Page 42 of Praising the Pitcher

“No, no, no!” I scream helplessly, knowing time is running out.

I rush back to her door only to find her room empty.

“Haven!” I sob. “HAVEN!!!!”

I rush out the door and down the stairs, only to be met with the barrel of a gun pressing against my forehead.

“You never know when to stay out of shit, do you?” Tabor’s voice growls, though he’s lost in the shadows and I can’t see him. “Say goodbye, Gigi.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, but a scream leaves my lips.

“Gigi!” the sound of Harley’s voice is loud enough to pull me from whatever hell of a nightmare I’m having. “Gigi, wake up!”

“You’re safe. You’re in your bed.” It’s Isla’s soothing voice I hear now, but still, whether it’s shame or grogginess, my eyes don’t open right away.

When they finally do, I see my friends on each side of me just before Lilly walks into the room. “Everything okay?” rushes from her lips before she scrubs her fists over her eyes.

“Yeah,” Isla whispers, never taking her eyes from mine. “I think she had a nightmare, but she’s okay now.” She dips her head down slightly. “You good, Geeg?”

I nod, running my hand across my sweat-soaked forehead. “Yeah,” I utter. “I’m fine.”

Harley pats my shoulder, her gorgeous red hair flowing down over her shoulders. “Are you sure?”

It’s like she can see right through me, knowing I’m damn well not okay but giving me the option to say it out loud. I don’t want to though. That would make me weak, and I’m trying to be strong.

“I’m fine,” I finally say. “Really. You all go back to sleep. It must be late.”

“Two in the morning,” Lilly says softly. “If you need anything, I’m just down the hall.”

Wow, it’s only two in the morning. The last time I remember looking at my clock, it was after one and I was begging my mind to shut off. I couldn’t fall asleep for the life of me, even though I’d been in bed since nine fifteen. I finished my book and had some incredibly dirty thoughts in my head after reading the final sex scene, even though Noah’s indifference on the ride home made me unable to fully get in the mood to have some … me time. And now, here I am, the first time in days sleeping at The Nest, and I’m waking up half the house with my screams.

Amazing.

“Go to bed, ladies,” I say, assuring them once more. “Really. I have an early morning with my pitching coach.”

“That’s her way of telling us to get off her bed, I think,” Harley says to Isla with a slight chuckle. “All right. Well, if you need us, you know where we’re at.”

“And risk walking in on Cane and you or Hendrix and Isla?” I grimace. “I think I’ll suffer the nightmare.”

“You can come see me,” Lilly says with a grin. “I promise, it’s just me in there.” She rolls her eyes. “Always just me.”

I laugh. “All right. So it’s decided. If I need someone to save me from myself, I’m going to Lilly.” I look from Isla to Harley. “Good night, girls. See you in the morning.”

Reluctantly, they all follow each other out of my room, closing the door behind them the way it was before they rushed in. I always close it but never lock it. Now, I’m kind of glad. I hate that I embarrassed myself, but I’m glad they pulled me from that awful dream.

Sighing, I stare up at the ceiling, hating so much that I’ve become dependent on another person to make me feel safe.

Especially now that the person I’ve become dependent on is being a jerk.

The thing is, I’ve read enough romance books so all I’m saying is … I should have seen this coming.

SIXTEEN

GIGI

I stare at my pitching coach, Will—the same man I’ve worked with since I was a kid—in total disbelief.

“What do you mean you can’t work with me anymore?” I practically gasp, unsure I heard the words right. Not only did I wake up to my cell phone being shut off, now this …