“I’ve tried. She won’t talk about it. You know how she is. She won’t tell you anything unless she wants you to know about it.”
“That girl is locked down tighter than Fort Knox sometimes.” He pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Coach, I wouldn’t normally ask this, but I’d like—no I need—to be there.”
“What would you do if I said no?”
“Respectfully, sir, my asking was a courtesy. I know I’ve already caused trouble since you called me up. I’ve disappointed you and violated your trust. I did exactly what you told me not to—I got arrested and put the spotlight on the team for a non-baseball related reason.”
“Go on.”
“But I would also like to believe that I’ve made amends for those poor decisions. That I’ve shown myself to be acontributing and valuable member of the team. I know what I’m asking for is a lot and it puts the team in jeopardy and you in a hard spot to fill my starting position tonight.”
He swipes a hand down his face, resting his chin in his hand as he thinks.
“So, you’ll miss batting practice and warm-ups. You know that’s not how we do things. If you’re not here, you don’t play.”
“I know.”
“And you know we need your bat and your fielding especially at this point in the season?” I give him a solemn nod. We’re still leading the division but a bad run for us and a good run for the second and third place teams could knock us out of playoff contention if we aren’t careful.
“The only reason I’m even entertaining this is because it’s Gabby.” He points a finger at me in warning. “I should call Ivory myself and tell her about this. Send her to sit with her friend.”
“Sir—”
His hand shoots up, silencing me. “But this isn’t my news to tell. She will tell them when she’s ready and they’ll support her. The fact she let you in means something. You must be important to her, and I can see how much you care about her.”
Saying I only care about her feels inadequate at this point.
“You have to be at the game. I can take you out of the lineup for the night, but a no show wouldn’t go unnoticed.”
“Understood.” I’m already nodding my head. I’ll agree to anything he says if he lets me leave his office and head back to the parking lot instead of to the locker room.
“Be back here by five at the latest. Alone. I expect you to be ready to support your team. This is heavy stuff, but part of this job is to leave it at the door when you come in. Baseball doesn’t care what’s going on outside of this stadium. When you’re here, you have to give it your full attention. To make it in this game, it has to be your sole focus. We’re only human so I get that’s not always the case beyond these walls, but it’s also why there arerules about fraternizing with the staff.” He gives me a pointed look. Already broke that rule, didn’t I?
“It was broken from day one. Before day one and I’m not even sorry about it.”
“Keep that attitude in check.” I nod, properly chastised. “I don’t know the details and I don’t need or want to know. But you need to keep it under wraps unless you’re ready for the entire world to know about the two of you.”
“Yes, Coach.”
“You probably only have an hour now. Better get going if you’re going to make it.”
Jumping from the chair, I rush to the door.
“Thanks, Coach.”
“May want to change before you get there.” He looks me over and I follow his eyes looking down at what I’m wearing. I didn’t even think about dressing for a doctor’s office instead of the field. Everything about me screams athlete heading to the gym.
“Good looking out.” I cross the threshold, but he calls out again.
“And Chase,” I look back over my shoulder at him. “Take care of her. See if you can’t get her to tell the girls.” His grim smile is the only evidence of how hard it is for him to hear this news and not reach out. After hearing about Bree’s lack of relationship with her blood relatives, it makes me respect him even more for being a father figure to Bree.
“I will.” Knocking on the doorframe, I retrace my steps back to the car. This time much faster and with a clear purpose—get to my girl as quick as possible.
My ringtone interrupts the music playing softly through the car speakers where I’m parked in the lot of the medical center.Breast Health Centeris emblazoned on the sign, mocking me. It feels like I got lucky last year and this time won’t be the same. That’s already proven to be true since I’m currently sitting here until I get up the nerve to walk inside and check in for my biopsy.
A fucking biopsy of my breast at thirty-four years old.
