Sunshine // Benny Rodriguez

4

Bella was excited to be invited back to the sandlot, but the closer they got, the more nervous she became. She knew Donnie would be mad, and Benny standing up for her was her only hope. Just as she had expected, Donnie's face dropped when he saw her, letting out a large groan as he stormed over to her.

"Bella, how many times do I have to tell you? We don't want you here." he hissed.

Bella tensed up as he came closer, and she sucked in a breath when he grabbed her arm in the same spot that a bruise was already forming. Immediately, Benny stepped out from behind her and forcefully pulled Donnie's arm away. It was only then that Bella recognized the noticeable height difference between the two boys. Luckily for her, Benny was the taller one. Her brother looked shocked, tugging his arm away from Benny's grip.

"Why do you keep bringing her, man?"

"It doesn't matter to you anymore cause you can't play here."

"What?" Donnie choked.

"You heard me. Now leave."

"Oh my-" Donnie started, running a hand through his hair, "Whatever, you guys are losers anyways."

Without fail, Donnie shoved his sister as he walked by, nearly tipping her over. Benny was visibly angry, but Bella's face was lit up. With a large smile on her face, she sent herself towards Benny, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Startled, he simply stood there before hesitantly placing his arms around her back.

"I cannot believe you just did that!" Bella giggled, squeezing him tighter, "Thank you so much, Benny."

As she pulled away from his arms, the smile on her face became contagious and immediately replicated itself on Benny's. He didn't expect her to be so happy, but he was glad that she was. However, he knew that her situation must be worse than he thought if she was truly so thrilled to see him leave.

"Come on, I'll finally introduce you to the boys."

Benny led their way over to the pitcher's mound where the group of boys was huddled together, talking about who knows what. Benny loudly cleared his throat, gaining their attention. He made his introductions, each boy spitting as he called their name. Normally, Bella would have thought it to be gross, but she was too focused on trying to remember their names. 

Benny offered to let Bella bat, but after all of her lonely nights swinging by herself, she chose to go into the outfield. Not only was it to switch things up, but she was eager to see Benny bat. And boy, did he live up to her expectations. Even from far in left field, she was watching his every move, captivated by him. He could hit better than anybody she'd ever seen, and he looked good doing it. After a few swings, he called out her name, telling her to throw to second base. Luckily, she caught it with ease and threw it to the infield.

This was the most fun Bella had in a long time. She felt that all her nights playing by herself had paid off. It was almost hard for her to even believe that she had found a group of friends, a group of boys, that wanted to play baseball with her. It was a dream come true.

It was nearing dinner time, when everybody had to go home, and Benny was getting ready for his last hit. He tossed the ball into the air and swung the bat hard, sending it right over Bella's head. She backed up a few steps but soon realized that she wouldn't be able to catch it, it was over the fence. Bella remembered what Benny said about not getting the balls that went over, but she was still confused as to why, so she began walking towards it, looking around for anything suspicious. As she got closer, the boys began yelling and she could hear their footsteps pounding towards her. She turned around, shocked to see just how frantic they were.