A Twist of Fate (Complete)

Ch. 36 - Going Home

"So, here's everything you need to know," Everly said taking a deep breath in and letting it out, turning to face Keaton. "I'm the oldest of two. I have a younger brother that's a junior in high school. His name's Finley but we call him Finn for short."

"Finley? That's an unusual name," Keaton said, scrunching his eyebrows. "I've never heard that one before."

"He's named after the Finley Park baseball field my Dad grew up playing on."

"Your brother's named after a baseball field? So your Dad's REALLY into baseball then?" Keaton asked, raising his eyebrows and shifting in his seat.

She laughed. "Uh yeah. That's the understatement of a lifetime. My Grandpa, Dad and Finn are all obsessed. Finn played on the same team with Brad last year when they won the National Championship. He's hoping to get a full ride to college for it like he did, so he pretty much lives for baseball right now. I grew up going to all their games so I know more about baseball than any woman I know. That's why I got assigned the job covering the baseball team for my high school paper and now the paper at NYU."

Keaton nodded, thinking this over. "So if Brad's supposed to be the next Baby Ruth or whatever, your family must really love him." 

"It's Babe Ruth," Everly laughed, giving him a smile and laying her hand on his, weaving their fingers together. "But yeah," she said with an exhale, looking down. "They love Brad. My Dad's actually the reason he started playing baseball in the first place." 

When Everly raised her head and looked into his eyes, she could tell he seemed worried by this information. 

"You remember how I told you Brad grew up right next door and was my best friend growing up? Well he was at our house pretty much all day every day. When my dad would go in the backyard and play catch or do batting practice with Finn, Brad would watch. Then one day Dad invited him to join in and he said he could tell right away that Brad was a natural."

"So your Dad's the one that taught him to play baseball?" Keaton asked and she could see him processing.

"Yeah, and to this day he watches every single game Brad plays in on the NYU livestream and sends him a message afterwards telling him he did a good job and giving him pointers on things he could work on. My Dad was Finn and Brad's baseball coach when they played peewee and he was the assistant coach for their high school team last year when they won Nationals. He's not coaching this year because he started selling model cars on ebay and it takes up too much time."

Keaton rubbed the back of her hand he was holding and she could tell he was in deep thought. 

"What is it?" she asked hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

He took a deep breath in and let it out, shaking his head. "Fuck. I was really nervous about meeting your family before, but now that I know how much they love Brad, I think I might just catch a flight right back to New York," he laughed.

She laughed and smacked his arm, shaking her head. Then her smile slowly faded and she looked down at their hands and let out an exhale. "Seriously, though. My family does love Brad, but after what he did with Amber I think they were just as heartbroken and disappointed in him as I was." 

"That's understandable," Keaton nodded. "I can't say I blame them. If we have a daughter one day and her boyfriend does that to her, he better hope I don't find him." 

 The fact that Keaton was talking about their future children made her smile and she lifted the arm rest separating them, snuggling up against his side and laying her head against his shoulder. 

"Don't be nervous about meeting my family," she told him softly with a sigh. "Just go in there and be yourself and I'm sure they'll love you as much as I do."