The Hitting Zone

I moved to the backseat and Dad sat with me, leaving Zeke alone up front to drive us back to his school.

I stared out the window and watched as we left the complex. Getting further and further away from those baseball fields.

"Do you think he saw my game?" I mumbled.

"I honestly don't know." Dad told me. "But there's a couple of people we could ask." He pointed out.

I was confused. "Who?"

"Jeremy. Or...the cousin."

I looked at Dad. "Can you ask for me?"

Dad gave me a knowing look. "Some things you should do on your own to cultivate some independence."

I showed him my empty hands. "I don't have my phone on me?"

"I can call." Zeke offered from up front.

Both Dad and I turned to look at him in the driver's seat. Zeke kept his eyes on the road, but could feel our stares no doubt. "Jake's in a sensitive situation right now. I don't think you should make him call Jeremy. He might not be able to convey his concerns."

"You think you're a better choice than me though?" Dad asked.

"I think you're also coming from a sensitive place." Zeke answered. He must have felt Dad's gaze sharpen. "You're protective of Jake. Understandable. I am too. But I'm also distanced enough to realize that Jeremy will be in an awkward position if you just go quizzing him. You're Jake's dad, not Jeremy's. You say you treat Jeremy like family, but no one likes their family accusing them of potentially putting their brother in harm's way."

"I wasn't going to accuse him." Dad defended himself, sounding a little like Noah.

"You would ask him outright." Zeke shrugged. "It's just your way."

Dad scratched his chin, looking a little guilty. "Okay. You seem to have an idea of the situation and how to handle it." He glanced at me. "What do you say, Jake? Do we let Zeke handle it?"

I nodded until I made myself dizzy. Anything is better than me calling. I felt sick just at the thought of confronting Jeremy. I didn't want to be hurt, and I didn't want to hurt his feelings either.

"I'll make the call when I park." Zeke stated.

"Are you going to park near the stadium?"

"Yea, I don't need to go to my room for anything. My gear and uniform will be in the clubhouse."

"What about getting something to eat? Your game isn't until the afternoon. We can go pick something up for you. We aren't in any rush."

"There'll be food in the clubhouse, Dad. They take pretty good care of their student athletes. Especially when we're in season. They'll have a wide variety available since it's the weekend too. Don't worry about me so much."

"A dad never stops worrying."

I started to doze off with my head resting against the window. Hearing Dad and Zeke talk about the school and his team made me feel a little more comfortable. It's like things had returned to normal. Like I never saw Carson and like I didn't have to worry about running into my uncle.

***

(Third-person pov)

Zeke reached the parking lot near his university's baseball stadium. He glanced in the rearview mirror. Jake was out, asleep. He must be exhausted from the game and what had happened afterwards. Zeke and his father both exited the car and tried their best to shut the doors lightly, not wanting to disturb Jake's rest.

The two stepped away from the car.

Zeke pulled out his phone and started to type on it.

"Aren't you going to call?" His father peered over to take a look at what was taking his son so long.

Zeke's lips twitched. "Dad. It's spring training right now. First, we have to check to see if he has a game going on. He might panic if he sees a bunch of missed calls from us."

He coughed. "Right. Spring training just started."

Zeke shook his head. He found what he was looking for. "He has a game in the afternoon so it should be okay for me to call." He looked at his dad again. "I'm going to put it on speaker so you can hear, but...don't be too much, alright?"

"I know. I know. I'll let you handle it. For now."

Zeke made the call and put his phone on speaker. It rang twice before it was answered.

"Zeke? Hey." Jeremy sounded a little out of breath. "What's up?"

"You're not busy, are you?" Zeke asked in a neutral tone.

Jeremy laughed, still trying to catch his breath. "No, no. Just a little winded. I was goofing off with some of the guys just now. We do have a team meeting in half an hour though so I can't stay on for too long. Did you need something from me?"

"Not necessarily. I went to the boys tournament today. It was just around the corner from Stanford."

"Yea, yea. Jake told me about it. They were going to play the team that kicked them out last year. How's it go? Jake hasn't text me the result yet or anything."

"They won in extra innings." Zeke told him. "It was University Preparatory. Have you ever played against them before?"

"Hm. Yea, I think so. Not in league but in our division."

"Oh. So have you been in this tournament before? The Foothill Classic?"

"Uh, maybe, probably. It's been a couple of years now. They start to blend together." Jeremy was starting to get suspicious. "Is there a reason why you're asking me this? Did they say something about me? Is Jake okay?"

Zeke glanced at the teenager sleeping in the car. He chose to ignore Jeremy's last question. "So there's a chance they could play your alma mater?"

The other side of the phone went silent.

"Shit." Jeremy muttered. "Yea. Shit. Fuck. There might be. Hold on. Let me look." He went silent again. "Yea, they're there. At the Foothill Classic. Their first game is at 11, should be starting soon."

"Yea, Jake thought he saw your cousin." Zeke said.

"Our cousin." Jeremy automatically corrected. "Carson. He's a senior. Did they meet? Is the winner of their game playing him?"

"Hmm. Not sure." Zeke said. He made eye contact with his dad, who gave a reassuring nod. Zeke cleared his throat. "Is there a chance that Carson's parents will be at this tournament?"

Things started to click for Jeremy. "Did Uncle Jack say something to Jake? Did something happen? Is Jake alright? Zeke, I'm starting to think you're not telling me something."

"As far as I know, he didn't see Jack." Zeke said honestly. "As for Jake...he's not okay. He had a panic attack and had to leave the field with my Dad's help. Jake is a little on edge about seeing Carson and even more on edge about potentially seeing Jack."

"Where's Jake now? Why didn't he call me? Why didn't Wayne call me?" Jeremy sounded like he was in a hurry.

"Jake is sleeping in the car. Tired himself out physically and mentally." Zeke answered. "Dad is right here next to me. He wanted Jake to call you himself, but Jake..." He trailed off.

"Is Jake mad at me?" Jeremy asked with concern.

"No, not really. I think he's scared that you knew and didn't tell him. He doesn't like surprises after all." Zeke said. "I thought it would be better if I called you. Brother to brother. You didn't know; nothing you could do about it."

"But I should have known." There was a loud smack like Jeremy had hit himself.

"Jeremy, Wayne here." Zeke's dad spoke up. "Don't beat yourself up over this. It's a small world. Playing baseball, they were bound to run into each other at some point. Right now, Jake's biggest concern is if Jack is there at the field. Do you think you can find out for us? Also, maybe send me a picture of him and your family for me? Just so we know who to look out for?"

"Wayne, you have to know, I didn't think this could happen. Is Jake okay? Are you going to take him to a hospital? Should I come back? I can come back. I can be back by dinner." There was a lot of background noise like Jeremy was on the move.

"Jeremy. Jeremy!" Wayne called out. "Relax. Stop what you're doing and take a deep breath and listen to me."

Jeremy froze and the other side of the line got quiet.

"You don't have to rush here. You've got your responsibility there. A game to play in." Wayne reminded him. "Just help us out a little. Call and find out if your uncle is there. Send me a picture. As for Jake, I don't think we'll do a hospital trip. He has had these attacks before. It's tough, not going to lie to you. But he's been getting better. You just have to understand, that to him, Jack is a very similar existence to your mother."

"Okay... okay..." Jeremy mumbled. "I'll call my aunt. She'll definitely be there."

"Hey, no stress. Take it easy. There's plenty of time." Wayne told him. "We took Jake to Stanford to drop Zeke off. Maybe we'll stick around here awhile. I think their next game won't start until 3pm. Jake will have time. And you know what, there's a chance that Jake might just want to take the day off."

"Can he do that? Doesn't he want to play in the tournament?" Jeremy asked.

"To be honest with you, I don't think Jake cares that much about baseball." Wayne chuckled. "Without Noah to drag him around, I think he would be satisfied to just be at the cages. Don't worry, his coach is very understanding of his situation."

"Yea... okay..."

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