The Hitting Zone



Kyle came down after a few more minutes and we went to the car. Dave took over as driver as Kyle made the calls to our parents and then to Grampa. Letting everyone know that we were fine, Kaylee had surgery, and that we were headed home now.

The drive was long and quiet. Noah and Kyle napped for brief periods of time. Dave drove, occasionally asking me for directions since I could use my phone.

At home, Grampa opened the garage door as soon as he heard us pulling up. "Sorry to hear about your friend." He told us as we unpacked the car. "I've got the table set so just come in and eat. You can get your backpacks later."

We all dragged our feet to the kitchen table and found it full of food. Lasagna. Salad. Mashed potatoes. Green beans. Corn. Rolls.

Noah immediately grabbed a roll and stuffed it into his mouth. He moaned in delight.

The twins and I didn't hesitate to join him. Reaching for the bread before even sitting down. We stayed out late with the hospital visit and waiting for the surgery to be done. It was nearing midnight and none of us had eaten since we had filled up on snacks at the gas station.

"Okay, okay, no one is taking your food." Grampa came in last. He started to pull out our seats. "Sit down and eat properly. Your parents aren't here to rush you off to bed."

"They're also not here to force us to go to school tomorrow." Dave pointed out. "How about letting us sleep in tomorrow, Grampa?"

Grampa smiled. "I can. But if you miss school, then you also miss practice. If you miss practice, there's a chance that you won't be playing in the finals."

"We're going." Noah declared, shooting a glare at Dave.

Dave started to fill his plate. "Yea, just joking obviously. I don't want Mom and Dad coming home tomorrow and finding me here. Talk about unwanted trouble."

Dinner still went by fast, mostly because we were hungry. Grampa still had us clean off our plates but said he would do the dishes and sent us off to our room. I showered in the hallway bathroom as Dave used the bathroom in the room. Kyle and Noah were busy with their phones, probably texting about Kaylee.

It was a crazy freak accident. There were collisions here and there throughout my short time playing official baseball, but I've never seen such a severe injury. Besides feeling sorry for her, I didn't think I was too bothered. Not until I woke up in the middle of the night with cold sweats.

I was clutching my comforter and breathing hard like I had ran a marathon. My nightmare was flashing through my mind on repeat. I had fumbled a ground ball and threw too late to short. Instead of Kaylee though, it was Noah. Noah was bleeding and his arm was all red with blood.

I shook my head to get those thoughts out of my head. I slowly sat up and looked around the dark room. No one else was up. I could hear some snoring from Dave, clearly knocked out for the night. I dragged myself out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash my face. With the light on, there wasn't much I could imagine. Everything in my vision was real.

After calming myself down, I turned the light off and went back to bed. I laid down but there was no more sleep for me. Everytime I would start to doze off, I would jolt awake. Soon, the alarm went off.

I sighed with relief, happy that I didn't have to try anymore. I got out of bed and stretched.

"Yo. You got up pretty easy this morning." Dave commented as he got up to turn off the alarm.

I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Yea last night was scary." Dave said, but I don't think he understood that I really didn't sleep. He grabbed his clothes and headed for the bathroom. "I'll get ready first. You make sure the other two get up."

I nodded. I went over to Noah; my eyes drifted to his outstretched arm. Completely fine. I gave him a pat. "Hey. It's time to get up for school."

Noah cringed and turned away. "Five more minutes."

I moved to Kyle next. His eyelids were trembling before he was able to open them a little, squinting at me. "Jake?" He sat up. "Are we running late?" He threw off his comforter.

My lips twitched. I knew he was thrown off by me being up before him. I was usually dead last. "No. On time. Dave's using the bathroom first."

The normal morning routine started. All of us moved around the room, either getting dressed or packing our backpacks. We took turns to use the bathroom to brush our teeth and hair. I washed my face too, trying not to look so rundown.

Grampa didn't do anything extra for breakfast, but he was there to watch us eat cereal and made sure that each of us took a fruit. He didn't prepare us anything for lunch, but handed out $5 bills as lunch money.

"Lunch is more than-" Noah started to say, but Dave slapped him upside the head.

"Don't scam Grampa." Dave shook his head and headed out. Dave got in the driver's seat and we made sure our baseball bags were in before getting in too.

"$5 really isn't enough." Noah mumbled.

"Use your card. You have money." Dave glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Grampa gives us money all the time; stop fighting for extra."

That was it for the small talk on the way to school. All four of us weren't in the best of moods, but there wasn't any extra bickering. Dave parked near our field in the lower lot, then he and Kyle walked on up.

Noah and I hung back, waiting around for Mr. Miller. We stared out onto the field as the sprinklers watered the grass.

"You boys look like you had a long night." Mr. Miller remarked, parking the golf cart.

Noah got on in the front and I got on in the back. "We didn't get home until super late." He glanced at Mr. Miller. "You hear about Kaylee?"

"Yes, there was a school wide email sent from the athletic director." Mr. Miller pursed his lips. "Did you guys see it?"

"The accident? Yes." Noah answered. "Did we really see it? No, not like the girls on the field. I know it really freaked out Marie. We did go to the hospital and saw her before and after her surgery."

"How is she? Mentally?"

"Kaylee's tough." Noah stated. "She'll bounce back in no time." He cracked a smile. "She sounded upset that she won't be taking driving lessons with us and Alisha anymore."

Mr. Miller let out a short laugh. "I understand how that can be a big deal at her age. Missing out on doing things with her friends." He pulled up to the school building. "Do you know when she'll make it back to school?"

Noah shook his head. "No idea. Definitely not today."

"We'll have to plan something special for when she makes it back."

"Yea." We both said simultaneously.

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