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“And? No one would need to know. They’d only find out if you opened your mouth and said something,” he says.
“It’s not happening.”
“Alright. Check back with me in a couple of months and see if that answer is the same.”
I nod, rolling my eyes before I walk away from Liam, heading towards the dugout.
“Mitchell,” Coach barks from the cubbies.
I walk down the steps of the dugout and set my things down. “What’s up?”
“How are you feeling about everything?”
I was a bit surprised to hear him ask me this. Coach was never a guy to talk about feelings. Though, he’s done a lot for me in the last couple of years that I almost felt appreciative that he was taking time out of his day to talk to me.
This entire weekend was pure chaos, he didn’t need to stop and talk to me about anything non-baseball related. That’s just the kind of person Athens is.
“It’s fine,” I tell him. “I can’t really say no, can I?”
“I mean, you could,” he says. “However, I think it’ll be good for you.” He crosses his arms, leaning against the wall. “Look, I know you like your privacy. I also know you’ve spent the last few years living the same way..”
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means baseball has been your entire world. You don’t know anything outside out of it.”
I didn’t see the problem with that.
“Shake things up a little. Give yourself something new to focus on.”
Maybe he was right. Maybe I had focused too much on baseball, I’d gotten comfortable with this life I had built. That didn’t mean I wanted some stranger moving into my house.
“Have you met who I’m supposed to be working with?” I ask Coach.
He shakes his head. “Nope.” He claps my shoulder. “Obviously, they trust them enough to live with you.”
Great. “And they come on the road trips with us?”
“From what I was told, they travel with the team,” Coach laughs. “Maybe what you need is a travel buddy. Sure, you got Liam, but you spend too much time alone, buddy.”
Easy for him to say.
“They’re going to be following me around all the time,” I tell Coach. “Wouldn’t that make you a little…uncomfortable?” I ask, crossing my arms.
“Well, of course. Especially if I don’t know the person.” He shrugs before patting my shoulder again. “I wouldn’t stress too much about it, kid. It’ll be alright.”
Says the one who isn’t going to be followed around like a lost hound.
I can handle a lot of things. I can handle the ninety-eight-mile-per-hour fastballs. I can handle the pressure of defending a championship.
What I couldn’t handle was the idea of coming home and finding a stranger inside.
Chapter 5
Eliana
WHEN I ARRIVE TO THE HOUSE, I can’t help but stop and stare. This place was beautiful – perfect lines mowed in the grass, massive windows, a place that looks like someone spent a fortune just to live in it.
I didn’t really know what to expect when I got to the house, but this was the kind of place you’d see in magazine spreads.
