremy and I were a lot alike. Even though we didn't grow up together. I think Noah forgot that Jeremy still spent a handful of years with my mom. Not nearly as much as me, but still enough to shape him.

I finished with my bats and started to put them away when Noah came back. Dinner was ready. It was a rather quiet meal up until I mentioned Jeremy coming by on Thursday to take me to dinner. No one seemed to mind, except for Mom who wanted to know where we would be going. I didn't know.

Then the twins got excited to hear about a chance to go to a game this weekend. We discussed which days worked best, picking a Saturday so we could see a firework show. Mom and Dad would stay at home for work, but we decided to ask Rhys to go since he lives nearby.