The Hitting Zone
chapter-721

Frowns decorated Kyle's face when he found out too. And Zeke's by the time he found out back at the house.

Noah was helping me unwrap the ice and take it off as I relaxed on the couch. He went to go dump the iced water and throw away the trash. He came back and found that Zeke and the twins were still in the living room with me.

"Sooo?" Noah looked around. "Are we going to do something about this or just let it be?"

The twins simultaneously looked to Zeke.

Zeke frowned. "We let Coach handle it. With him and Mr. Miller, I believe they can prevent anymore accidents from happening to Jake. If not..." His eyes narrowed. "We'll find another way to address this."

Noah plopped down on the other side of the couch, turning the tv on.

"I thought you would be more mad." Kyle said, glancing down at him. "You're usually the first one up in arms to defend Jake and to start a fight."

"Jake's okay." Noah shrugged, then smirked. "Besides, I take solace in the fact that Jake got the best of him beforehand. Not just one homerun, but two." He lifted his hand and showed two fingers.

"Dang! You're crushing it!" Dave held out his fist.

I bumped his fist with my own.

"I feel like I need to go lift some more weights." Kyle joked. "But for real, good for you, Jake. I'm happy that you're on my team."

Noah grinned. "I can't wait for him to face you in a scrimmage." He nodded at me. "No mercy."

I laughed and nodded along.

"How'd you guys do today?" Zeke asked, turning the conversation to the twins.

Dave shrugged. "Five innings pitched, six strikeouts, no walks, two hits, no runs."

"WOW." Noah's eyes widened. "That's really mood mercy." He laughed. "But Garret had seven strikeouts over five innings."

"Yea, but he gave up two hits." I pointed out.

"He did?" Dave asked, interested.

"Against Mitchell and Korrey though." Noah argued.

"It's not a competition." Zeke cut in. "Yet." He looked at Dave. "As long as you felt good on the mound, then your numbers don't matter. No one is keeping track."

"Lies." Noah coughed.

Zeke squinted at Noah. "I think you need to go shower first."

Noah slouched. "Nooo. I'm too comfortable."

"Get going." Zeke jerked his thumb at the doorway.

Noah sighed and slowly got up. "Fine. But I'm getting into pajamas." He left the room and headed for the stairs.

"The coaches are definitely keeping track." Kyle said to Zeke. "It might not be strict, but they're still doing it."

Zeke nodded once. "I'll give you that. They're probably taking note of how things look, but I think they'll take more notes in bullpen sessions and drills than in the scrimmages. Unless you're going up against someone like Jake, almost half the batter's are underclassmen and under-qualified to go up against you."

Dave laughed. "Coach did say that if anyone can strike out Jake, they get to be on varsity." He got closer to me and poked me on the head. "I need you to go easy on me. Super easy. Don't even swing the bat."

"David." Zeke's voice lowered.

"At least give me two strikes." Dave didn't give in.

I pushed his hand away. "I think if you were paired with a good catcher, it might be possible. I did strikeout against some minor leaguers with Rhys so it's not impossible."

"Just highly unlikely." Kyle squinted. "Hmm." He headed for the doorway. "I'm going to shower too. Later."

"Tell me when you're done!" Dave called out after him. He got comfortable on the couch, across from me. "For the record, I did feel good when pitching. There was some miscommunication with the catcher I got, but overall, my control was on point. Probably won't get to pitch tomorrow, but I was satisfied with today's work."

Zeke stayed standing. "How did Kyle do?"

I shrugged and looked to Dave. Kyle didn't say anything on the ride home, nor did he say anything just now.

Dave also looked unsure. "Don't know. He didn't say. I didn't hear anything either. I met up with Noah and Jake right after my scrimmage."

Zeke twisted his lips in thought, but didn't say anything more about Kyle. He sat down on the smaller couch and turned the tv on. The A's weren't playing today so we were stuck with watching the Giants. Occasionally Rhys's dad would be shown, but it was hard to spot him in the dugout.

"It's crazy to think that you're using their bats." Dave said to me after watching someone on the Giants hit a homerun. "It has to be over a thousand dollars worth of bats. We have to give Rhys and his family a great Christmas gift this year."

Zeke hummed in agreement.

We watched the game in a relaxed manner. Eventually Noah came down and joined us, in his pjs. Then Kyle came down and let Dave know that their shower was free. Kyle didn't stick around, letting Zeke know he was going to go meet up with Marie until it was time for dinner.

Zeke nodded, not pressing him about his performance. If Kyle didn't want to share, then it was okay not to. I don't think Noah even noticed.

Mom and Dad came home with dinner, choosing to go with takeout over cooking for the night. They were concerned about me getting hit, but after my reassurance that Drew would look at it tomorrow, they felt better.

After dinner, before going to take my own shower, Dad held me back. We went to sit down on the back porch, watching the sun head for the west coast. "I wanted to remind you that your dermatologist appointment is going to be next Tuesday."

I blinked in surprise. I had forgotten that my appointment had been moved to just after my baseball camps. The appointment would be for a laser treatment for my scars. I looked up at Dad. "I forgot."

He chuckled. "I just wanted to be sure that you still want to go through with it. There's some pain associated with it and it would probably be best if you rested a couple days after."

I thought about to all the pool parties Alisha has held and will probably continue to hold. "I would like to do it." I paused. "If it's okay with you guys?" I remembered that it was going to be pricey.

"Of course!" He pulled me into a weak side hug as we watched the sunset. "Whatever it takes to make you kids feel better, we'll do our best to provide. I just think you've had a lot more self confidence as of late. And if you wanted to pass up on the laser treatment, then I would stand behind you on that decision too."

"Thanks." I told him, leaning into his body. I wasn't completely comfortable, but it felt warm being so close to someone. We sat there until the sun was gone.

He helped me to my feet. "I know you said you were okay, but I'm still going to give your coach a call. I don't want this to be a daily experience for you."

"Okay." I smiled lightly, feeling cared for. Mr. Atkins was my dad. It was right of him to be concerned that I got hurt on the first day of camp. I knew he would be like this for any of his boys if they got hurt. I was one of them.