The Hitting Zone

Besides seeing Jeremy briefly and stuffing our faces with food, not much else was going on. I didn't mention Gabby to Noah, because there wasn't much to say. She handed me a water and then took off after Jeremy showed up. I wonder if he ever went to check on her. Probably. He's the type. I still remember how defensive he was of them when we first met.

We stayed the night at the Johnson's, sticking around for lunch the next day. Eventually Zeke and Rhys had to go back to school and we had to go home.

As it was the last week before thanksgiving break, Coach held tryouts after school as planned. After school, the twins would take Noah and I straight to The Cages and drop us off before heading home to meet up with Mitchell. Dad primarily picked us up in the evening right before dinner. Mitchell would stick around for dinner every day and until it was time for break. But that didn't stop him from coming over.

Saturday, Mitchell came over just after Noah, Zeke, and I got back from our morning run. He sat down with us for breakfast before going out to the backyard with the twins. He wasn't the only player that came by. Garret and Jason came over after lunch with the excuse that they didn't have siblings to hang out with. Garret stayed with Mitchell and the twins while we took Jason to the batting cages. Once we were there, we coincidentally ran into Julian and Andy.

"Are you guys going to come here every day?" Andy asked while we took turns in the cages.

Noah glanced at me.

I shook my head. "I won't be able to. I have a doctor appointment on Monday and won't be able to do much until after thanksgiving."

"You can come over and hang out anytime though." Noah added. "Mitchell and Garret will probably be coming over everyday to play with the twins. Zeke and I will be running in the mornings. Maybe we can go to the park and run a few drills too."

Andy looked to Julian, who was talking to Zeke about their first semester of college. "Yea, I'm sure I can convince Julian into going over." He looked at me. "We won't be bothering you, right?"

I shook my head again. "No. I'll just be chilling on the couch in front of the tv." I thought about it. "You might get to see Jeremy one of the days. He said he was going to stop by before thanksgiving."

"Will he be annoyed if there's extra people?" Andy asked me, frowning.

Noah laughed. "Nah. He's pretty relaxed. I think if we kept it small, he wouldn't mind signing a few autographs so bring an extra ball if you want. We'll let you know what day he comes over."

Andy showed some rare excitement, taking his turn in the cages with newfound enthusiasm.

Sunday followed a similar pattern, but Gramma and Grampa showed up. Mom went to pick them up from the airport and we had a special dinner at a restaurant to celebrate their appearance. With them staying for the week, Mom and Dad had converted their office to a spare bedroom with the use of an air mattress instead of making the twins give up their beds like before.

Monday morning, I didn't go running. Neither did Noah and Zeke. Everyone was awake at the breakfast table and sent me off like I was going on a road trip. A laugh really took the edge off as Dad took me to Dr. Griffiths office.

We got back in time for lunch, but just like last time, I didn't feel like eating. Mom helped me get comfortable in the living room, setting up a few fruit bowls within reach. I dozed off just as she put the tv remote in my hand. When I woke up, only Grampa was in the room, reading a book.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked lightly, readjusting my sitting position as carefully as possible.

He looked up from the book. "I sent them away. Being crammed in here while you're trying to get some rest isn't any good. Those boys need to get out and play, burn off some of that extra energy." He paused for a second. "Mary explained to me the 'what' and 'why' and told me how it'll take you a couple days to bounce back. You probably don't want my opinion, but I'm going to give it to you anyway. Understand?"

I gave a small nod.

"You don't have to erase your scars. They're your battle scars of a war you won." He stated. "If anyone says anything to you about it, have Noah beat them up. I've got your backs."

My lips twitched. I had a funny feeling that Noah really took after his Grampa. He said a few more words about not shying away from my scars but I could only listen and not follow through. No offense to Grampa, but he didn't know how it was for me.

I slowly and casually munch on some fruit that Mom left out as I listened to Grampa share some stories about his high school days and the fights he got in. When Mom and Gramma came home, the two both scolded him for trying to teach me how to get in fights.

With so many of us around for dinner, Mom didn't make us sit at the kitchen table. Noah, the twins, Garret, Mitchell, Andy, and Jason, all ate with me in the living room, keeping me company. They all came over again on Tuesday, as did Jeremy and Rose. Our house was similar to a community center where all kinds of people were coming and going. With Jeremy's appearance and my recovery, a few more teammates came by with snacks to wish me well while getting an autograph from Jeremy in return.

I would occasionally fall asleep for minutes at a time, but no one gave me a hard time. I was a patient after all. I recovered nicely and was only a little sore by the time Gramma and Grampa had to fly back to their home on Sunday morning. We didn't have an emotional goodbye since they planned to come down for another week in December.

Sunday night, we said goodbye to Zeke too. He had another couple weeks of school and with finals coming up, he wouldn't have time to come home on the weekends.

"I'll send you a picture of our roster when it gets posted." Noah told him as Zeke got in Dad's car. "I don't think there'll be too many surprises. Our starting lineup and rotation are pretty much set."

Zeke raised an eyebrow. "Nothing is a guarantee." He glanced at me and the corner of his lips had a small upturn. "With maybe one exception."

"Two! Two exceptions!" Noah thrusted two fingers in Zeke's face. "Jake and I are probably the most reliable players on the team."

Dave scoffed from behind us.

Dad didn't stick around to hear the two of them bicker. With Zeke loaded in, he started the car and took off, taking Zeke back to college.