Life in Search ✔️

45 ~ Finally

I'm going to die.

That's the only conclusion I can come up with as I catch Sage's pitches. He told me he was a decent pitcher, not the freaking messiah. I can feel my hand already bruising.

Wincing as I pull my glove off, I make my way over to the dugout. My pain is put aside when I find Scarlett talking to her brother, worry evident on her face.

I must admit, my clothes always seem to look better on her.

"Any advice?" I ask, pulling her in for a hug.

"Don't get hurt." She states, taping my cheek before walking off.

Knock on wood, but I have a feeling that's the only possible outcome from tonight.

Scanning the crowd, it takes a second for me to pick my jaw up off the ground. So. Many. Scouts. Honest to God, I've never seen so many radar guns in my life.

"All this for you?" I ask Sage in awe.

He shrugs, "I guess."

"You guess?" I repeat in disbelief. I guess the winning lotto numbers. I guess what the cafeteria will be serving for mystery meat.

You don't guess if the growing crowd of scouts is for you. That's the type of shit you know.

"It's not a big deal, you're the one going to an SEC school for football." He snaps, a little more riled up than he's letting on.

Holding up a hand in surrender, I pat his back. "You're right, just do your thing and I'll catch it."

Or try to.

*****

The game is a walk in the park. Honestly, I have no other way to describe it. Sage threw a perfect game. Which meant I caught a lot of balls, but it was worth it.

Something tells me that pretty soon James and I won't be the only ones with SEC scholarships.

"You good?" I ask Sage, packing my stuff up.

He nods before looking off into the crowd. "No way." He mutters before jogging off.

Overly confused and slightly concerned, I follow after him. Stopping in my tracks when I find him hugging a guy, all the Rhodes kids huddled around him.

Who the hell is he?

Setting my bag down, making my presence known, Scar runs towards me. Holding back a protest as she throws herself onto me, I twirl her around. I could get used to this.

"Sage, my man." The guy says, clapping him on the back. Right, I forgot he was here. "Letty and I were betting on whether or not you would hit number 5 just for running his mouth."

Letty, where have I heard that nickname before?

"I thought about it." Sage shrugs and I want to laugh. I had to call a timeout to talk him out of drilling the poor guy. He was an ass, don't get me wrong, but he didn't deserve a concussion. "Decided he wasn't worth it."

"Ha!" Scarlett shouts, pointing to the guy overly excited, "Pay up."

I haven't seen her this happy in a long time, it's almost as if she's a child again. Her eyes seem a little brighter, her laugh a little cheerier. It's... strange. And it's all for this guy.