“You didn’t have to. I’ve got eyes.” He waves a hand. “I don’t care who she is. I care if you can handle it. Can you?”
The honest answer is…I don’t know.
The answer I give is, “Yes.”
“Prove it. Next game, I need you locked in. Not vengeful, not desperate. Locked in.” He claps my shoulder. “She’s probably worth it. They usually are. But don’t lose yourself chasing someone who’s not ready to be caught.”
He leaves me standing alone, his words echoing in my brain on repeat.
‘Don’t lose yourself.’
Too late.
I lost myself the moment she kissed me back.
The next game is Tuesday night. Home field, division rival, packed crowd. The energy is electric, the kind of atmosphere that usually gets my blood pumping.
Tonight, I feel nothing but cold focus.
I walk to the mound, and everything else disappears. The crowd, the noise, the lights, it all fades into background static. There’s only the ball, the strike zone, and the space between heartbeats where I let everything go.
First pitch—fastball, outside corner. Strike.
Second pitch—curveball, drops at the last second. Strike.
Third pitch—slider, unhittable. Strike.
The batter walks back to the dugout, shaking his head.
It continues for nine innings. I strike out fourteen batters. My pitches are surgical and precise. When I walk off the mound in the ninth, the crowd is chanting my name, and I feel absolutely nothing.
In the locker room, everyone’s celebrating. Mack tries to hand me a beer. I wave it off, heading for the shower.
The hot water pounds my shoulders, but it doesn’t wash away the hollow feeling in my chest.
I won.
We won.
My stats are stupid good.
Coach should be thrilled.
And all I can think about is whether Ava watched the game.
Whether she saw me pitch and knew she’s the reason I’m throwing harder than I ever have.
Whether she cares.
I lean my forehead against the tile, letting the water run cold.
This is what she meant.
The ending.How it destroys people.
Because I’m already destroyed, and nothing has even started.
The stadium is still humming behind me as I walk to my car, and that’s when my phone buzzes with one message, unknown number.
