Full Count (The Catcher Series Book 1) (16 page)

16 Skyler Swanson

I
’
m casually sipping on a drink while
talking to Makenna and Leah on the couch when I see Chase Morgan open up one of
the doors from inside a dark bedroom. And a second later Buzz follows him out
and storms upstairs. Neither of them look pleased, but I hold my breath on
determining whether or not they just hooked up behind that door. They better
not have. I will flip the fuck out. I set my drink on the coffee table and
trail Buzz
’
s steps upstairs to find out for sure. When I
climb the stairs I catch the back half of the conversation among her, Tiffany,
and another girl.

             “And who
’
s Makenna?” the
unknown girl asks.

             “
I don’
t know exactly, but she
seemed nice,”
Buzz tells her.
Fuck! Buzz met Makenna?
This can
’
t be happening.

             “You
’
re going to love this,” Tiffany
teases.
No! Shut the fuck up, Tiffany! Don
’
t tell her!
 I try entering the room as soon as I hear her
lead into telling Buzz who Makenna is, but I
’
m not quick
enough to stop her. “Makenna is the girl Skyler brought to the cabin on the
Fourth of July.” I stand a few feet behind Buzz as she hears the connection,
and I watch Tiffany
’
s face scrunch up in fear, probably
for me and Buzz both attacking her.

            A moment of silence takes over, but then Buzz chokes
out, “What?” Tiffany
’
s eyebrows heighten as she shoots me
a look like I
’
m the one who needs to clarify what she
fucking said. That
’
s when Buzz turns around and finally
notices my presence.

             “
Buzz,
” I try to say, but she
cuts me off.

             “Sky? When did you get here?” she wonders.

             “A little while ago,” I inform her. I can
’
t tell if she
’
s more pissed about being in
the girl
’
s house that I brought with to the cabin or that
she and I are at the same after-party.

             “I guess it makes sense,” she half-laughs while
rolling her eyes. It sucks to have her look at me like that, like I
’
m suddenly in the group of people that
’
s
let her down time and time again. I don
’
t want to be
classified like that in her life.

             “Can I talk to you?” I beg nicely before she has the
chance to run off again. I had no idea she and Chase were coming to this after
party; neither of them hang out with Makenna as far as I know. There was no way
for me to predict this fucking horrible scenario playing out.

             “Not if it
’
s about
her
,”
she snaps, her gorgeously angry eyes looking at me with the worst betrayal
present. I can
’
t even blame her for being so fucking mad.
She has every right; it
’
s a fucked up situation brought
upon her by yours truly.

             “Just come fucking talk to me,” I demand, not
willing to put up with her shutting me out again. I lightly grab her arm and
pull her onto the patio outside of the kitchen.

            Shaking me off of her, she snickers, “What is it,
Sky? What
’
s so God damn urgent that you had to talk to me?”

             “Please stop with this shit,” I plead, trying to
hold in my frustration.

             “What shit? Shit that you put me through?” she cries
out. If it wasn
’
t for the loud music seeping through the
basement windows, the whole ranch country neighborhood would hear her. “I can
’
t believe this is happening right now.”

             “And I can
’
t believe I saw you
walk out of a fucking dark bedroom with Chase Morgan. Tell me nothing happened,”
I command angrily, shifting the subject off me and onto her. It
’
s
a little unfair, but it
’
s more relevant. Makenna and I
were never anything, and I haven
’
t even seen her in weeks.
Buzz just walked out of a fucking bedroom with my enemy.

             “Oh my God! Nothing happened!” she tells me in a
screeching whine. I feel more like she sees me as her brother right now rather
than her old best friend or crush, and it fucking kills me. “He was mad because
he thought I was thinking about you instead of him.”

           
What? No way. How could he assume that?
I want
to run sprints to surrender my apprehension right now. But I can
’
t
get too far ahead. Those thoughts easily could just be in Chase
’
s
stupid head.
 

             “Okay,” I state calmly, which pisses her off even
more.

             “Okay? OKAY?” she shouts, throwing her arms into the
air. “What do you mean ‘okay
’
?”

             “I mean, I believe you,” I clarify, lightly brushing
my hands over her wrists. She
’
s fuming up top and barely
even notices my touch.
Great, I don
’
t
even have an effect on her anymore. See, Chase was wrong.

             “Why?” she blurts out.

             “You
’
ve never given me a reason
to doubt you,” I explain, watching her shoulders slacken. She
’
s
starting to relax out of her temper tantrum. Her eyes are still angry, but when
she finally realizes my hands are on her she stops fidgeting.

             “Yes I have,” she disagrees. Hearing her voice
weaken as I bring her into my chest so I can wrap both of my arms around her
makes me lose my fucking mind. Why can
’
t we just be
together? I just want to pick her up and see her be strong again. Chase is
slowly shaving her confidence away.

             “No, you haven
’
t,”
I argue.
“God, can
’
t you see what
’
s really pissing me off?”

            A gust of wind flows past us as she tightens closer
to me yet. She finally wraps an arm around me to compromise, and it feels damn
good even if it
’
s half-assed. “No,” Buzz admits quietly.
She has been so caught up in me bringing a girl up to the cabin and being with
Chase that she
’
s totally missed my signals I
’
ve
been trying to send her. Key word is trying; I would rather have her as a
friend than lose her completely because I
’
m too pushy.

             “
Damn it, Buzz. I can
’
t do this,” I resolve, disliking that I have to let this go.
Whatever she
’
s doing with Chase is still something, and I
can
’
t tell her how I fucking feel because it
’
s
too selfish. She needs to come to me on her own terms, not because I pick her
up after the guy she likes leaves her alone at a party. I release my arms and
step back from her against the magnetic force between us.

             “I
’
m sorry that I don
’
t understand,
” she apologizes in a small
voice. Avoiding looking at me, she turns away to head back inside the house so
she
’
s not going to be the one who
’
s
left out here alone.

             “No. Don
’
t be sorry. It
’s my fault,
” I confess, frustratedly running my hand through my
hair and pulling on it to relieve a little stress. I could have her in my arms
all fucking night, and instead I ruin it. I
’
m my own worst
enemy.

            She nods and continues towards the door before I call
out to her, “
Buzz
…” Her ponytail flips and hits her in the
side of the head as she turns to acknowledge me. Confusion and humiliation
resinate on her face, and I hate it. “I
’
m sorry… my offer
still stands. If you need anything tonight, just let me know.”

            Buzz never called me. I have no idea where she ended
up, but I saw Chase Morgan later in the night at Makenna
’
s
house, and he was alone, so I assume that she left. Tiffany and the other girl
appear to be gone also, and I sigh in relief once I realize it. It
’
s not that I don
’
t want them at the same
party as me and my friends; I just don
’
t want Buzz with
Chase or any other guy.

            Things between Buzz and me don
’
t
get better like I hoped they would after homecoming. She
’
s
still hanging out with Chase but luckily I don
’
t have to
see them. It seems like every time Alex comes to my house it
’
s
because the two of them are at his house, and he doesn
’
t
like it anymore than I do. He never says much about them. A simple, “Chase is
over again,” and we move on to other topics. I feel the sorrow in his eyes when
he tells me. It
’
s like he thinks she
’
s
my fucking girl who got away. I guess she kind of is but I blame him,
personally. He had no problem telling me to back off and then let Chase Morgan
just waltz right in and fuck up everything. He
’
s pitying
me, but I keep telling myself it
’
s a matter of time before
this charade ends. And the second it does and she ends up in my arms, Alex will
go back to his disapproving glares.

            During the second half of the school year while it
’
s still snowing outside, the baseball and softball teams hold
an open gym together so we can all practice for the upcoming tryouts. I watch
Buzz as she hits in the batting cage and her future coaches nod approvingly.
Wait
til they see her pitch.
It
’
s the only time I
’
ve ever seen Buzz be really nervous for something. She wants to
make Junior Varsity so badly that anyone in the gym can see it on her face. But
they probably all see it as determination; I know her better. There
’
s real nerves there, too. That line across her forehead isn’t a
result of her focus.

            I want to catch for her for the first time she
pitches in front of everyone, which will end up making a big scene that a
baseball player wants to catch for a softball player. But she deserves to be in
the spotlight, so that
’
s the idea. Luckily as Buzz is
about to step up for her turn on the pitching plate, the varsity catcher goes
into the batting cage. She looks around like a lost squirrel as she waits for a
catcher, so I step up. I haven
’
t caught for her in a
little while, but I know she has to have been practicing and will be more than
ready for her debut.

            “I
’
ll catch for her,” I
volunteer. All of our coaches turn and give me questionable looks, but I don
’
t care. She would fucking break the hand of whatever poor girl
catches for her if I don
’
t. I grab the softball catcher
’
s mitt and take my stance. Alex and Benny look on from across
the gym, but for once they aren
’
t upset while looking at
us. Instead, they
’
re intrigued.

            Buzz, on the other hand, seems pissed. I glare hard
at her, and she relaxes her shoulders and takes her stance on the pitching
plate. We
’
ve been working on her pitching all off season
except the most recent few weeks. I think she wanted to do this part of tryouts
on her own. Too bad for her, I guess.

            Her first pitch is clearly just a warm-up because it
glides nicely into my glove with no heat. After four warm-ups, I nod at her as
if to say “step it up.” And then the gunshot from the night I first blind
folded Buzz at the park sounds, and the whole gym goes silent.

            “Sixty-eight,” an assistant coach calls out from
behind the pitch speedometer. Whispers hiss among the coaches as I throw the
ball back to her. I force my face into a stern expression but underneath I
’
m beaming with pride for her.

            Buzz looks more nervous to throw her second real
pitch than she did for the first one. Maybe it
’
s the
expectation that she can
’
t do it again or maybe it
’
s that she can. It also could be every single set of eyes in
the gym, guys
’
and girls
’
, staring at
her awaiting her next pitch.

            It
’
s perfect. A heated
idealistic curve ball. No one in high school could hit that. Not even a guy. It
comes in high and falls perfectly over the plate; it
’
s a
pitch that would fake out anyone.

            And then Chase Morgan whistles at her from across the
gym. God I fucking hate him. He walks in late and then takes her immediate
attention. I walk the ball back to her so I can do some private coaching and
hopefully get her fucking mind off of him.

             “How
’
s the arm?” I ask her in a
quiet voice. After Chase
’
s whistle sounds, a humming of
conversations pick back up in the gym again, but I still don
’
t
want anyone nearby to hear what I
’
m saying.

             “
Good,
” she answers, nerves
still showing on her face. “What do they all think?” She wants this so badly.