The Hitting Zone

"How did they find out?"

"Who found out?"

"Why would he do that?"

"This isn't right!"

"No shit, but what can we do?"

"I say we go beat him up."

"Did Jeremy know?" Noah's voice thawed me out of my frozen state. I turned to him slowly. He was right beside me, looking at his father with intensity. "Dad. Did. He. Know."

Dad shook his head. "Noah...I don't know what Jeremy knows. But, I think on some level, we have to trust that he didn't."

Noah and I both let out a breath of air.

"There's a lot of unknown right now." Dad said. "Let's get inside. I'll order some pizza and we'll wait for your mom to get home."

"Where's Mom?" Dave asked, frowning.

"She was showing a house near the beach. She'll be home any minute." Dad ushered us to the house. "Let's go in. Get cleaned up. You all smell like sweat and that can really kill an appetite."

"I call shower first!" Dave sprinted for the stairs.

"I'm going to call Marie just to tell her...what's going on." Kyle went upstairs slower.

"Noah, you should shower before Jake." Zeke grabbed Noah and pulled him towards the stairs, leaving me alone with Dad.

Dad guided me to the kitchen, placing me at my usual seat. He sat in his own next to me at the head of the table. He pulled out his phone and started to tap on it. "I'm just putting our order in for some delivery. Any special requests?"

I shook my head. I wasn't feeling very hungry.

Dad finished putting the order and set his phone aside. "Done. Plenty of pizza and breadsticks to hold you boys over. Don't tell Noah, but I even got the giant cookie for you guys to share."

I cracked a smile. "He would be ecstatic."

Dad also smiled, but then turned serious. "Should I call Dr. Moore?"

I hesitated before shaking my head again, almost feeling dizzy. "Not yet. I-I-I don't know what to say. What I'm feeling. I just...feel...hollow." I looked up at Dad. "Why? I'm not understanding."

"Oh, Jake. Kiddo." Dad got up and moved his chair closer to mine and sat closer together. "I can't say for certain, but I know we all have the feeling that it wasn't for a good reason."

We sat there in silence until the front door was opened. The familiar sound of Mom's heels clacking on the wood made me feel better already. She came directly into the kitchen, spotting us together. She dropped her purse and papers on the table, then sat in Noah's seat on the other side of me. She also got close, before pulling me into a hug.

It was a little awkward, but again, I was thankful. Thankful to have them in my life. For them to want me in their future. I was tremendously lucky.

Unknowingly, I started to cry. Just water leaking from my eyes.

"Don't even think about this, Jake." Mom told me as she held me. "We'll get through this. Just a small bump in the road. I'll contact Mr. Pickens to handle the reporters. They shouldn't be coming to you for answers. Just Jeremy's uncle."

I liked how she referred my uncle as Jeremy's. Like he didn't belong to me. Which is good. I didn't want to belong with him. I don't know his reasoning for giving that woman money, but it just made me hate him more.

***

<Jeremy POV>

"God damn it!" I hit my steering wheel with aggression, trying to release a lot of my pent up anger. "What the hell is this?!"

"It's breaking news." My agent told me over the bluetooth speaker in my car. "We went from minor scandal on the sports page, to headliner. Everyone loves reality shows with family drama. You have had quite a few months of being in the news thanks to your family. You need to find out from your uncle what the freak he was doing sending money to your birth mother."

I groaned. I was already at the stadium, parked in the player's lot. "I need to get ready for the game. I don't have time for this."

"Jeremy, it's not pretty." He told me. "My phone has been ringing with calls for a statement. Do we stick with the original version and ignore the breaking news of your uncle's choices in sending payments to his ex-sister-in-law?"

I sighed. "Wait a moment, okay? Let me call him. This can just be something harmless like wanting to take care of his brother's widow."

"And your brother?"

I fell silent as I clenched my fists. Jake's going to be stunned. "I need to call him too. Tell him that...I didn't know. This is all so messy." I sighed.

"Organize yourself. Make a checklist." He instructed. "Call your uncle and find out the backstory, because it honestly doesn't look good. Not with the way he denied your brother's existence with you earlier this season. And not with the way he had to steal to pay this woman. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, then it's probably a duck. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

I nodded to myself. "I'll call you back after."

"Good. In the meantime, answer no questions. Not from your manager, not from the GM, not from your teammates, and especially not the press. Not a word. We have to protect your image here."

I don't see a lot of endorsements coming my way after this season of family drama. I didn't tell my agent that though. I just let him give me a few more things to be careful of then hung up.

I played with my phone for a second, ignoring a multitude of missed calls and unanswered texts. I found Jake in my phone and sent him a text.

Me: I didn't know, but I will find out. I'll call you later.

No reply came back. Not after a minute. Not after two. After ten minutes, I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to call Uncle Jack. Why the heck would he send that woman any money? Why would he steal to do so?

I had a sinking feeling that I wasn't going to like the answers waiting for me. I want to believe in him. He raised me after my dad died. He's like a second father to me.

But...a lot of wrong was going on. It has been a couple of tense weeks since I've found out that Uncle Jack has blown through all his money avenues. My whole rookie contract is gone now. Just poof. I'm running on fumes and this big contract was just what I needed to fix all these problems. However, some problems can't be fixed with money.

Wayne Atkins had told me last night that I was being used. I didn't want to hear it nor did I want to fight him about it. As Jake's guardian and father, I didn't want any bad blood between us. I thought walking away was smart. Now I'm scared that a big 'I told you so' is waiting for me.

My hands shook as I held my phone. Clicked on Uncle Jack's number to make the call. I have to know.