Page 10 of Praising the Pitcher

Creeping quietly to my room, my heart leaps into my throat when the floor creaks. I pause for a moment, long enough to ensure no one heard me before I make it to my room. Pulling out my phone, I find Dallas Rivers’s contact. Up until recently, I didn’t have his number, but when Haven’s phone was dead once, she called me from his number, and for whatever reason, I saved it.

I’m thankful right now that I did.

“Hello,” his deep voice answers on the second ring, and right away, emotion overtakes my body, but I fight to keep it inside.

“Dallas?” I whisper, my heart pounding so loud I can hardly hear my own voice.

“Yes?” Dallas answers, immediately caught off guard.

“This is Gigi.” I can barely squeak the words from my body. “I’m in the house. I just got back from a run and—” My voice breaks. “Tabor is upstairs with Haven. I think … I think he’s making her pack her bag. I overheard him saying something about a bag.”

The sound of footsteps comes through the phone, and I know he’s running now, no doubt scared out of his mind, just like me.

“Gigi,” he says quickly, keeping his voice as calm as he can muster. “I need you to call 911, okay? I need you to call 911 and tell them everything you know. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Please, just be as quiet as you can.”

“Okay,” I whisper, my lip trembling and my heart racing. I’ve never been as scared as I am right now as I sit powerless, wanting to help my friend but scared to make it worse.

Once the call ends, I do as I’m told and immediately dial 911.

And as the voice on the other end starts asking me a series of questions, I can’t help but feel discouraged with how long this is taking when all I want to do is get help for Haven.

I just hope Dallas can get here fast. If I know him the way I think I do, he will. Because he loves Haven more than anything in the world.

Growing up, I watched my dad emotionally abuse my mom and make her feel so small and helpless. And then, I lost her years ago to cancer. That was traumatizing and hard for me as a kid. My dad still pushes me to the point of almost breaking sometimes. And that can get really defeating. But right now, as I peer down the hallway, just enough to see one of my closest friends with a gun pressed to her back by her ex and her current boyfriend trying to talk him down, this is a whole new level of traumatizing.

My entire body feels like it’s going to combust. Nerves flood my veins, filtering through me from head to toe as I watch Dallas eventually save the day. Within seconds, the police have Tabor restrained. Haven falls apart, burying her face into Dallas’s hoodie.

I wrap my arms around myself, still standing alone down the hallway as tears scorch the backs of my eyes. Haven needs someone right now. She was the victim, and I need to get it together. I’m fine. I’m fine.

I’m fine …

As everything from the past half hour catches up to me, my body begins to shake. Through tear-blurred eyes, I see a few people come in and walk up to Haven, but I can’t make out their faces. Even when one comes closer to me, I don’t know who it is because right now, even if tears weren’t filling my eyes, I’d still feel like the room was spinning.

It’s not until I hear Noah’s voice that I know it’s him.

“You’re okay, Smoke,” he whispers, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against him. “You’re safe now.”

I want to tell him I’m fine and that it’s his sister who needs him right now, but the words don’t come. Instead of stepping away from him so he knows I’m okay, I fall apart in his arms, burying my face against his shirt.

Today was one of the scariest days of my life, but right now, just having someone close is helping. Even if that someone is a guy I’m crushing on even though I can’t have him, I’m going to let him hold me because I need this.

I’ll be strong later, but right now, I’m going to allow myself a goddamn minute for once in my life not to have my shit together.

SIX

NOAH

It’s been an hour of us just sitting in my truck in the driveway. My sister and Dallas took off to The Tower, because I don’t think Haven could stand being at the house where Tabor had a fucking gun pressed against her body. And Gigi couldn’t stop shaking, so after holding onto her for a solid twenty minutes, I made the decision to bring her to my truck until she calmed down. She may not have been the one who was being held hostage, but she was the only other person in that house when it all happened. She saved my sister when she made that phone call to Dallas and eventually the police.

“I’m okay now,” she whispers, wiping the back of her hand across her face.

She’s far from okay, but I know she’s the type who will pretend she is because she’s used to having always to be calm and collected.

“Really. I am,” she adds, but her lips form a frown. “It was just … a lot.” She swallows. “Thank you though. For, you know, being there.” She shrugs nervously. “You should probably go check on your sister though. She’s the one who just had to go through that.” At the word that, she trembles but attempts to shake it off. “Really, I’ll be fine.”

When she reaches for the door handle, I stop her by touching her arm.

“Haven has Dallas, and they’ll be cooped up the rest of the night away from the world.” I pause, grimacing. “Fuck, I don’t actually want to think about that.” I shake my head quickly. “Anyway, my sister has her person. And to be honest, after everything today, I don’t feel like going back to my dorm just yet.” When she looks at me, her body slightly turned, I know she needs someone right now. And I can tell she’s the type of person who probably tries to be tough. “What’s something you like to do when you’re upset?”