Gage Cilleti has just begun his junior year of high school, and is becoming more and more involved in his school's activities, considering he'd been playing baseball since he was just seven-years-old.
Elijah McCay has just dropped out of school, du...
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Being here didn't feel the same anymore. That one thought was all that was left drilling itself into my brain, as Rick and I tossed the ball back and forth on the field during practice. When my hand reached forward to catch the ball, the nostalgia of catching this same ball, in this same spot just weeks prior came into memory.
Back then, the most important thing to me was figuring out if Elijah and I would ever date. If he would ever look at me the way I look at him. And now, it was safe to say that that was the furthest thing in the back of my mind.
It felt as though everything was falling apart. First, came my love of baseball fading away quietly and subtly. Until I began showing up to practice practically dragging my feet on the dirt. Next, came my best friend planning to move miles away from our home. Then, came my father moving out, along with the end of my parents' lovely marriage.
But with everything falling apart, it also felt like it was falling into place. With my love of baseball fading, incoming was my love for spending time with those around me. When before, that wasn't much on my top priority list.
And even though Rick was leaving Chicago, I knew that he and his father would be happy building a new life in New York, where there was an endless amount of opportunities for a blond-haired easygoing guy like Rick.
I was still trying to find the brighter side of my father leaving, though. My mother didn't like to talk about him much, said that there was no point in dwelling on something that was over. I could agree to a certain extent. Yes, we needed to try our best to move forward. But I also didn't want her to feel like she couldn't talk to anyone about what happened.
That road seemed like a dead-end. For now, at least.
My thoughts are interrupted by a baseball hitting my chest abruptly. I look up, seeing Rick wave his arms dramatically. "Gage? Gage!"
"What?" I ask, bending over to retrieve the fallen ball.
Rick catches my weak throw, fastening his glove. "Why the hell are you so spaced out lately?"
"I'm not," I reply honestly. Catching another one of Rick's throws that again, hits my chests with a soft thud. My fingers enclose around the ball, as I don't even bother tossing it back. The energy being completely drained out of my system. Not that I had much to begin with. "I'm just thinking. A lot."
Rick doesn't speak for a few seconds, eyes looming in closely with mine, as if trying to figure out what I'm thinking about. "About me leaving?"
I shrug, kicking a rock embedded into the dirt. "Yeah. And my dad."
His eyes instantly snap up, eyebrows furrowing together under his baseball cap. "Why? What happened—"
Just as the realization sets in that I still haven't gotten around telling Rick about my parents, the bell rings, signaling that the day is over, and I won't be forced to stand here and explain everything from this last week to Rick.
